The Thanksgiving Talk
David Simmons serves as Governor of the Georgia District of Kiwanis. His Kiwanis journey began when he joined the Cordele Kiwanis Club on April 5, 1990. He has served on the club's Board of Directors, President and as club secretary since 2011. He served the Georgia District as Lt. Governor and has been a district trainer since 2001. He also served as the following District Committee chair: Club Administration, International Convention, and Training Chair. He served on the Georgia District Foundation, serving as the President, and currently serves on the District Finance Committee. He served as the Vice-Governor in 2022-23 and Governor-Elect in 2023-24. David also is a Charter Member of the Kiwanis Club of Warner Robins, serving as President, and was instrumental in building the Kiwanis Club of Dooly County, which was chartered on February 1, 2024.
David was awarded the Governor’s Leadership Medallion in 1999. He is the recipient of the George F. Hixson Fellowship, the Henry C. Heinz Award, the Kiwanis International Centennial Award and the Walter Zeller Fellowship.
Professionally, David retired at the end of 2021 as a U.S. Probation Officer with the Federal Court system in the Middle District of Georgia for over 20 years. Prior to that he was employed with the Georgia Department of Corrections, working as a probation officer, fugitive investigator, and an instructor at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. Besides full-time employment, he has also worked as a contract employee covering high school football games for a television station, WSST in Cordele, Georgia. David has commentated on close to 300 high school football games in South Georgia. David also works with a radio station, WKTF, in Cordele covering local high school sporting events as well as hosting a weekly radio show.
David has been very active with the youth in Crisp County. He coached baseball with both the Little League and Recreation Department and was a soccer coach. He served on the Cordele Little League’s Board of Directors for nine years and was League President. Besides coaching, David has also previously helped as a baseball umpire, football referee, and he served on the Recreation Board of Directors for a two-year period. He is a member of Cordele First United Methodist Church, having served as a Sunday school teacher, a member of the Administrative Board, and presently sings in the Chancel Choir. He is a Master Mason with Cordelia Masonic Lodge #296 and has served in various officer positions within the Lodge and is presently the Lodge’s Secretary. David is a 32 degree KCCH Scottish Rite Mason and a York Rite Mason. David is a member of the Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce and is a shareholder for the Green Bay Packers with the National Football League.
Born in Biloxi, David’s father served in the U.S. Air Force and the family traveled often before moving to Warner Robins, Georgia. He graduated with a BS in Criminal Justice from Georgia Southern, and a Master’s in Education from Georgia Southwestern State. He and his wife Monica have two sons; T.J. and Rob, and five fur babies. Monica is the Executive Director of the Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce.