Peace Pole installation to heal mass shooting at Apalachee High School, Georgia-USA

April 19, 2025
Submitted: May 2025

The Rotary Club of North Cobb, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Winder and the Barrow Area Rotary Club, all in Georgia, USA, planted a Peace Pole at Apalachee High School.

There was a mass shooting at the high school in September 2024. It was appropriate for us to plant a Peace Pole there, to bring healing and restore confidence in the goodness of humans.

The school was also celebrating its 25th anniversary, so the event was used to honor the school’s first responders, faculty, staff, and students. A BBQ cookout was part of the event. The school has a barbecue cook team participating in North Cobb Rotary’s barbecue festival.

The languages on the Peace Pole represent English, which is the official language of the US, Spanish, because about 25% of the student population is Spanish, and the third language is the Cherokee language, which represents the language of the Cherokee Nation, who were the first occupants of that area. See attached pictures.

Kind regards,
Ada Wikina Ph.D
President, Rotary Club of North Cobb. District 6900
IEP Peace Ambassador
Member, National Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Executives
Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria (IMC)