President Message
Roswell Rotarians, I am still floating from Monday.
If you were on the course or the courts for our Golf, Tennis & Pickleball Tournament, you saw it too: months of sponsor calls, ticket sales, and committee meetings clicking into place into one extraordinary day. And it didn't even start Monday morning — it started Sunday night, when we threw our Tournament Tailgate party while simultaneously setting up everything the tournament would need at sunrise. That is this club in a single snapshot: celebrating together with one hand while rolling up our sleeves with the other.
What struck me most this year is how many of you didn't just show up — you leaned in past your comfort zone. You asked for one more sponsorship than felt comfortable to ask for. You took a volunteer shift you weren't sure you had time for. You showed up anyway, and because you did, our primary fundraiser of the year came together more beautifully than I could have planned on paper. Even Mother Nature cooperated — someone (thank you, Malone Dodson) must have put in a good word, because we could not have asked for better weather. Between the laughter, the friendly competition, and the fellowship on the back nine and the pickleball courts, I watched connections deepen in real time. That is the whole point. The dollars raised matter enormously for the community organizations counting on us, and so does every relationship that grew stronger on the way to raising them.
To every single person who sponsored, sold, recruited, set up, tore down, played, or simply showed up to cheer someone else on: thank you. Thank you. Thank you again. This tournament does not happen without each of you deciding that your comfort zone was the wrong place to stop. I am so proud to be a Rotarian in this club, and I hope Monday gave you the same lift it gave me.
Then we woke up Tuesday — and got back to work.
That, to me, is the most Rotary thing about this club. We didn't take a week off to admire what we'd just built. We simply turned to the next need. This week alone, our members are moving furniture to help the young mother we welcomed into her new apartment a few weeks ago settle further into her new home. We're out in the community at Alive in Roswell, sharing what Rotary is all about and inviting our neighbors to join us. We're wading into the Chattahoochee for the Rivers Alive cleanup, leaving our river a little cleaner than we found it. And we're picking up paintbrushes at the Roswell Arts Festival, helping create the piece our club donates to the City every single year.
What I find remarkable about this club is not any one of these projects — it's the pattern. Every time we pull off something big. Instead of resting on it, we use it as fuel to dream up what's next. The needs in front of us change from year to year: a family needing a hand, a river needing care, a community needing an introduction to who we are. But the instinct underneath never changes — see the need, find a way, take action. That track record is exactly why this club never runs out of momentum. It creates its own optimism, the kind that's hard to manufacture and impossible to fake, and that optimism is magnetic to anyone who is wired for Service Above Self.
It is the honor of my life to help propel that momentum this year. Thank you for making it so easy to be proud of this club — this week, and every week.
Yours in Service,
Leslie
THIS Sat. Sept. 19
River Clean Up
Rivers Alive, Georgia’s annual river cleanup, comes to Roswell on September 19. The event, co-hosted by Keep Roswell Beautiful and the City of Roswell, is part of a statewide campaign to preserve Georgia’s 70,100 miles of rivers and streams. Small groups of volunteers will be dispersed across the city to perform beautification projects, including litter pick-ups, invasive plant and shrub removal, mulching, native plant planting, and storm drain marking.
Questions? Contact Dutch Earle 770-403-0755
Volunteers Needed
Roswell Arts Festival
Roswell Rotary will have a tent set up at the Roswell Arts Festival this Saturday and Sunday. We will be helping with the Community Painting which will be presented to the City and displayed in City Hall after the festival. Hours are am - 5pm. It's a fun project plus you get to see all of the excellent artist booths! Contact Lisa Carlisle if you can volunteer for a shift. Text 404-915-7986 or email lisacarlisle05@comcast.net
Thank You Tournament Volunteers!
A heartfelt thank you to all those who came out to volunteer! What an incredible effort you gave to make the Roswell Rotary Golf and Tennis Tournament a success. From setup and tear down, tail gate support, golf cart drivers, runners, putting green support, volunteer check in, breakfast, lunch and dinner service, registration, party holes, and everything in between. Over 80 volunteers from Rotary and our charity partners faced long hours and heat, yet you stayed positive and committed. I want to particularly thank those who took on double or triple shifts, handled beverages and especially coolers, and asked how they could help in additional ways. You all have left me with such a great feeling that good, generous people exist on earth.
Your hard work is what makes this event possible. Every role mattered, every hour counted, and every one of you helped create a memorable experience for our players and guests. Thank you for giving your time and energy. – Deb Perkins
Bittersweet Year
Remembering Dave Wash
As we worked on the Tournament this year, there was such a big empty chair at every committee meeting and on the day of the tournament. For so many years, Dave was such an integral part of the planning for the hole locations and contests and many other parts of the tournament. When we got excited, he got calm. He was smart and humble and had a true heart for service. So many others in our club missed his presence. So when we got to "Party Hole" and saw these cups- In Memoriam- Dave Wash- Always in our Hearts- I know Dave was there hearing us remember him and drinking a toast to him. Thank you, Chris Archer, for making time to remember Dave on the course out in th
As we worked on the Tournament this year, there was such a big empty chair at every committee meeting and on the day of the tournament. For so many years, Dave was such an integral part of the planning for the hole locations and contests and many other parts of the tournament. When we got excited, he got calm. He was smart and humble and had a true heart for service. So many others in our club missed his presence.
So when we got to "Party Hole" and saw these cups- In Memoriam- Dave Wash- Always in our Hearts- I know Dave was there in spirit. hearing us remembering him and drinking a toast to him. Thank you, Chris Archer, for making time to remember Dave on the course out in the cool breeze and the quiet and the beautiful day. Dave, you truly do live in our hearts.
Upcoming Roswell Rotary Events
Strengthen Your Connections Here!
Moonlight & Martini's
Fri. Sept. 18, 7pm Bulloch Hall
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Rivers Alive Clean Up
Saturday, September 19
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Lake Day at Gordon Owens
Saturday, September 19
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Roswell Arts Festival
Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 19-20
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Women in Rotary Fall Social
Wed, Sept. 30 5pm - 7pm
Add To Calendar
First Responders Farm Day
Gold & Grass Farms Ballground, GA
Sunday, Oct. 18 1pm - 5pm
Thursday, April 22, to Sunday, April 25, 2027
District Conference Asheville NC
2027 Conference Overview
Dates: April 22–25, 2027
Location: Asheville, NC (Blue Ridge Mountains)
Host Hotels: Embassy Suites and DoubleTree by Hilton (Downtown Asheville)
Registration Tiers: Early Bird Special (July 1 – Dec 31, 2026): $350Regular Registration (Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2027): $425Late/On-site (April 1 – Apr 25, 2027): $450
You can track updates and complete registration through the official Rotary District 6900 website.
