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October 14th Meeting Recap

October 14, 2025 Meeting Summary

President Erik Bykat called the meeting to order and Jonathan Stelling gave our invocation to get our meeting officially started. We had several guests attend today's meeting. Former Fulton County School Board Member Katie Reeves attended as a guest of Marc Gelber and Jim Murphy attended as a guest of Jonathan Stelling. In addition, our speaker, David Allen, brought a couple of his fellow first responders with him: David Febles from the Alpharetta Police Department and Ryan Gibson from the Alpharetta Fire Department. It is always nice to have guests visiting us!

President Elect Dan Jenkins led our Happy Dollars today. A few Happy Dollars of note were:

Carolynn DeSandre - expressed gratitude for her home repairs finally being complete and for being able to participate in the Greenway Mural Project.

President Erik Bykat - rescued a 2 year old Goldendoodle!

Jeff Esterkes - thankful for an amazing trip to Aruba with Regina.

Past President Cliff Wilcox - spent the weekend with 5 high school friends and did some tailgating (he may have still been recovering at our meeting on Tuesday).

Club Updates

Thursday Social on November 6th will be at Lucky's Burger & Brew, 1144 Alpharetta Street, Roswell, 6 pm. Thank you, Mark Hutchins, for organizing our socials. 

Suzanne Swain led our efforts to provide an appreciation dinner to the ER night shift nurses at Wellstar North Fulton. The nurses were so appreciative that we provided a healthy and delicious meal from The Local Woodfire Grill. Steve Cory teed up this project before taking a very lengthy trip to Italy/Croatia/Greece and our friends at the Rotary Club of Roswell brought them dinner one night as well. 

Past President Steve Siders updated the club on the upcoming service opportunities to install peace poles and beautify our Peace Garden at North Park. Please see the story specific to this project later in this newsletter. 

Thomas Nolfa gave a summary of the Greenway Mural Project and expressed gratitude for all the volunteers who helped at the Greenway Mural painting days this year - many of whom volunteered both days. If you have not yet seen this  art, please take a walk on the Greenway to enjoy the work of our talented high school students. 

President Elect Dan Jenkins provided an update on the review of our club bylaws. President Erik has sent an e-mail to all members with the proposed changes so please let Dan know if you have any questions or concerns. These bylaws will be voted on by all members in attendance at our next meeting. 

GUEST SPEAKER

Our guest speaker this week was David Allen, of My Watch Alpharetta. David has served with the Alpharetta Fire Department for more than 20 years and began noticing a pattern among some residents who had become dependent on 911 services for ongoing health and social needs. Recognizing the gap between emergency response and available community resources, he helped launch My Watch Alpharetta - a community paramedicine program designed to bridge the gap and connect residents with the right level of care and support.

The mission of My Watch Alpharetta is simple yet powerful: to sustain quality of life with dignity. 

Community Paramedicine is one of the most progressive developments in modern healthcare and emergency medical services. By expanding the traditional role of EMS providers, the program improves access to primary and preventative care, supports wellness initiatives within the medical home model, reduces emergency department overuse, and ultimately helps save healthcare dollars while improving patient outcomes. 

In addition to medical support, My Watch Alpharetta focuses on Community Risk Reduction - addressing injury prevention and helping residents access essential resources such as mobility aids, lift systems, grab bars and wheelchairs through partnerships with local organizations.  

If you'd like to learn more about this innovative program, consider joining a ride-along with My Watch Alpharetta to see firsthand how they're making a meaningful difference in our community! 

Membership
Prospecting for Rotary Lunch Guests

Featuring Past President Richard Matherly and Past President Cliff Wilcox 

We all know inviting guests to Rotary can feel a little intimidating - but for Richard Matherly and Cliff Wilcox, it comes naturally. Each has developed a knack for sparking conversations, spotting good fits, and turning a casual invite into a great Rotary connection. We asked them to share some of their tips and stories.

When you're talking to someone new, how do you usually bring up Rotary without it feeling like a sales pitch?

Richard keeps it simple and heartfelt:  I usually just say that "You will have a better, healthier, happier life if you get involved with Rotary. You should dig deeper into us to see what Rotary does and how we impact the world."

Cliff takes a more reflective approach:  What's been your experience in doing things in the community? What are your thoughts on giving back to the community?

What kind of people do you think make the best lunch guests - and how do you spot them?

Richard suggests starting with acquaintances:  Just ask acquaintances if they've ever been to a Rotary meeting. If they haven't, tell them they will be your guest to an eye-opening experience.

Cliff looks for people in transition or connection mode:  People who are at other networking events, who are "super busy" and work off a schedule, and/or are recently retired and trying to figure out what makes best sense for their new world. 

Stay tuned - our next newsletter will include more tips from Richard and Cliff on building connections that last.