Rotary Club of Dawson County

On March 26, 1992, the official application for membership to Rotary International was submitted listing 31 charter members. On April 27, 1992, the Board of Directors of Rotary International officially approved the Rotary Club of Dawson County. Charter night was held on May 28, 1992 at the Amicalola Falls Lodge in Dawson County. The charter officers were: Philip Hester, President; David Wallace, President-elect; and Lake Gibson, Secretary/Treasurer. Since its inception the Rotary Club has met each Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. On July 1, 1993, David Wallace was installed as the Club's second President, followed by Lake Gibson, 1994, Deborah Stowers, 1995, and Ted Bearden, 1996. The Club has received the Rotary International Presidential Citation award for outstanding service to the community several times since its inception.

The Club first met at the What's Cookin Restaurant on Highway 53 in Dawsonville. In August 1992 the Vandivere House catered the meal for our meetings at a building located on Georgia 400 donated by Donald Moss. In September 1992 the Club began meeting at the Reservation Steakhouse on Georgia 400. In December 1992 we held our first meeting at the Dawsonville Pool Room, the most unique and popular place the Club had yet met. Due to the growth of our Club, in November 1995 began meeting at Gold Creek Golf Club. The golf course closed in 2008 and meetings were moved to the Lakeview Center on Dawson Forest Road.
When the Lakeview Center closed in 2014, the meetings were moved to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in downtown Dawsonville.