Newsletter

Beginning This Week!
2026 Rotary Gridiron Challenge

It's football time! Our new format for the Gridiron Challenge begins this week. 

Play here.

Here's our new format:

Rotary Men vs. Rotary Women

• Each team will have a captain and team name.
• Nine college and 1 local high school game per week.
• As in the past, $25 billed one time to each Rotarian – unless you opt out via communication with the Rotary treasurer.
• Each correct pick is worth 1 point. A weekly game of the week (also the tie breaker game) will be worth 2 points.
• The team who has the most weekly participants gets an additional 5 points and the team that wins the week gets an additional 3 points.
• There will be a weekly leaderboard shown at the Thursday meetings – public commentary is encouraged!
• 1 male and 1 female winner per week will receive a $20 gift card from a locally owned restaurant.
• Team with the most points at the end of the regular season gets an additional 5 points added to their total (at which time a regular season winner will be determined).
• Regular season male and female individual winners will receive a champions trophy.
• The top team in the regular season will have a $250 Rotary donation made to one of our club's community or youth services projects chosen by the team in their name.
• Picks sheets will be distributed via weekly Rotary email on Wednesdays and hard copies will be available at Thursday meetings, including Second Harvest Thursdays.
• Sheets must be turned into Lu Nunnally in person, by text (770-605-6336) or email: Lu10nunnally@gmail.com by 4 p.m. on Fridays. 

*COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS pool to be determined.*

To answer questions some of you may have:

Q. What if I don’t follow college football or know anything about it?
A: You are more than welcome to have a spouse, family member, friend, or even a fellow Rotarian to assist you with your picks. 

Q. What if my team or me, individually, gets way behind and know I/we don’t have a chance to win?
A. It’s a long season and in this new college football era, anything can happen on any given weekend. And with extra points available for team participation and team weekly winners – no one is gonna be out of it!

Play along and make it more fun for everyone!

This Week
Bylaws Vote

Bylaws are the internal rules that govern an organization’s structure, responsibilities, and procedures. The board has spent countless hours reviewing the bylaws to ensure they accurately reflect our current practices, standards, and needs. Have you reviewed the changes? Please review the document here.

Action required: Attend the meeting this week, Thursday, Sept. 3, to vote on the changes to the bylaws. If you have any questions, contact any officer or board member before the vote.

This Week
CNSNext

CNSNext's Ursula Page will present the program at the Thomasville Rotary meeting tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 3).

Wednesday, Sept. 9
Wine or Whine & DG Happy Hour

Please join us next week as we combine Wine or Whine with a happy hour for District Governor Cynthia Edwards. 

When: Wednesday, Sept. 9
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Scott Rich's guest house
Address: 502 E Jefferson St.

RSVP here.
 

Thursday, Sept. 10
Board Meeting

This month's board meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Plaza with District Governor Cynthia Edwards.

All directors and/or their deputies should attend and send reports to their fellow board members at least a day in advance for review. If you have specific items to be added to the agenda, please contact President Joe Tarver ASAP. 

District Governor Cynthia Edwards to Visit

We are pleased to welcome District Governor Cynthia Edwards to Thomasville the week of Sept. 7. Members and friends are invited to participate in several events during her visit.

• Happy Hour — Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Scott Rich's guest house. Register here.
• Board Meeting — Thursday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 at the Plaza with the Thomasville Rotary board.
• Club Meeting — Thursday, Sept. 10. Please join us for the club meeting during the district governor's visit.

Please join us for these events as we welcome District Governor Cynthia Edwards to Thomasville.

Rotary International Convention — Registration Opens Sept. 17

The Rotary International Convention will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from June 26-30, 2027. This global gathering brings Rotarians together for inspiration, fellowship, and learning. The convention website is now live and can be accessed at https://convention.rotary.org/en-us. 

Registration for the convention opens on September 17, 2026. A special promotional discount will be available for five days.

We are pleased to share that our own André Marria is one of two Rotary International Convention Promotion Team Representatives for Zones 33–34. Her role is to help promote the convention and support Rotarians in the region who are planning to participate.

If you are interested in attending the convention, please mark your calendar for the registration opening and the promotional window. Further details about registration and participation will be shared as they become available.

Wednesday, Sept. 16
Coffee Chat

Join us Wednesday, Sept. 16 at Grassroots Coffee anytime between 7:30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. for a cup of coffee and a casual conversation with fellow Rotarians! Stay long enough to enjoy breakfast and get to know your fellow Rotarians better or grab your coffee to go. No agenda, no program.

Thursday, Sept. 17
Second Harvest Sort and Pack

The club will meet on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 11:30 a.m. at Second Harvest Food Bank to sort and pack produce for our monthly food distribution. After we finish packing, enjoy a box lunch with the team or grab one to go.

After a summer break, we resume our produce distribution this month, on Saturday, Sept. 19. 

Friday, Sept. 25
Scott Senior Center Luau

On Friday, Sept. 25, Rotary will host its annual Scott Senior Center luau. Help celebrate community seniors at the event, which also will honor September birthdays at the center. 

Set up begins at 10 a.m. The luau celebration begins at 11 a.m. Connect with Angela Williamson to sign up. Please join us! 

Mark Your Calendars
Rotary Online Auction

Planning is underway for our third annual online auction.

Please consider whether you or your friends and family members have any high-end items that could be added to this year's auction. For example, a large percentage of our proceeds in both 2024 and 2025 came from vacation rentals – do you have access to a phenomenal vacation spot? If so, please connect with Marta Jones-Turner. 

The auction will end on Thursday, Dec. 3 at our annual holiday party. Proceeds from the auction will help fund our club's community service, youth projects and other programs throughout the year. 

Calendar

Calendar is subject to changes. View the full Rotary calendar anytime and:

• Add individual calendar items to your personal calendar.
• Subscribe to the Rotary calendar for automatic updates.

Attend a club meeting via Zoom. Meeting ID: 867 7770 1621