Our meeting on August 11 was full of energy and happy dollars.

• Joe Leone celebrated officiating his son’s wedding at Wolf Mountain Vineyard over the weekend.
• Stacy Georges expressed gratitude to the club for supporting Tom after the unexpected loss of his twin brother.
• Joy Manbeck gave happy dollars to celebrate the induction of new member Flore Zambou and to honor Mike Mudd on his 25th Rotary anniversary.
• Bob MacDonald is celebrating his 47th wedding anniversary and spent time with the 21 inbound RYE students at their recent orientation.
• Mike Mudd told the story of how he became a member of North Fulton Rotary 25 years ago (if you weren’t in attendance, ask him to share it with you).

As noted at the meeting, Mike Mudd celebrated his 25th anniversary as a North Fulton Rotarian on April 7, 2026. The club presented Mike with a 25th anniversary pin and a RCNF-branded baseball hat as a reminder of the friendships he has in the club and the gratitude we feel toward him.

We were also thrilled to induct Flore Zambou as a new member, sponsored by Joy Manbeck. Flore was most recently a member of the Johns Creek - North Fulton club, which dissolved in June. She is originally from Cameroon, where her parents were founding members of a Rotary club. Flore works as a Real Estate Broker and her husband practices real estate litigation law (hopefully Flore has never needed to engage his services!). We look forward to serving alongside Flore and getting to know her better.

Our guest speaker was Dr. Ralph Peeler from the North Atlanta Rotary Club, accompanied by Jon Yaeger. North Atlanta Rotary is in year 4 of a planned 5-year global grant project to reduce the number of spina bifida births in Ethiopia. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect where the spinal column and backbone fail to close completely during the first month of pregnancy; approximately 70–80% of cases are attributed to low folic acid.

The project focuses on providing folate tablets to mothers who have already given birth to one child with spina bifida, since these women are about 10 times more likely to have another baby with spina bifida. Since the project began, 3,500 women have been enrolled and there have been 113 pregnancies within this group, with only one baby born with spina bifida to date. Long term, Ethiopia plans to add folate to the salt supply to ensure adequate intake across the population. In the meantime, the global grant continues to educate women about folate and ensure it is available to those at highest risk.

It was a meaningful meeting—full of personal milestones, warm welcomes, and a powerful example of Rotary service in the world.