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.

Marshall Butler is past president of the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville in Jacksonville, FL, USA. He served as District Governor for District 6970 (Northeast Florida) in 2016-17. From 2020 to 2023, he was the Zone 34 Rotary Public Image Coordinator, where he developed a structured methodology to help clubs and districts strengthen their public image through a series of monthly webinars and strategic action items.

Marshall has played a significant role in Rotary leadership, serving three times as Production Chair and twice as Program Chair on the Zones 33-34 Executive Committee. He has also held multiple leadership positions on the Rotary Florida PETS executive team and served as Lead Facilitator for Rotary International’s Global Support Seminar.

A committed supporter of The Rotary Foundation, Marshall and his wife, Karen, are Major Donors and proud members of the Bequest Society, Paul Harris Society, and End Polio Now Society. His contributions to Rotary have been recognized with the Citation for Meritorious Service.

Professionally, Marshall brings over 30 years of experience in marketing and technology, consistently driving innovation in every role he has held. A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in advertising, he currently serves as Marketing Director for Pragmatic Works, one of the world’s leading Microsoft training companies.

An avid endurance athlete, Marshall has completed 18 marathons and numerous triathlons, including Ironman-distance races. He is currently undertaking an ambitious project to run all 14,552 streets in Jacksonville, FL—the largest city by land area in the contiguous United States.

Marshall and Karen have two children who have grown up immersed in the Rotary community. Their eldest daughter, Emily, is now a proud member of the Rotary Club of West Jacksonville, continuing the family’s legacy of service.

Kate Keator is a peacebuilder who has worked at the intersection of data, technology, and peacebuilding in both international and domestic contexts. From 2013 to 2021, she helped build and eventually led The Carter Center’s Syria Conflict Mapping Project, leveraging open source information to document and analyze conflict dynamics, including the mapping of areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance. Her work informed the conflict resolution efforts of her team, the UN, and other international actors working toward ending violence in Syria.

Kate has also served as a data director for grassroots organizations and political campaigns, applying her expertise to mobilize communities and drive impact. Currently, she supports various nonprofits with IT, operations, and strategy, and is the co-founder of the Fénix Foundation, a Netherlands-based organization dedicated to leveraging technology to support international justice, peace, and accountability.

Kate holds an M.A. with distinction in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford, where she was a Rotary Peace Fellow, and a B.A. cum laude in Political Science from the University of Florida. She also holds certifications in mediation, social network analysis, and data science.

Jeremy is a globally renowned professional speaker, author, and philanthropist who has traveled the world and achieved great success, but his greatest source of pride is his family. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Traci and their two children, Jewel and Jaxon. The couple has been happily married for 16 years. In 2012, they decided to leave their thriving careers behind and embark on a mission to impact people’s lives through Jeremy’s professional speaking.

So, Jeremy and Traci founded Next Level Living, Inc. in 2015 as a non-profit organization focused on assisting young people in communities and schools to achieve their full potential in all aspects of life. Since its establishment, Traci has been its president, and Jeremy has served as its spokesperson, sharing his story in homeless shelters, detention centers, group homes, and schools across America. Though he now speaks to high profile corporate audiences, he continues to channel his success back into the organization he co created, using the lessons from his own journey to inspire students and families to reach their potential.

During his message at PELS, Jeremy will focus on Occupational Integrity. This concept, as articulated by Jeremy, is the foundation of his message to organizational leaders. It emphasizes performing at one’s highest level with honesty, accountability, and dedication, regardless of external recognition. This principle challenges individuals to reflect deeply on their personal and professional conduct, fostering a culture of intrinsic motivation and excellence within organizations.

Jeremy’s professional success is built on a solid academic foundation—he holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a master’s degree. His passion for uplifting young people is deeply personal: he overcame the absence of his biological father, ADHD, academic setbacks, and early involvement in substance misuse through education and mentorship. Before he began his career in professional development and public speaking, he worked in the corporate sector in sales, marketing, management, and insurance & investments.

Jeremy is a member of the Rotary Club of Stone Mountain and actively lives Rotary’s Motto of “Service Above Self.”

For more information on Jeremy, including a video bio and the services offered by his company, go to https://www.jeremyanderson.org.