October 14th Meeting RecapOctober 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 GuestsFeaturing 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.
Peace Pole Installation and North Park Garden Work DaysSubmitted by Steve Siders, Club Secretary and Project Chair for North Park Peace Garden As a reminder, our club was successful in seeking a grant to enhance our Peace Garden (rebranded from Reflection Garden) with new plantings, mulch and a second peace pole. In addition, this grant includes installing a peace pole and bench at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital. We have several Saturday dates in the coming weeks where you can get involved and lend a hand as we build and install these 2 peace poles in addition to installing a new garden entrance at North Park. Assume a 9 am or 10 am start time each day with 1-3 hours of work (depending on the day). October 25th: Immediate Past President Rick Clark will need 1-3 volunteers to help build 2 peach poles at the home of Past District Governor Gordon Owens November 1st: Immediate Past President Rick Clark will need 2-5 volunteers to help install 1 peach pole, some pavers and a bench, as well as a sign at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital November 8th: Past President Steve Siders will need 5-8 volunteers to do various tasks at North Park (those who have pickaxes and shovels will be in high demand)! November 15th: Past President Steve Siders will need 6-12 volunteers to help dig holes and install new plants at North Park (bring your shovels). Contact Rick at (704) 807-0083 regarding October 25 and November 1st, and Steve at (678) 488-3545 regarding November 8th and 15th. 
Operation Christmas ChildThank you for your generous donations of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes last year - Rotary Club of North Fulton donated 32 filled shoeboxes! The Operation Christmas Child Shoebox program was started by Samaritan's Purse in 1993, and in 2024, close to 12 million filled shoeboxes were collected and delivered to children all over the world. At our next lunch meeting on October 28th, we will have shoeboxes available for you to take and fill, and then we will collect the filled boxes at our lunch meeting on November 11th. Instructions for filling the boxes according to gender and age groups will be provided (everyone can choose the gender and age groups they would like to buy gifts for). Thank you for supporting this wonderful cause, and if you have any questions, please feel free to call me (Joy) at (770) 715-5422. 
Score for Polio Plus FundraiserSubmitted by Doug Higgins, Foundation Chair It was another exciting football weekend. More exciting for some than others but whether your team won or not, Rotary won! President Erik and his Oregon Ducks slipped to second place as Past President Richard and his double teaming with Denmark HS Flag Football and Oconee High pushed him to $352! Jonathon and his Falcons are coming up fast and he is now in third place at $275, squeaking by Kathleen's Fighting Irish at $274 and moving Past President Lisa and her Baylor Bears to fifth place with $254. Your generosity in support of The Rotary Foundation Polio Plus fund has been more than hoped, with pledges totaling almost $4,000. Our goal for the entire season was $3500 and there is a lot of football yet to be played. Our club has typically donated between $1,500 and $2,000, so $3,500 is a big increase. We have also been very generous supporters of the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund, which supports District and Global Grants. Our board has agreed that funds over $3500 should be directed to the Annual Fund. Therefore, it was proposed that the first $175 of your pledge be donated to Polio Plus and any amount over that be donated to the Annual Fund. World Polio Day is this week, on October 24th and it would be amazing of some (or all) of our Score for Polio Plus participants would make some of their donation on that day. (If you do not "owe" $175 at this point in the season, you can donate what you do owe to date.) If you do make an online donation this week, please let me (Doug) know the amount. Here is the link to donate: https://my.rotary.org/en/donate You can also give me a check payable to The Rotary Foundation and I will ensure the donation is credited to your account. Thanks for your generous support of the Foundation and please let me know if you have any questions, (404) 401-2094. 
Companion Club UpdateReminder that our companion club meeting for October was shifted to the fourth Thursday, on October 23rd at Thrive, 44 Milton Avenue, Alpharetta (located above Minnie Olivia Pizza) at 6:30 pm. The normal meeting date is the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm, same location. If you have any questions, please reach out to Joseph Powell, (912) 662-2246.
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