This Week's Speaker
Sally Bethea, Chattahoochee River Keepers

Join us this Friday at the Embassy Suites to welcome Sally Bethea, the retired founding director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. This environmental advocacy organization was established in 1994 with a mission is to protect and restore the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries and watershed.

Sally has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Georgia Tech—as well as more than forty years of experience in environmental issues and nonprofit management. After retiring in 2014, Sally taught a graduate course in water resources planning at Georgia Tech for six years.

Since 2015, she has written a monthly column for Atlanta INtown paper called "Above the Waterline." She is also the author of an environmental memoir called Keeping the Chattahoochee, published by the University of Georgia Press, which has been named a 2024 Book All Georgians Should Read (GA Center for the Book). 

Sally will have copies of her book, Keeping the Chattahoochee, available for purchase at $25 each. She accepts cash, checks, or Venmo payments (no credit cards, please).

Getting to Know You
Matthew Johnson: Music, Mountains, Making a Difference

Our president elect, Matthew Johnson, is fresh back from summer vacation where his family spent a week in New England. The photo shows Matthew, his wife, Jill, and their daughters, Loren and Abigail, while hiking in Acadia National Park. He managed to only bill about 2.5 hours to his law firm that week which is the real sign that he was on vacation.

 Matthew started his career as a music teacher for 15 years when he decided to start law school. He continued teaching full time and spent the next four years attending Georgia State University College of Law part time. He has practiced law since 2015, focusing on domestic relations and family law. Matthew enjoys being a lawyer but misses the annual rhythm of the school schedule with winter vacations and starting with a new batch of kids each fall.

 Shortly after becoming an attorney, Matthew realized he had more flexibility in his schedule and wanted to connect more with his local community. He reached out to his neighborhood's Facebook group and asked if anyone was familiar with a local Rotary club. He joined our club in September 2020 during the middle of COVID.

 Matthew's favorite club activity has been preparing the books for Dresden. He wants our club to perform more projects like preparing books for Dresden or backpacks for Tapestri, enjoyable activities where members get together, form connections, and complete the entire project.

Editor's Note: Sometimes we get to working so hard, we don't take time to get to know the people we're spending time with; that's why Dave Burr has decided to share more about our members in the bulletin. If you'd like to write a profile, send it to Jackie Cuthbert at cuthbert@mindspring.com