This Week’s Meeting
Our speaker this Friday is Mike Kenn, former left tackle for the Atlanta Falcons who played for our Atlanta franchise for 17 seasons 1978-1994. He is notable for having started all 251 NFL games in which he played. He holds the Falcons' franchise record for games started and games played. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1980, 1983 and 1991 and was invited to play in the Pro Bowl five consecutive years from 1980 to 1984. Mike went on to serve as a leader in our community, and ultimately as Chairman of the Fulton County Commission. No doubt, Ken will educate and entertain! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Kenn
Our meeting agenda also includes Lyman Louis' introduction of our Rotary Youth Exchange student, Livia Olivera, another Red to Blue graduation, the introduction of our 2017-2018 Board, and a variety of important Club and Club member updates; not the least of which includes the birth announcement of Dakota Grace Rigsby! We are all excited for Natasha and Wayne!
One BIG question will be answered this week – “will Mickey Rogers and crew have the new grill and pavilion improvements ready in time for Saturday’s Old Soldier’s Day event?” Will Steve Gillard be cooking for us on his new grill?? Be sure to attend Friday’s meeting to find out… (no pressure, Mickey).
New This Week
After last Friday’s meeting, a group of Rotarians had the pleasure of delivering 43 fully loaded high school backpacks to NFCC. This Club’s good work and philanthropy will ensure these students will be prepared to succeed at school from Day One. What a pleasure it is to serve in this way. Rotarians served lunch and engaged in activities at the YMCA Summer Lunch site at Aspen Pointe, spent hours on the Rotary Pavilion improvement project (but did they finish?), will provide our troops travelling through the Atlanta airport with food and a warm welcome through the USO program, make the daily Fresh Market run, and will be busy decorating the Old Soldier’s Day float Thursday evening at the church. All that and plenty of others working hard behind the scenes to keep the Club moving forward at pace.
Reminders
All hands are requested to be present this Saturday at the Old Soldier’s Day Parade and after-parade picnic. Once again, Joel Canada has organized this event for us as only Joel can do. Let’s recognize his efforts with our participation and thanks. In case you missed it, we will cover the details again Friday morning. This is the perfect event to bring your family along to meet members of the Club and their families – all honoring those who have served.
We are now in the month of August and the countdown to the Mayor’s Corporate Challenge (MCC) has begun – 21 days! Be sure to mark your calendar for the race date of Thursday, August 24th. NO DOUBT, this will be the largest MCC in our history as Chris Cammack tells us we should expect 1,500 runners to sell-out the event. Joe Wargo and Tom Darr will give us an update on what to expect. The hard work of the entire race leadership committee continues to set us up for great success!
Steve Gillard will have a sign-up for Mary’s Ice Cream Crankin’ to be held on Sunday, August 27th from 2:00-4:00pm. This is another favorite event (just smile and say ice cream), and we need volunteers to both crank ice cream and help to serve. Proceeds benefit The Drake House.
As I have shared with some of you, this week I have been particularly struck by the remarkable way in which our Club members step up and just get the job done. Everyone pitches-in, no questions asked, and of their own accord they exceed expectations. It’s an honor to work with such a talented group that carries so much enthusiasm to every task – credit due, but never expected. For Alpharetta Rotary, “Service Above Self” isn’t just a tag-line, it’s just how we roll…