Washington Rotary Club

03/23/2026

Washington Rotary Club was pleased to host Lisa Isham, Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School’s Athletic Director as our guest speaker at the March 19, 2026 luncheon. Her parent’s, longtime Washington business leaders, community residents and Rotarians, Buddy and Alice Lindsey, also attended.

Lisa highlighted the many accomplishments of WW Tiger student athletes during the 2025-2026 Sports season. Among them, the Softball team were named the Region Champions and advanced to the Sweet 16 playoffs; in Cross Country, Kate Johnston was the Class AD-2 State Runner-Up; the Football team achieved 3rd place in the Region and participated in the Sweet 16 playoffs; the Flag Football team were Area Champions and hosted the State Playoffs; in Wrestling, Lillian McLemore earned 3rd place at Sectionals and competed in the GHSA State Wrestling Tournament; the Girls Basketball team were State Runner-Up in Class AD-2 and Boys Basketball made a Final Four Appearance.

Middle School Athletes had a very successful year as well. They were League Champions in Football and Girls Basketball and League Runner-Up in Boys Basketball.

Lisa has taught in the School District for 36 years and has been Athletic Director for the last six years. She is a Graduate herself of Washington Wilkes Comprehensive High School and excelled in Softball, Track, Basketball and Golf during her high school career.

Washington-Wilkes Tigers motto: “Building Character. Creating Leaders. Inspiring Champions.

03/14/2026

Rotary Club of Washington, Georgia was pleased to host Daniel Newsome, Plant Manager for Bitzer US, Inc. located in Flowery Branch, GA. Bitzer is a world-wide refrigeration company, founded and headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

Bitzer is a global leader in the manufacturing of commercial Screw, Scroll and Semi-Hermetic Reciprocating Compressors for A/C and refrigeration application. Bitzer, US, Inc. serves the US market from its Headquarters outside of Atlanta and its three US plants. Daniel explained the company’s line up of diverse products and the recent industry trend toward the use of CO2 in refrigeration.

Daniel is the son of Sparky and Mary Newsome and a 2003 Graduate of Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School. He went onto earn a Degree in Industrial Management and Economics at Mercer University.

03/03/2026

We dropped off over 60 pieces of medical equipment from our first medical equipment drive. Thank you Custom Mobility of Athens for allowing us to deposit our donations in your FODAC container. A BIG THANK YOU to our fellow Washingtonians who answered the call with this generous response.

02/22/2026

Washington Rotary Club's Interact Club has begun a program of recycling aluminum cans at Washington-Wilkes High School. The proceeds will be donated to the Animal Shelter and Rescue.
Thank you Rotary Interact students for your good work!

02/22/2026

On February 19, 2026 Washington Rotary Club hosted Wilkes County Sheriff Darrell Powers as our luncheon guest speaker. Sheriff Powers took office back in January of 2025 and has brought over 30 years of experience in public safety and law enforcement to our community. His department oversees a staff of 47 Deputies, including jail personnel, and his office responds to an average of 1,700- 1,800 calls per month.

Sheriff Powers spoke to his recent work on House Bill 997 that is currently being presented before the Georgia House of Representatives. It seeks to amend Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to penal institutions and the costs thereof that directly impact our County.

We thank Sheriff Powers and the entire Wilkes County Sheriffs Department for keeping our community safe.

02/21/2026

Hey y’all. We are at F&M bank, main branch collecting Medical Equipment. Don’t let the rain keep you away. We will unload whatever you bring.

02/21/2026

02/14/2026

Our first medical equipment drive was today and our community really turned out. Thank you so much. We are having it again next Saturday, February 21, 10a-3p.

02/02/2026

Rotary Club of Washington, Georgia’s last meeting of the month was held on January 29, 2026. John Keen, Vice President of F&M Bank was officially inducted into membership of the Club, sponsored by long-time member, Ed Pope, III, President and CEO of F&M Bank. Welcome, John!

Our guest speaker was Crystal Martin, Community Development Director for the City of Washington. Her position is multifaceted centering around Housing, Economic vitality and Family support initiatives. In her work for Housing, she manages the CHIP Home Rehab Grant program; the HRRP program for disaster relief; and GICH, Georgia Initiative for Community Housing which provides collaboration and technical assistance relating to housing and community development.

Crystal’s goals as Community Development Director are to strengthen housing, support families, grow our workforce, build economic opportunity, and position Washington for long-term success.

On March 26, the City of Washington will be hosting a Home Buyer Seminar to educate future homebuyers on all aspects of the home buying process. The Seminar will be held at the Pope Center and will provide lunch. Save the Date!