Newsletter

Aug. 27, 2026
Rotary Core Values

What are Rotary’s Core Values?

1. Service
2. Fellowship
3. Diversity
4. Integrity
5. Leadership

This Week
Ivan Recounts His Year in France

This Thursday, Aug. 27, Ivan Santoyo will recount his year in France. This past academic year, Ivan was a our first-ever Rotary Youth Exchange student who spent his junior year in abroad as a Rotary exchange student. He's back home now and has just started his senior year at Thomas County Central High School. We can't wait to hear all about his year abroad!

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, Aug. 27, to vote on the changes to the bylaws. If you have any questions, contact any officer or board member before the vote.

This Weekend
Rotary | United Way Golf Tournament

The Rotary Club of Thomasville and United Way Golf Classic is this weekend, Saturday, Aug. 29, at Country Oaks Golf Course. We'll need all hands on deck to make the event successful.

2026 Rotary Gridiron Challenge

We are seeking more participation for the gridiron challenge this year so we're launching a new format:

Rotary Men vs. Rotary Women

Here's the format:

• 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 who has 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!

Thursday, Sept. 3
CNSNext

Representatives from CNSNext will present the program at the Thomasville meeting on Thursday, Sept. 3.

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.

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