This Weeks Speaker –
Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua was appointed to the Superior Court of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit in December 2009 by then-Governor Sonny Perdue and was sworn in on June 29, 2010. She was reelected in 2012 and 2016. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as Inspector General for the Georgia Secretary of State, overseeing investigations in the Elections, Securities, Charities and Licensing Divisions, and she served as the Solicitor General for DeKalb County where she founded an initiative to address educational neglect. Judge LaGrua has over 20 years of trial experience, including her work as Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney in DeKalb and Fulton Counties and as Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Tallapoosa Circuit.
Judge LaGrua serves on the Fulton County Superior Court’s Executive Committee and Co-chairs its Magistrate Committee. She presides over “My Journey Matters,” a pilot probation program designed to divert young offenders from a lifetime of incarceration, as well as the Court’s first Re-Entry Court, which works to integrate prior offenders back into the community using close supervision, substance abuse counseling, job-training, and advancing education.
Judge LaGrua was appointed by Governor Deal to the Georgia Child Support Commission in 2016, serves as Chair of the Judicial Council’s Process Servers Committee, is Secretary-elect for the Council of Superior Court Judges, where she also serves on the Legislative Support Team as vice-chair for the Access to Fairness and Justice Committee, and is a member of the Accountability Court and Bench and Bar Committees.
Judge LaGrua is a Master of the Logan E. Bleckley Inn of Court and Lamar Inn of Court. She is a founding member and past Chair of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, Judicial Application Review Committee. She currently serves as the Chair of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Georgia, is a member at large on the Atlanta Bar’s CLE committee and Celebrating Service Committee. She is an alumna member of Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2012, and served as the Vice Chair of the Criminal Justice Day for 2014-2015.
Judge LaGrua graduated from the University of Georgia and received her Juris Doctorate from the Georgia State University College of Law, where she later taught Advanced Evidence and Litigation. Judge LaGrua is married to Chris Beanland. She has two step-sons, Daniel and Ben, and two fur-children, Grizzly and Riley.
Opportunities for Fellowship and to Serve –
- Adopt-A-Mile – September 15th. Meet at Avalon Chick-Fil-A at 8am.
- 35th Anniversary Celebration for Alpharetta Rotary! - On September 22nd at Chukkar Farms. The party will start at 6:30 p.m. and we will have a heavy hors d'oeuvres dinner. RSVP to Katie Rocco
- USO Dates – October 4th and December 6th we have an opportunity to support our military servicemen and women at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport
- Rotary Youth Exchange Host Families for Michelle Solares – Mid-November to Valentines Day and Valentines Day to the end of School – See Lyman Louis
- NFCC Warm Coat Day – Bring your coats to APC by October 27th – Especially in need of coats for children and teenagers.
- Fresh Market –If you’ve not participated before, catch the sign-up sheet that’s passed around each meeting. This is an easy way to serve those in need by taking breads and other items from Fresh Market to NFCC to be given to those in need. Contact Lee Doernberg.
Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you on Friday morning!
Robin McIntire
President
2018-2019
Rotary Club of Alpharetta