Buckhead Rotary Club Shines Apples to Say Thank You to Local Teachers

Last night, Monday, Oct. 17, the Rotary Club of Buckhead thanked local educators in an iconic way: by polishing red apples and placing them on teachers’ desks. Buckhead Rotarians held the first Apple Polishing in 1973, setting an annual tradition. Forty-three years and nearly 150,000 apples later, Buckhead Rotary is just as committed to honoring the men and women who are called to invest their time and talents in future generations.

“Each year we polish thousands of apples, and each apple represents and honors an everyday hero who is at the core of making our community and the children in it stronger,” said Buckhead Rotary President Craig MacKenzie, an advisor with National Financial Services Group. “This time-honored event is a simple but heartfelt expression of our gratitude.”

While polishing apples each year is a gesture, Rotarians’ commitment to education is real. Over the course of a five-year period, the Rotary Club of Buckhead is on track to donate over $170,000 to the literacy programs of educational partners in Atlanta, including KIPP South Fulton Academy, GEEARS, Atlanta Speech School and Horizons Kids camp. This financial commitment comes with over six hundred hours of community service from many Rotarian volunteers.

At this year’s Apple Polishing, local students and young professionals joined more than 100 Rotary Club of Buckhead members – business leaders ranging in age from their 30s to their 80s – all rolling up their sleeves to polish apples together. These guests included:

• Students from North Atlanta High School and Oglethorpe University, where the Rotary Club of Buckhead sponsors an Interact Club and a Rotaract Club respectively, both of which encourage young people to develop leadership skills and serve their communities.
• The club’s 2016 Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) scholar, Ellie Minshall, from Wales. Every year, GRSP brings students from around the world to study at Georgia colleges while learning about differing cultures and lifestyles, and the Rotary Club of Buckhead has hosted a student every year for the last 40 years.
• Young professionals who are members of the North Atlanta Rotaract Club, also sponsored by the Rotary Club of Buckhead.

All of these Rotarians and guests share a common goal to positively impact their communities and world. By polishing apples, they celebrate educators who work hard every day to make children’s futures shine.

Buckhead Rotarian Pat Epps, founder & president of Epps Aviation, has been polishing and delivering apples at this event since the 1970s and polished again this year. “Teachers deserve recognition for the important work they do every day,” said Epps. “This event is a great tradition that allows us to thank every teacher and school administrator in the Buckhead area with shiny apples on their desks. It’s not much, but it’s a reminder that Rotarians notice and appreciate them and all they do.”

About The Rotary Club of Buckhead

The Rotary Club of Buckhead was founded in 1951 to unite leaders from all walks of life, amplifying the individual contributions of members to make Atlanta and the world a better place to live and to work. The club meets each Monday for a 12:15 p.m. lunch with guest speaker at Maggiano’s in Buckhead. For more information, visit www.buckheadrotary.com.

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