This Week's Program


Dr. Johnson served as a senior executive within the Trump Administration overseeing the nation’s $1.6 trillion student loan program that affects 44 million Americans and their families, including 1.8 million citizens of Georgia.

Dr. Johnson holds both an earned Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and a Masters in Business Administration. He is also an accomplished and successful private sector executive. He considers his time working in Washington as highly challenging and professionally rewarding. Dr. Johnson is not a politician, and considers himself fortunate to have been allowed to be a public servant in the Federal Government of the United States of America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, an Eagle Scout and a product of Georgia’s education system. He makes his home in Macon, Georgia.

News from the Board

• We are ready to resume regular weekly meetings at the Plaza. If all goes well with a trial run of the technology this week, the goal is to start gathering at the Plaza on Thursday, September 24. Members who cannot or do not wish to meet at the Plaza will still be able to attend virtually via ZOOM. Stay tuned for more on this next week.

• The kickoff for GRSP is set for October, and the Foundation kickoff will take place in November. More info to come in the weeks ahead.

• Board members are entering into a Covenant Agreement… acknowledging their responsibility to serve our club and its members with honor and integrity and to fulfill their leadership roles in a manner which – to the best of their ability – is consistent with the Object of Rotary and which reflects the ethics and values expressed in the 4-Way Test.

• As part of its commitment to elevate the stature and importance of the 4-Way Test in all aspects of our club, the Board approved an expanded role for the 4-Way Test Committee, giving it responsibility for disciplinary reviews triggered by Code of Conduct violations.

• The Rotary lunch vouchers are working extremely well. 57 vouchers had been used as of last week. Members are urged to take advantage of this convenient way to enjoy a restaurant meal. Simply show up and present your voucher for either takeout or eat-in dining. Call-in orders are welcome.

• The pandemic has imposed extreme hardships on many local businesses and organizations. Consistent with President John’s local emphasis this Rotary year, the Board approved a $500 donation to our local YMCA.

Summary from Last Week

Thanks goes out to Angela Williamson for continuing to be creative with presenting God Bless America. Please keep the family of Honorary member of the Rotary Club of Thomasville Mary Hogan Collins in your thoughts and prayers. We want to also remember that John Glenn is recovering from surgery.

Florida State University Film School professor Valerie Scoon was the meeting program speaker. Professor Scoon shed light on the medical profession from the viewpoint of women. It was pointed out that many of the challenges women faced in the medical profession years ago, are still obstacles today. Much progress has been made, but we still have some distant to go to find equality.

Professor Scoon highlighted African American Dr. Eliza Ann Grier. Despite being an emancipated slave with little money or education, through determination and faith, Dr. Grier graduated from Fisk University and the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. This was during a time when women in general were not encouraged to get an education, not to mention become a doctor. Dr. Grier became the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Georgia. In 1901, she moved to Thomasville and took in patients at an office at 731 N. Madison St. Her office sign informed residents: Dr. Eliza A. Grier, Physician and Surgeon, With Special Attention to Women and Children. When she died of a stroke at the untimely age of 40, articles in The Times-Enterprise described her as a much-loved figure in town, known for her fine solo voice as well as her medical expertise.

As President John Brown reminds us each week,