U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall will speak on “The State of Georgia in the 7^th District” at the May 2 Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett meeting. The club typically meets weekly on Wednesdays for lunch at noon at the Home Plate Club at Coolray Field, 2500 Buford Drive.

Lunch and Congressman Woodall’s presentation are open to the public. Please contact Dawn Pogue at 678/533-2206 or dawn.pogue@gmail.com by Tuesday, May 1, if you plan to attend so that an accurate head count may be given to caterers. The cost for lunch is $10.

Rima Gedeon is the Buford/North Gwinnett Club's Georgia Rotary Student for 2011-12. A 19-year-old from near Beirut, Lebanon, Rima is attending Brenau University in Gainesville this year, where she is studying accounting. Rima says that her twin sister is the "courageous" one in the family. Mmmm...don't know about that.

Rima's host family is Carolyn and Wayne Hill. When not in school, she's doing community service works and enjoying some traveling around the country. 

See more photos of Rima in the photo album at the bottom of this page. 

Interact students at North Gwinnett High School (NGHS) have constructed nearly 2,500 devices that will help ensure safer water in Africa. On October 1, and December 10, groups of about 40 Interact students and NGHS Student Council members have spent thier Saturday cutting, drilling, crimping, and assembling as part of a team effort to make WAPIs - or water pasteurization indicators. WAPIs provide people in undeveloped and ravaged parts of the world with access to safer drinking water by serving as simple thermometers that eliminate the need to boil water in order to ensure safety.

In January, these WAPIs will be distributed through the How Far Foundation to villages in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and perhaps to Uganda.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see more photos.  

Many thanks to the approximately 100 golfers who participated in the November ClubCorp Charity Golf Classic at Bear's Best Atlanta. The tournament brought in more than $25,000 to benefit the Buford/North Gwinnett Rotary Club as well as the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and ClubCorp Employee Partner Foundation. The Rotary Club will receive more than $7,500 from the event.

More than 100 clubs throughout the country hosted Charity Classic events last year with a goal of raising more than $2 million for MDA’s Augie’s Quest and many other nonprofit organizations.

Several handy Buford/North Gwinnett Rotary members worked together recently to build a wheelchair ramp for a local polio survivor. A rickety, narrow ramp was replaced at the survivor's home with a sturdier, wider, and more gently sloped ramp with a larger porch. The ramp will make everyday life a little safer and easier for the recipient.

Special thanks to Lee Smith with LS Remodeling for his expert assistance and to ProBuild for the donation of lumber and materials. 

Scroll to the bottom of this homepage to see the photo album. 

District Governor Bill St. Clair visited the Buford/North Gwinnett Rotary Club August 3 to share his theme for the year: Participate in Rotary. You’ll Be Glad You Did. He also asked members if they knew the definition of insanity.

The Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett is having to make a little more room in its trophy case. The club brought home eight awards, including Small Club of the Year, from the recent 6910 District Conference held in Asheville, NC, at the end of April.

“We’re very proud to have received recognition at the District Conference,” says Club President Tyler Phillips. “This cache of awards underscores what we’ve been saying all year – that though we may be a small club in numbers, we’re mighty when it comes to making a difference in the community.”

The Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett recently recognized Interact students at North Gwinnett High School for their contributions to the club's efforts to put "service above self" into practice. The students have, since this fall, helped make more than 1,800 WAPIs (water pasteurization indicators) to assist people in undeveloped and ravaged parts of the world access safer drinking water. Many of the WAPIs have already made their way to Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The students dedicated two full Saturdays, one in October and one in February, to making the WAPIs.

In December, Interact members helped Buford/North Gwinnett Rotary members staff the Salvation Army kettle over two weekends at the Mall of Georgia. In four days of bell-ringing, students and club members brought in $1,863.80 for the Salvation Army, the second largest total collected by a group in Gwinnett. With funds collected this holiday season, the local Salvation Army was able to assist 862 families (more than 4,000 individuals, of which, 2,096 were children). 

In this photo taken at North Gwinnett High School are, from left to right:

Back Row: Leo Lawrenson, Valerie Dirksen, Melanie Lumpkin, Interact Sponsor Michelle Mullis, Interact Club President Shakerra Henry, Buford/North Gwinnett Rotary President Tyler Phillips, and Assistant Vice Principal Laura Beth Short. In the front row are: Alante Miller, Precious Turner, Bri-Anna Barchue, and Chanel Mickens.