Is Rotary Still Relevant?

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of serving as president of the Rotary Club of Atlanta — a club with more than a century of history, and a reputation as the room where business and civic leaders gather to engage with the city’s most pressing issues.

The question I’ve been asked more than once is: “Is Rotary still relevant?”

After a year in the seat, my answer is simple: Yes — more than ever. And here's why.

Rotary remains one of the most powerful organizing forces in Atlanta’s business community. It’s where leaders across industries come together — not to network, but to understand the deeper context of our city. It’s where we move past headlines and into solutions. Each Monday, our members don’t just show up to hear from prominent speakers — they show up ready to listen, challenge assumptions, and ask: What can we do next?

And that’s the difference. Rotary isn’t a place where we admire problems. It’s where we solve them.

Over the past year, we’ve tracked 105 distinct calls to action from our weekly speakers. These have ranged from improving early childhood outcomes to strengthening public health infrastructure to supporting election integrity. Our members don’t sit passively through these conversations — they step up. We’ve seen real engagement, real response, and real impact.

We also made structural changes to increase that impact. We consolidated our foundations into a single Atlanta Rotary charitable foundation, giving us greater agility and scale in how we support initiatives across the region. We prioritized not just engagement, but action — connecting members directly with efforts on the ground, and providing clear ways to take action.

One of the most meaningful moments this year came when Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke to the club about the importance of bipartisan support for election integrity.  Within days, business leaders in the room mobilized their organizations to engage and to volunteer — not because it was politically expedient, but because it was the right thing to do. That’s Rotary at its best.

Rotary isn’t just a lunch. It’s a civic platform. It’s a structure that helps business leaders turn concern into contribution, talk into action, and ideas into measurable progress.

In a time when Atlanta is growing, evolving, and facing urgent challenges, we need more of this mindset — wherever it shows up. Whether through Rotary or another avenue, Atlanta’s business community has a unique opportunity and responsibility to lead with purpose, step toward action, and stay engaged.

Our city doesn’t need more commentary. It needs more commitment.

Adrian Cronje was the 2024-2025 President of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.