Northlake RC History
The Northlake Rotary Club was begun in the fall of 1973 as a result of the Decatur Rotary Club’s decision to sponsor a new club in the rapidly developing Northlake area. Northlake Mall was a couple of years old and there were new office buildings and retail developments that offered a good member base for a new club. Joe Puett, a Decatur Rotarian, was assigned the job of finding potential members and getting the new club started.
Northlake Rotary Club was officially chartered as a new club in April 1974 with 29 charter members. As of 2009, there are four original charter members still active in the club. Membership has been as high as 70 and now stands at 52 in 2010. Meetings were initially held at El Chico’s restaurant in Northlake Mall. Other meeting locations have included the Northlake Hilton, Northlake Sheraton, Perimeter North Inn, Ramada Plaza, Northlake Radisson, and Smoke Rise Country Club. Since April 2008 our Thursday noon meetings are held at the Northlake Doubletree Hotel on La Vista Road.
Northlake Rotary has been involved in many worthwhile projects during its 37 years of existence. The New Generations avenue of the club has sponsored as many as five Interact Clubs in DeKalb high schools and currently sponsors three. In Community and Vocational Service the club supports the CHRIS foster homes with assistance in maintenance needs and an annual Halloween party, the DeKalb Abused Children’s Shelter with maintenance and construction help, Habitat for Humanity with construction help, the Red Cross Blood Drives with registration, plastics, and refreshments help, Medshare with sorting and packing medical supplies, Senior Connections with maintenance help, Boy Scouts with Scout Show judging, Teacher Appreciation with apples for each DeKalb teacher in our area, High School Driver Education with judging of driving skills, AIDS awareness for High School students, Community Immunization Projects, Family of Refugees Services, and leadership involvement in the Northlake Community Alliance. Many other projects have been done over the years and the club is always looking for new ways to help the community.
In the International Service Avenue, Northlake Rotary has been one of Rotary District 6900’s leading contributors to the Rotary Foundation, an outstanding philanthropic arm of Rotary International. Since 1975 the club has co-sponsored a foreign student to come study for a year at a local college under the Georgia Rotary Student Program. Many complicated international projects have been accomplished such as collecting, packing, and shipping medical supplies to Soviet Georgia and dental equipment and supplies to Mexico. A group of club members helped organize an Operation Smile mission in Honduras, to operate on young people with facial deformities such as cleft palate. In 2006 a group of Northlake volunteers helped build a Habitat for Humanity home in Honduras. The current project Living Water is contributing funds to help get water wells dug in remote villages in Africa.
Also, through Northlake Rotary, college students may apply to compete for Ambassadorial Scholarships, which provide for one year of study in a foreign country. Northlake has been proud to have several of its applicants selected for this honor. Group Study Exchange Teams and Friendship Exchanges are other activities in which Northlake has participated.
Northlake Rotary is also proud of its work in sponsoring the West DeKalb Rotary Club in 1989. This new club was formed through the efforts of a team of Northlake members who visited businesses in the North Druid Hills - I-85 area to find prospective members. Although a small club, West DeKalb, now named Brookhaven, has accomplished a great deal and was honored during 2002-2003 as the home club of the District 6900 District Governor, Tom Kent, Jr.
As a result of the efforts that Northlake Rotary has made during its 37 years, it has been recognized by District 6900 as one of the leading clubs in the district. Four times it has been selected as the best club in its size category and four times as runner-up best club at the annual District Conference. The members of Northlake Rotary are proud of its past and look forward to many more years of outstanding service opportunities for the community and the world. We are always looking for good men and women who want to join with us in fellowship and service.
Nadine Jbeily
