Galleria-Northwest Atlanta Kiwanis Club

10/06/2025

At our September 3, 2025 club meeting we were very fortunate to have with us Ms. Lami Ojezua, principal at Scott Elementary School. She is new in this role at Scott. We have been partnering with Scott for over 25 years.

Here is a bit about Principal Ojezua, from the Scott website.

"Since joining Atlanta Public Schools in 2007, Ms. Ojezua has served with excellence in numerous capacities, including teacher, Turnaround Specialist, Instructional Coach, Continuous Improvement Coordinator, Assistant Principal, and most recently, Interim Principal. She was honored as the 2024 Assistant Principal of the Year for Atlanta Public Schools. Ms. Ojezua has shown a strong and consistent dedication to supporting the growth of both students and teachers, with a clear emphasis on improving student achievement at William J. Scott Elementary School. She is excited to lead this work with the support and collaboration of families and the community."

Her presentation to our club is at the link below. She is an impressive leader. We thank her for taking time from her very busy schedule to be with us.

Speaker program of the Galleria/Northwest Atlanta Kiwanis Club for September 3, 2025. The speaker is Lami Ojezua, Principal of William J. Scott Elementary Sc...

10/06/2025

At our October 1, 2025, club meeting we conducted our installation of the FY 26 officers. Presiding over the installation ceremony was our new Lt. Governor Brenda Smith, from the Northside Kiwanis Club. Pete Graybill attended in a dual capacity, as our former Lt. Governor and to once again be installed at Club Secretary. Victoria Booth was sorn into her second term as Club President. And Allan McCurry was sorn in as Club President Elect. We thank our new Lt. Governor, Brenda, for being with us on this celebratory day. We also thank all our officers for their service past, present and future.

10/05/2025

On Monday September 29, 2025 we hosted our annual golf tournament. We had 43 golfers playing and donating to our various activities that support children. We thank all of those who attended. We also thank our tournament sponsors. They contributed to the success of our event in a very tangible and meaningful way. Thank you!

04/24/2025

At our April 23, 2025 club meeting we were fortunate to have a short lesson on the Civil War action around Kennesaw Mountain. Our "story teller" was Amanda Corman, Park Ranger at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Her recounting of this history was very informative. Amanda also provided us with much useful information about the park and its offerings. She left us wanting more!

Find out more about this sole National Park in GA here. https://www.nps.gov/kemo/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Please see the video of our meeting here. https://youtu.be/3nYu6VuW4kw

04/13/2025

Pete Graybill, Club Secretary, welcomes Allen McCurry, our newest member. Allen is the owner and president of ARM Financial Services. He firm serves the financial needs of US-based companies. Welcome Allen!

On April 2, 2025 we had a business meeting as we welcomed Allen. Our meeting video is here.

https://youtu.be/ETpI2HFxhfs

04/02/2025

On March 29, 2025 AMIS hosted an International Tea. Attendees enjoyed beverage tastings from around the world, along with curated snacks prepared and presented by teams of AMIS international students. Giovanna Maropo, a Brazilian voice student at GSU, performed. This was an opportunity to meet special international students from around the world as they shared their stories and information about their cultures. Club Member Roy Conradi represented our club at this event.

Our club has been working with and supporting AMIS for about the last 30 years. This tea was also an occasion to thank and wish good tidings to Irene Wong, the Executive Director. Irene is departing AMIS for another nonprofit opportunity in Atlanta. Camille Kesler is the next Executive Director.

Learn more about AMIS here.
https://www.amisatlanta.org

03/30/2025

On March 26, 2025, we had a pictorial visit to Victoria'a "farm yard". Victoria is our president this year. She lives about an hour and twenty minutes from our meeting place, and her homestead has about seven acres. There is a creek that runs through the property, making it a truly bucolic scene. Now, here is the special part. On her property Victoria and her husband care for about 40 chickens, four goats, four pigs, several ducks, two turkeys, etc. Who knew! Victoria shared pictures with us of her "critters". She even brought with her Clyde, her bantam rooster. You can meet Clyde in the pictures below.

Thank you Victoria for sharing with us!

Please see our video of this meeting!

https://youtu.be/JVrMrkgiKmM

03/14/2025

Our March 12, 2025 meeting went to the dogs - to a therapy dog! We were fortunate to have with us once again Paula Pinyan and her therapy dog, Joy. Paula works for Paws for Life USA.

Paula had a 42-year career as a registered nurse. She worked in critical care for 20+ years then earned a master’s degree in business administration and transitioned to the hospital administration side of healthcare. After retiring in 2020, she wanted to pursue her longtime dream of animal therapy. She contacted Kimberly Brenowitz (Founder of Paws for Life USA) to discuss the process and get help in finding the right dog. Her dream included finding a shelter dog and give it a great life as a therapy animal. Next came JOY.

After a year of training with Paws For Life, the two earned their Pet Partners registration as a therapy team and have been actively visiting ever since. Paula is also a licensed Pet Partners Team Evaluator.

You can learn about Paws for Life USA here. https://pawsforlifeusa.org/home

See the video of our meeting here.
https://youtu.be/cfkoJktAr9c

03/10/2025

One of the many activities our club participates in to support Scott Elementary and its community is to lend our time and effort to the local Food Bank and its operation. Here are two club members, Roy and Brian, hard at it last week.

03/09/2025

At our March 5, 2025 meeting we enthusiastically welcomed Wiley Ballard, our guest and speaker. Wiley is a television/radio sportscaster with extensive experience at a variety of levels. He has appeared on Fan Duel Sports Network, ACC Network & SEC Network Digital, the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, the Georgia Tech Sports Network and several other platforms.

Here are several recent highlights:

- 2024 NSMA Georgia Sportscaster of the Year
- Dugout Reporter for Braves Baseball on Fan Duel Sports Network
- Play-by-Play on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, ACC Network Extra, SEC Network+ and Georgia Tech Sports Network
TV Play-by-Play for ACC Basketball, Baseball, Softball and Soccer on Regional Sports Networks
- Frequent Co-Host on Atlanta Braves Radio Network Pregame & Postgame shows (including each game of 2021 World Series)

Wiley is both broad and deep in sports knowledge. He was a fascinating speaker. Thank you, Art, for bringing Wiley to us.

Please find a video of our meeting here.

https://youtu.be/Qk8saF9Owuw

02/27/2025

At our February 26, 2025 meeting we were joined by our GA District Governor, David Simmons. David shared with us his various activities as Governor since October 1, 2024. It has been not stop with him visiting almost 100 of the 140 GA District clubs. This has been quite an organization feat since most clubs meet on Tuesday and Thursday. Dave also shared with us his aspirations for the GA District for this fiscal year. Service and Growth are at the core of his message. Thank you David for making the drive from Cordell, GA to be with us!

Here is a video of our meeting.

https://youtu.be/oY7V2TaY5jU