Giving Thanks by Giving
Rotarians, this past Monday you brought more food than I think we have ever collected in a single meeting — about a dozen grocery bags’ worth, enough to build ten Thanksgiving baskets for ten families of our Horizons Atlanta scholars at Galloway, AIS, and The Temple. Ten families who will sit down to a full table because this club showed up. Thank you.
Now let’s make it more. Next Monday, November 16, we assemble those baskets together at the meeting. If you brought something, bring one more bag. If you didn’t, this is your Monday. Stuffing, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, boxed potatoes, pie filling — anything that belongs on a Thanksgiving table and keeps without a refrigerator. Ten baskets is a good start. Twelve or fifteen would be better, and I think we have it in us.
This past Monday also gave us a special moment. Army Major General David R. Bockel (Ret.) stood before the club on the eve of Veterans Day and asked every veteran in the room to rise. They did and it was a wonderful moment. To each of you who served: this club is grateful, and we’re proud you call it home.
Next Monday carries one of our quieter traditions. Once a year, just before Thanksgiving, we invite a speaker from one of our faith communities to address the club. Whatever your own tradition, it’s a chance to pause and remember what the Four-Way Test asks of us before the holiday rush takes over. This year we welcome Dr. Rev. Richard Kannwischer of Peachtree Presbyterian, and I’d ask that you fill the room. Then we celebrate Thanksgiving together as a club — baskets packed, grace said, and a few extra chairs at the table.
Beyond our walls, several Buckhead Rotarians attended the Street Grace fundraiser hosted by Jeff Foxworthy and Ernie Johnson. Buckhead Rotary was a sponsor, and the evening helped raise more than $800,000 to end human trafficking in Georgia. That’s your dues and your Foundation Benefit dollars at work on one of the hardest problems in our city, and it’s worth knowing where they go.
And we grew again. Please welcome Pamela Monastra, Founder of Next Step Strategic Consulting, who received her red badge on Monday. Pamela, you’ve joined on a week that shows exactly who we are. Find a seat next to someone you don’t know yet and ask them what their favorite Buckhead Rotary moment has been. You’ll be adding your own soon.
See you Monday. Bring a friend, bring a bag of groceries, and bring your appetite for a club that gives thanks by giving.
Yours in Rotary,
Jeff Clark
President
