Friday Morning, March 20
Elizabeth Mahoney
Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator
Elizabeth serves as the Zone 26 Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator. She previously led the AG Resources and Network Group and served as the Zone 26 Empowering Girls Ambassador, helping elevate club impact and leadership across the zone. A Past District Governor of District 5495 (2020–2021), Elizabeth has held numerous roles including Club President, District Chief of Staff, District Rotary Foundation Chair, Leadership Development and Education Chair, and a member of the Youth Exchange Committee. A devoted “host mom” to many exchange students, her own son also participated in RYE, traveling to Italy and RYLA. Elizabeth helped launch District 5495’s first statewide Rotaract District Council and led two Interact teams to Kenya with Crutches 4 Africa. She is passionate about The Rotary Foundation and enjoys helping clubs design and implement high-impact projects.
Friday Lunch, March 28
John Smarge
Past RI Director 2010-2012
John Smarge has been a Rotarian and resident of Naples, Florida since 1982. John and his wife Cindy are Major Donors and Bequest Society Members.
John graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in Entrepreneurial Management. At the age of twenty-two, John left his home state of New Jersey, moved to Naples, FL and purchased a year old struggling moving company. His multi-faceted operation handling local, interstate and international moving is now the largest relocation business in SW Florida.
Professionally John was named a National Moving and Storage Association Young Executive Fellow. He has served as a Board Member of the Florida Movers and Warehousemen Association, as a Regional Director of the Southern Community Bank. He has been recognized as North American Van Lines Top Quality Agent.
John served as President of The Rotary Club of Naples in 1992-93 and as District 6960 Governor in 1995-96. John served as a Member of the Rotary International Board of Directors for 2010-2012 and was selected as the Chairman of the RI Board of Directors Executive Committee.
Internationally, John has twice been a Delegate to the Council on Legislation and a Member of the RI Board of Directors Nominating Committee. He has also served three times as a Member of the Rotary International President Nominating Committee. Additionally, he has been both a Rotary International Membership Coordinator and Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator. John served as General Chair for the Zone 33-34 Rotary Institute. He is a regular speaker around the world at PETS, Assemblies, TRF and Membership Seminars and has regularly represented the President at District Conferences.
John has been a keynote speaker at the 2010 and 2018 International Assembly and the 2017 International Convention. John served as Aide to the 2018-2019 Rotary International President.
John is currently serving on the Shaping Rotary’s Future Committee and will serve as the Chairman of the 2022 RI Convention Committee (Houston, TX).
John considers the most rewarding aspects of his many years in Rotary to be the opportunity to participate in the PolioPlus National Immunization Days in India, his medical missions to Ternopil, Ukraine and his multiple humanitarian trips to the Caribbean. John is a driving force behind the HANWASH initiative to provide clean water and sanitation to all the citizens of Haiti.
John has received numerous awards for his Rotary Service including the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service, the Distinguished Service Award the Rotary International Service above Self Award and was recognized in 1999 as the District 6960 Rotarian of The Decade. Additionally, Cindy, an Honorary Rotarian, has received the Rotary International Service Above Self Award for Spouses.
John and Cindy have three daughters and two grandchildren. Over the years his hobbies have included coaching school and AAU basketball and competitive auto racing. He has served as Chairman of the Board for the Naples YMCA and as a Board Member for the Boy Scouts of America, Shelter for Abused Women and Naples Girls Sports Foundation.
Friday Dinner, March 20
Brian Hall
Director-Elect, Rotary International 2025-2027
Brian is a member of the Rotary Club of Covington, LA. He has served his club and district in many positions, including as District 6840 Governor in the 2014-2015 Rotary year. Brian was active with the Host Organizing Committee of the 2011 Rotary International Convention, where he served as the chair of the Technology Committee, and as a member the RI Promotions Committee for the 2019 Honolulu convention. He served Rotary Zone 31 as Assistant Regional Rotary Public Image Coordinator in the 2013-2014 year, as an Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator in the 2016-2019 years, and as End Polio Now Coordinator from 2019 to 2022. Brian served as a Training Leader at the International Assembly in both 2018 and 2019 and a Training Leader Support in 2021 and 2022. Brian is currently serving as the Chair Elect of the board of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group and board member and past chair of the Past District Governors Fellowship. Brian is also serving as chair of the Joint Rotary International/Rotary Foundation Technology committee, reporting to the RI Board of Directors and The Rotary Foundation’s Trustees. Brian received Rotary’s Service Above Self award in the 2021-2022 Rotary year. Brian will be serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Rotary International in the 2025-2027 Rotary years from Zones 30 and 31.
Brian has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 31 years. They currently reside in Madisonville, Louisiana. They have two children, Keely and Patrick.
Brian was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Brian worked as a CPA for several years before changing careers to become a computer programmer. In 1998 he and Lynn relocated to New Orleans, where Brian decided to merge his backgrounds and begin consulting with companies regarding business and financial systems.
Saturday Breakfast, March 21
Larry Lunsford
2027-28 Rotary International president
Larry A. Lunsford, a member of the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri, USA, is the selection of the nominating committee to become Rotary International’s president for 2027-28. He will officially become the president-nominee on 15 September if no other candidates challenge him.
Lunsford attended Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, on an academic scholarship, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. He first encountered Rotary when he received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to spend the 1981-82 academic year at the University of Newcastle in Australia.
A certified public accountant, Lunsford spent seven years working for Ernst & Young before joining a family-owned business, Bernstein-Rein Advertising, in 1990. He is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Bernstein group of companies. He has held positions on the boards of the Kansas City Spirit Festival and the Variety Club as well as serving as director of a local bank and treasurer of the Epilepsy Foundation for the Heart of America. He has also served on Truman State University’s alumni and foundation boards and received the university’s Distinguished Service Award.
Lunsford joined the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza in 1991 and has since served as district governor (2001-02), RI director (2013-15), and trustee of The Rotary Foundation (2021-25, vice chair 2024-25). He has been a member of RI committees, including the Executive Committee (chair 2014-15), Membership Growth Committee (chair 2016-18), and Nominating Committee for President of RI (chair 2023-24). He also has served on The Rotary Foundation’s Executive Committee (chair 2023-24), Finance Committee (chair 2022-23 and 2024-25), and Participant Experience Committee (chair 2023-24).
Lunsford has been awarded The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award, The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service, and the RI Service Above Self Award. He and his wife, Jill Lunsford, have two children and one grandchild. They are Major Donors, Bequest Society members, multiple Paul Harris Fellows, Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation, and Sustaining Members.