Events

THIS IS A KCA HYBRID MEETING.  Our Speaker will be joining us IN PERSON!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON.  Registration closes on May 20 at Noon.

To View on Zoom:  Click Here.

Michael McPherson is the first grandchild of a missing American to be elected to the National League of POW/MIA Families Board of Directors. In early 1973, word came back from released American Prisoners of War that Michael’s grandfather, Tanos “Tommy” Kalil, had died in captivity. In 2019, a Vietnam War enthusiast reviewed Tommy’s POW file and found a literal trail of locations leading to Nui May Tao, roughly translated as Cloud Boat Mountain. The mountain was home to an extensive Viet Cong base, hospital complex, workshop, POW camp, and many weapons caches. Michael traveled to Vietnam in October 2019 to document each location associated with his grandfather’s captivity and death. Tommy’s remains have yet to be repatriated, though recent research has opened new possibilities for a hopeful recovery.

Michael is a Municipal Services Consultant with the Georgia Municipal Association. He supports 67 cities in the metro-Atlanta region. Michael is a graduate of Georgia State University. He and his wife, Ying, are the proud parents of a 5-year-old daughter, Katherine Louise, and 3-year-old boy, Winfield Alton. Michael has been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta since 2010 and serves on the board of the Southeast Recycling Development Council.

Kiwanis 5^th Tuesday Meeting!

Tuesday, May 31^st from 5:30 til 7:30 PM

A special evening for our club to enjoy light appetizers and adult beverages while viewing the incredible Atlanta skyline at the Skyline Robinson Gazebo!

This will be in place of our regular luncheon this Tuesday so mark your calendars to come to ABG at 5:30 PM instead of Loudermilk at noon.

Free for Reg/Corp Members - $15 for Assoc/Satellite/Emer/Hon Members  $20 for Guests

~RSVP Deadline Thursday, May 26^th~

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND!

THIS IS A KCA HYBRID MEETING.  Our Speaker will be joining us IN PERSON!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON.  Registration closes on June 3 at Noon.

To View on Zoom:  Click Here.

As president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta, Lauren Koontz leads the organization’s efforts to ensure that all people ­­— especially children — experience an equal opportunity to fully reach their potential. With a career spent in educational and health nonprofit development, she’s committed to the purpose of making the Y a thought-leader and best-in-class provider of education, wellness and youth development programs designed to strengthen Atlanta communities. She is the first woman president and CEO in the YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s 160+ year history.

Functionally, she is responsible for the overall success of the Atlanta Association’s 18 membership and program branches, 13 early learning centers, 40+ afterschool sites, two summer resident camps, the YMCA Leadership & Learning Center, and the teams of employees and volunteers who bring these places and programs to life.

Lauren joined the YMCA of Metro Atlanta in 2012 as its Chief Development Officer and was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer in 2016. As EVP, she was responsible for oversight of all fundraising efforts; management of half of the organization’s membership and youth development branches; the Y’s early learning programs; teen leadership programs; and marketing and communications functions.

Previously, Lauren served in development leadership roles at Coxe Curry & Associates, Emory University School of Medicine, Mount Vernon School, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where she was named by the CEO to the organization’s National Strategic Steering Committee and was the youngest associate appointed.

As a volunteer and board member, Lauren specializes in strategic planning, board training and advancement. Lauren serves on the Board of Directors of The Fox Theatre, the Youth Advisory Council for the Atlanta Police Foundation and on the Advisory Board of PAACT, Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive. Lauren is a member of Leadership Atlanta’s Class of 2018 and is an active Leadership Atlanta alum and volunteer. In 2020, Lauren was named one of Atlanta Magazine’s Women Making a Mark. In 2016, she received the YMCA’s highest honor ­­— the “Sully” Award, named for Thomas Sullivan, YMCA’s founder in the U.S. ­­— for exemplifying the mission and values of the YMCA. In 2013, Lauren was named among the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “40 Under 40.” Lauren speaks frequently on panels and podcasts on nonprofit management and leadership.

A Georgia native, Lauren grew up on St. Simons Island. She received a BBA from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Georgia State University. Lauren is married to Brad Koontz, a technology executive, with whom she has two children, Kate, 18, and Sam, 15.

Monthly Meeting of the KCA Board of Directors

Each month club members greet the troops at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.  Two shifts of volunteers needed:  10 am - 1 pm and 1 - 4 pm.

Monthly Program Committee Meeting

THIS IS A KCA HYBRID MEETING.  Our Speaker will be joining us IN PERSON!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND IN PERSON. Registration closes on June 24th at Noon.

To View on Zoom:  Click Here.

Keith T. Parker is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Goodwill of North Georgia (GNG). One of the largest retail and nonprofit organizations in the southeast, GNG spans a 45-county territory, operating 67 stores, 52 attended donation centers and 13 career centers. GNG employs over 3,000 team members, each of whom play a direct or supporting role in the organization’s donated goods retail operations and its free-to-the-public career services. Annually, GNG serves more than 7 million shoppers. Through the revenue generated in its stores, the organization trains and connects tens of thousands of North Georgians to employment annually - establishing GNG as the #1 Goodwill in the nation (among its 158 affiliates) for connecting people to jobs. Parker took the helm at GNG in October 2017. Prior to transitioning into his leadership role at GNG, Parker has served as CEO of the largest transit systems in several cities, including San Antonio, Charlotte and most recently, Atlanta.

Parker’s five-years of leadership at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) won widespread acclaim. He helped transform one of the most beleaguered transit agencies in the nation - with huge budget deficits and major public image issues - to a fiscally sound, award winning organization. Parker’s leadership established MARTA as an important player in Georgia’s economic development efforts, helping to attract/retain major employers.

Throughout his career, Parker has received numerous awards and accolades as a transformational leader and transportation visionary. He’s won multiple CEO awards in multiple states.  And his commitment to one of his alma maters, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), has been notable. He also has a long history of service to nonprofit, charitable, and corporate boards.

Parker and his wife are natives of Virginia and have 3 children. Parker holds an MBA from the University of Richmond, as well as a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a BA in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. Parker is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Each month club members greet the troops at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.  Two shifts of volunteers needed:  10 am - 1 pm and 1 - 4 pm.

Monthly Meeting of the KCA Board of Directors

Stephen M. Rowley is President of Cox Automotive, a global automotive services and software company whose vision is to transform the way the world buys, sells, owns and uses cars. Rowley is responsible for a family of brands that together make car dealers more successful and car buyers more satisfied, including auto industry leaders such as Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto and Xtime. Rowley previously served as the Executive Vice President of Cox Business. In this role, he was responsible for the strategic direction of the high-growth division that delivered more than $2 billion in annual revenue. He oversaw all sales, operations, product development and marketing for business customers, including wholesale services for telecom carriers. Prior to leading Cox Business, Rowley was the Vice President of sales and field operations for Cox Business’ western U.S. markets where he served as the chief liaison between corporate headquarters and the western markets with oversight on local strategic planning, sales performance, marketing, back office, customer installations and capital investment. 

Prior to joining Cox Business, Rowley was Vice President of Alliances and Partners at Sprint, where he managed relationships with more than 500 partners, generating $250 million in annual revenue. In addition, Rowley was responsible for the strategic direction of the Telemetry group where he negotiated and managed contracts with Dell, Sony, HP and others. In his 11 years with Sprint, Rowley held key senior leadership roles in the sales organizations as Vice President of Enterprise, Vice President of General Business and Vice President of Sales for Sprint’s Broadband Division. In addition to extensive telecommunications experience, Rowley spent 12 years as a key executive at People’s Choice TV, having held positions such as Vice President General Manager of Chicago, Tucson and Phoenix and later, the Vice President of Sales and Operations for the company.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Iowa State University. Steve is married to Susan and they have three children, Timothy, Collin Patrick and Maggie.

Quarterly Meeting of the Kiwanis Foundation Investment Committee

Monthly Program Committee Meeting

Quarterly Meeting of the Kiwanis Foundation of Atlanta Trustees

Justice Carla Wong McMillian was appointed to the Supreme Court of Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp, taking office on April 10, 2020. Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, she is the first Asian Pacific American to serve on a state’s highest court in the Southern United States.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice McMillian served on the Court of Appeals, where she was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal and took office in 2013. With her election the following year to that court, Justice McMillian became the first Asian Pacific American to be elected to a statewide office in Georgia.  Justice McMillian has also served as the State Court Judge for Fayette County, a position to which she was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2010.

Before her appointment to the bench, Justice McMillian was a partner in the litigation group of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. Justice McMillian also had the privilege of starting her legal career as a federal law clerk for the Honorable William C. O’Kelley of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Justice McMillian attended law school as a Woodruff Scholar at the University of Georgia School of Law. She also graduated with high honors from Duke University. Justice McMillian has been married since 1997 to her husband Lance, a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. They have two children and live in Fayette County where they have been long-time members of Dogwood Church.