You are receiving the weekly Decatur Rotary Club newsletter because you have been a guest of the club recently. If you'd like to unsubscribe, click here. We hope to see you at our next meeting.
It's World Polio Week!
Lunch Meeting Friday, Oct. 24 Historic DeKalb County Courthouse 101 E. Court Square
All are welcome to join Dudley Larus and Bob Ettensohn to discuss fundraising ideas. They will meet in the courthouse board room at 11:30 am and wrap up in time for the regular weekly meeting.
. . . . .
Wear Your Halloween Costume on Oct. 31
President Alison encourages everyone to dress up for Halloween at our October 31 meeting. She promises a prize for the best costume. Who will be the judge? Hmm . . . we don’t yet know.
. . . . .
Your Club Needs You!
Check out these opportunities for club service:
Treasurer-in-Training | Pete plans to step down from this role next summer, and we need someone to shadow him now and be ready to take over for the 2026-27 year. The treasurer processes funds collected, provides financial reports to the Board, and works closely with the President, Board, and membership. Duties include invoicing members, depositing checks, working with the accounting firm, and approving invoices. This is a big club commitment!
Greeter Scheduler | We need someone to handle scheduling our weekly meeting greeters from October through next June. Duties are to secure volunteers, send weekly reminders, and communicate about such logistics as where to place our meeting sign, etc.
Did you know Rotary supports character education in schools? The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest asks students to select their own “Law of Life” and write about how it has applied to their lives. In doing so, students reflect deeply and write from the heart about what they think matters most. The contest celebrates the students’ stories and their often profound reflections, and offers significant cash awards to students and teachers.
Want to get involved? We need:
A CLUB COORDINATOR to be the point person with Decatur High School. Duties involve communicating with a DHS teacher about the program and deadlines.
ESSAY JUDGES to read and score essays in February 2026. Teams of three are assigned approximately 48 essays to read and score. Scoring takes approximately 5 to 7 hours; judges have a week to read and score. A virtual team meeting is held to discuss and select School-Level winners and Honorable Mentions.
As a judge, you will see how core values – such as generosity, courage, compassion, perseverance and grit – are experienced by a younger generation.
Doug Robinson announced the dates for our annual MLK service project: January 17-19, 2026. Everyone is invited to participate. We will team up to do home repairs and painting for some elderly residents in the Decatur community. Stay tuned for more info!
. . . . .
Rotarians in theWILD!
Jamaal Ellis, Todd Speed, and Lawrence Sharp seen at the Salvation Army Legacy Dinner.
. . . . . Milestones | October
Club Anniversaries
Linton Broome, 55 years
Lawrence Sharp, 32 years
Brenda Leder, 28 years
Delores Crowell, 21 years
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Todd Speed, 18 years
Tim Martin, 18 years
Maria Alvarez, 3 years
Doug Park, October 4
Nedra White-Shaw, October 6
Jennifer Topple, October 10
Judy Turner, October 28
Rick Garnitz, October 29
Doug Tozzi, October 29
Friday | October 17
Tom Adams introduced speaker Leocadia Zak
Last week, Tom Adams introduced our lunch speaker, Leocadia Zak, the president of Agnes Scott College. She shared many success stories that have garnered national accolades for the college, especially for their innovative programs and student experience. A strong focus is on work-readiness and connecting a liberal arts major with necessary professional skill sets.
She also highlighted how intertwined the college and Decatur already are, and emphasized her goal of making the Agnes Scott campus more open to the community. For instance, the school hosts the Women’s Global Leadership Conference, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, and she looks to create more community partnerships in Decatur, including student internships. Agnes Scott now has more than 230 in-person graduate students, and a Physician’s Assistant (PA) program is set to launch in fall 2026.
P.S. President Zak invited Rotarians and Decaturites to visit the Bradley Observatory on campus during one of their open house nights. The next one will be on Halloween at 8 pm! Check schedule here.
Visitors included:
• Nicole Long, guest of the speaker and club
• Keisha Smith, guest of Alison Weissinger
• Judge Brian Lake, guest of Kelly Caudle
• Lyn Satterthwaite, guest of Eric Lucas
• Cynthia Dorsey Edwards, District Governor Elect
We hope to see you again soon!
Individuals are identified from left to right.
Bob Ettensohn announced the winners of our sports game, a little fundraiser for Polio Plus. Thanks, all, for playing along!
Elliott Augustine gave the invocation (left). Dud Larus shared updates from the DeKalb Rotary Council meeting.
(Left) Luis is eager to set up for our meeting! Rick greets Elizabeth, and all, with open arms.
(Left) Rev. Todd takes Alison’s 5 questions quiz. Jack Kirivong and Brian York catch up.
Always great to have DG-elect Cynthia Edwards join us!
President Zak (center) talks with club guest Judge Brian Lake (left)
Board members working hard during the monthly meeting!
OVERVIEW
