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Rotascope |
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time: 12:15
Location: Roswell Area Park
Woodstock Road
Bill Johnson Community Activity Building
Roswell, GA 30075
We are pleased to welcome John F. King , Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, as our speaker on April 9. Commissioner King was sworn into office on July 1, 2019, by Governor Brian Kemp, becoming the first Hispanic statewide official in Georgia’s history. He was elected to a full four‑year term in 2022 and continues to lead the state agency responsible for insurance regulation and fire safety. Commissioner King’s career began in 1985 as an Atlanta police officer, where he served in specialized units including Red Dog and Organized Crime/Intelligence. In 1987, he received the Chief’s Blue Star after being injured in the line of duty during a criminal attack involving a firearm. His law enforcement service also included assignments as a Task Force Agent with both the FBI and DEA. King later became Chief of Police for the City of Doraville, where he focused on community trust, multilingual accessibility, and youth crime‑prevention initiatives. [read more]
Neil Anderson, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, chose to attend Georgia Tech for a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, then Georgia State for an MBA in International Marketing. After joining ROTC on a US Navy scholarship, he spent five years on active duty at the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia and on USS Batfish (SSN 681), a nuclear fast attack submarine.
After leaving the Navy he spent almost 30 years with Kimberly-Clark's Health Care Division in Roswell, developing their International Business for Europe, South America and Asia. His family moved to Brussels, Belgium, for three years to start up their European Health Care business…très bien!
Neil is married to Atlanta native Melissa (Missy) Anderson, who attended the University of Georgia, and they have two children, David and Katherine and six grandchildren (ages 3-12). Neil is most interested in service projects for Veterans and mentoring youth.
The true "Service Above Self" spirit cannot be overstated, as Chris/Tracy Archer, Sid Disher, Leslie Bassett, Amy/Terry Taylor, Langdon, and Jim/Cheryl stepped up instantly to solve an impromptu crisis for one of our long-standing international water project partners in Panama's Darien jungle.
Villagers there depend on subsistence farming to feed their families, and small engine-powered dugout canoes to get crops to market. With crops failing and the old engine giving out, Landy C was desperate. He is a friend to our club and to Rotary. For years he has helped Rotarians bringing clean water and health to thousands of his fellow villagers. He is a hero to us and them.
Langdon first heard the need, and it took all of a day for these wonderful Rotarians to form an ad hoc international project, funding the $3,000 motor purchase. Langdon not only donated but flew to Panama with the cash, bought the engine, and rented a truck to deliver it five hours away in the jungle. Amazing teamwork from an amazing group we are all privileged to know.
In his thank you video (District 6900 newsletter) Landy specifically mentions Rotary, and how much we have meant to him, his family, and the people of the region. "For a Roswell Rotarian, there's no safer place on earth than among the thousands of grateful friends in the "world's most dangerous jungle" — Darien.
Thanks to these quiet people of true action. Help me thank them!
Click Here for Video
