Last Wednesday, the Rotary Club of Dunwoody partnered with the Dunwoody Police and Street Grace to hold a symposium on Human Trafficking at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia. The symposium was attended by 111 people.

The Symposium was moderated by Rotarian Jack Francisco and included a viewing of the movie 8 Days (a true story of one 16-year old girl's life in trafficking) followed by an informative panel discussion by three experts in Human Trafficking, who also answered questions from the attendees. The message was clear with the audience realizing that Human Trafficking is real, is local, and that law enforcement agencies at local, State, and the Federal levels are taking positive steps to combat this cancer on society.

Hats Off to the RCD Team!

Charlie Augello assembled a great team of dedicated Rotarians, who found Sponsors to make the symposium happen, and did it without incurring any cost for the Rotary Club of Dunwoody. Charlie’s team included Anita Augello, Louise Barden, Phil Bullard, Erica Brown, Anne Glenn, Kathy Brandt, Jackie Cuthbert, Billy Grogan, Tina Philpot, Josh Podczervinski and Griff Ransom.

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

• Presenting Sponsor: Crowne Plaza Perimeter at Ravinia - supplied the Ballroom and AV equipment for the evente
• Premier Sponsors:Anderson Parking supplied free parking, the Dunwoody Crier ran three ads to build awareness, and the UPS Store Jett Ferry Road @ the Williamsburg Shopping Center printed all the promotional materials.

Thanks to Our Panel!

The panel included three individuals who work every day to minimize Human Trafficking: Detective Robert Barrett (Dunwoody Police Department), Special Agent Elizabeth Bingham (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), and Special Agent Taylor Dervish (Federal Bureau of Investigation)Key points made by the panel during the Q&A included:

• The business of Human Trafficking historically has been viewed as "low risk and high profit" opportunity
• Primary "customers" in Atlanta area are older white males from the northern suburbs
• Since 2012, "customers" have been charged and successfully tried in courts … If convicted, the minimum sentence is 15 years
• It takes months to get a victim to open up, and years to go to trial.
• Atlanta's "Match" task force is the largest in the US involving 50 deputies plus 150 non deputies.