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WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES
YEARS OF SERVICE
Rotary Onlinehttps://thomasvillerotary.org
ROTARY CLUB OFThursdays, 12:15 pm |
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| President | Mary Beth Donalson |
| President-Elect | Marta Turner |
| Treasurer | Warren Ballard |
| Secretary | Anna Lee |
| Foundation | Julie Carter |
| Membership | Angela Williamson |
| Public Image | Shanna Skeen |
Directors
| Service Projects | Barbara Williams-Anderson |
| Youth Service | Chandler Giddes |
| Admin | Copper Comita |
Leadership
A Message From Our President
December...the last month of the calendar year. What does it mean to you? To me, it means a time for reflection on all the great things the Rotary Club of Thomasville has done thus far and a time to look forward to all the great things our club will continue to do in 2024. Our monthly Fresh for You Market has been a huge blessing to the Thomasville community and will continue to be with the great support we've received from local businesses and non-profits alike. Continued projects where we support our Local Heroes and Have a Heart for Seniors. From the smallest project to our largest project, every little engagement with our community leaves a mark on this community. I thank you all for your continued support and we celebrate our successes together as we move into a new year.
District 6900
District Update
WELCOMING OUR DISTRICT GOVERNOR BACK HOME
Our very own Thomasville Rotarian and District Governor of Rotary District 6900, Andre' Marria, along with her husband Walter came back home for an official visit earlier last month. The official District Governor visit was a day filled with a Rotary Club of Thomasville board meeting, a heartwarming cookout at Thomasville Police Department to honor our local heroes, and a beautiful District Governor Reception at The Business Exchange of Thomasville where delicious catering by JB Crumbs and delightful piano music by Thomas University created the perfect atmosphere; Andre' even treated us to a special song performance! Even if it was just for a short while, we're so grateful to have had Andre' and Walter back with us; thank you both for your dedication to Rotary District 6900, our club, and Rotary International!
To view photos from this official visit, click HERE.
DISTRICT NEWSLETTER COVERAGE
We are featured in December’s District Newsletter this month covering our Big Impact Community Project efforts. To view the District newsletter for December and read the full article, click HERE.
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (RLI) 1/14/24
RLI is coming up in January! The course is mandatory for all new members and participation is encouraged for all members. To learn more about the upcoming Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) and course schedule, click HERE.
DISTRICT CONFERENCE 3/21-24/2024
Have you registered for District Conference, March 21-24, 2024?! Early birds get special rates! Join us as we Amplify Rotary and feature the Lady with a Song, none other than our District Governor André Marria at the beautiful Jekyll Island Convention Center. Several hotels on the island have room blocks reserved through February 21, 2024. Jekyll Island is booming, so you are encouraged to book your hotel room NOW! Once our room blocks are sold there is no guarantee that additional room nights will be added. For more information on registration, room blocks, and the conference in general, click HERE.
Foundation
Foundation Update
LEARN ABOUT OUR CLUB’S EFFORTS
Our Foundation chairs work tirelessly with club members to promote annual giving to the RI Foundation’s various programs and to the Georgia Rotary Student Program Foundation. Half of all funds raised by the club for the TRF return to the club three years later to be used to fund projects within our community. The remaining dollars are used by the RI foundation to support its many mission in the pursuit of peace, world understand and improvement in the quality of lives around the globe.Rotary Club of Thomasville partners with Rotary Clubs across the globe to fund international projects through Global Grants which improve the lives of people whom we have never met who find themselves far less fortunate than we are. Most recently our projects have impacted the elderly in India and orphans in Serbia.Each year Rotary Club of Thomasville requests funds through the District Grant process to fund local projects which primarily focus on the education of young children in Thomasville with the ultimate goal of improving the local high school graduation rate. The club also supports literacy in Thomasville through the Southwest Georgia Literacy Grant when available.
100% PARTICIPATION + GIVING GOAL MET
District Governor Andre’ Marria honored Past President Danny Braddy during her official visit last month for reaching our goal and continuing our 100% Participation annual giving for another year. Great job Danny and club!
OUR CURRENT ANNUAL GIVING STATUS
Our goal this year is to give $30,000 before June 2024. Starting December, our club’s actual giving year to date sits around $8,000. Want to know how you can contribute? Contact Rotarians Julie Carter and/or Fran Milberg.
Membership
Membership Update
NEW MEMBER WELCOME
Join us in welcoming our newest member to the club, Rotarian Austin Finch. Austin was inducted into the Rotary Club of Thomasville during last week’s meeting. Austin is sponsored by Rotarian Joe Brown. He specializing in mortgage banking and is currently employed at Stonebridge First Financial Group. He is married to his wife, Lindsey, enjoys UNC Sports, “Dad”ing, and spending time with family and friends.
MEMBERSHIP GUIDE NOW ONLINE
You will now find the Rotary Club of Thomasville’s Membership Guide under “Members” within the Resource Library of our website. Members must be signed into our site in order to access the Resource Library. Once signed into your account, you can view and download the guide directly by clicking HERE.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBERS NEEDED
WINE OR WHINE during the holiday season
Rotary Club of Thomasville turned The Business Exchange of Thomasville into a festive “Wine or Whine" social event yesterday evening. The theme was "ugly holiday attire" and showcased an amazing display of fun and quirky holiday outfits. The refreshments were a delightful mix of creativity and the holiday spirit filled the room while we mingled, laughed, and talked about Rotary. If you missed out, no worries, we plan to host another Wine or Whine again starting back in February…theme to be announced in the coming weeks. To check out some of the fun photos, click HERE.
ORANGE YOU GLAD YOU ATTENDED IN OCTOBER?
If you missed October’s Wine or Whine social, “orange” you disappointed? The theme last month was “Orange you glad you joined Rotary” and was an orange colored success! To check out the full post and fun photos, click HERE.
NOVEMBER WAS A HOMECOMING TO REMEMBER
November’s Wine or Whine social date was moved to Thomas University’s Homecoming weekend. With so many TU alumni in our club, participating in Thomas University’s Alumni Association’s Homecoming Tailgate party did not disappoint and was a great way to show our community what we are about! To check out the full post and fun photos, click HERE.
NO WINE OR WHINE IN JANUARY
Community Services
Community Services Update
OUR ‘BIGGEST’ IMPACT TO DATE!
This past month , Rotary Club of Thomasville made the BIGGEST IMPACT to date since starting our “FRESH FOR YOU - Free Produce Market” project in partnership with Second Harvest of South Georgia and the Marguerite Neel Williams Boys & Girls Clubs by serving 396 households today! WOW! Thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work Friday and this morning! We are thrilled to see this project grow while making a difference in the community we serve!
To view the full post and photos, click HERE. To view the District Newsletter coverage on this story, click HERE.
ROTARY AT SECOND HARVEST 12/14
We had a great turnout at Second Harvest last month! We will pack and sort fruit and vegetables at Second Harvest starting 11:30AM until 1PM on Thursday, December 14th in preparation for the next Produce Market the following Saturday. Lunch will be served. To view the calendar event, click HERE.
FRESH FOR YOU: FREE PRODUCE MARKET 12/16
Our next produce market will take place this day from 8:30-10:30AM (or until we run out) at Weston Park on Felix Street. To view the calendar event, click HERE.
Please reach out to Rotarian Marta Turner Jones if you are interested in volunteering for this Big Impact Community Project!
A LONG STANDING TRADITION WITH VASHTI
November 16th marked a special day for the Rotary Club of Thomasville as we continued our cherished tradition at the Vashti Center for Children and Families. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a delightful meal courtesy of Vashti - a heartfelt thank you to them! To those who brought donations for Vashti, thank you for your generosity. Together, we're making a positive impact in the lives of many. To learn more about the Vashti Center's incredible work, click HERE.
To view the full post and photos, click HERE.
$50K RAISED DURING GOLF CLASSIC EFFORTS
HONORING OUR LOCAL HEROES COOKOUT
RING THE BELL FOR SALVATION ARMY
It’s that time of year again! If you are interested in volunteering to “ring the bell” for the Salvation Army as a Rotarian, please reach out to Rotarian Tom Everett ASAP!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS 12/10
Calling on volunteers and dessert makers THIS SUNDAY! Each year our club prepares a holiday meal for the 1230th Transportation Company. This year the event will be held at the Armory on Sunday, December 10th. We will start serving at 11:30AM and are in need of Rotarians to assist with serving this day! If you are available, please reach out to Rotarian Warren Ballard ASAP!
ROTARY HAS HEART FOR SENIORS PLANNING IN ACTION
As a club, we pledged to touch our seniors once a quarter. This quarter, we will be mailing holiday cards created by kids (thanks to Rotarian Susie Shin and the Hands & Hearts for Horses volunteers.) Our seniors love to receive letters in the mail. Rotarian Angela Williamson will bring these to the next Rotary meeting for our club’s assistance. You are welcome to add your own special message to the card.
We are also getting ready for our Valentine Party by gathering information from our seniors about what they might like as a Valentine gift. We are going back to our original idea of asking the community for their help. Much like the Christmas Angel trees, we will create Rotary Has Heart for Seniors trees with heart ornaments that have the name of a local senior and a gift idea for Valentine's Day. A community member purchases the item, wraps the item, and we collect all the gifts before giving a wonderful Valentine Day party at the Scott Senior Center. Trees will be displayed with heart ornaments starting the first week of January. We encourage you to choose your own senior to make smile on Valentine's Day. We will also need volunteers on Valentine's Day as we host the party.
We need Rotarian volunteers to help execute our 2024 plans successfully (as outlined below):
First Quarter - Mail invitation to Valentine Party
Second Quarter - Mail a thank you for joining us & possibly a photo to each senior
Third Quarter - Host monthly birthday party
Fourth Quarter - Mail holiday cards
Please reach out to Rotarian Angela Williamson if you are interested in joining the Rotary Has Heart For Seniors committee!
Youth Services
Youth Services Update
STUDENT OF THE MONTH RECOGNITION
A round of applause for Chandler Giddes, our Youth Services Director, who honored Rotary’s 'Students of the Month' from Thomasville High School, Thomas County Central High School, and Brookwood School for the months of August through November. These remarkable students demonstrate exceptional leadership, community service, and academic excellence, truly embodying the Rotary's core values.
To view photos and the full post, click HERE. To view the article in the Thomasville-Times Enterprise this past weekend, click HERE.
SAFEDRIVE IS EVOLVING FOR TODAY’S YOUTH
SafeDrive is underway and Youth Services Director, Chandler Giddes, has already started visiting schools this Rotary year. A new addition to our SafeDrive initiative is now available - QR code leave behind cards! In an effort to evolve with today’s youth, students can now scan a business size card with a smart device to be lead directly to the SafeDrive site. If you are interested in joining the SafeDrive committee, please reach out to Rotarian Chandler Giddes.
ROTARY RAFFLE SUCCESS
Congratulations to Rotarian John Comita for winning the Rotary Raffle drawing this year! (We sure hope Copper enjoys spending your winnings…wink, wink!)
Funds raised go toward our Youth Service projects. Actual funds raised for this year’s raffle will be announced at a later date. For questions in regard to the raffle, please contact Rotarian Copper Comita.
