OUR CURRENT AND UPCOMING DISTRICT GOVERNORS

Jerry Coughter, Rotary 7680 District Governor, 2026-2027

Rotary Club of Charlotte

Jerry Coughter is District 7680’s District Governor Nominee and will serve as District Governor in Rotary Year 2026-27. As a proud member of the Rotary Club of Charlotte, Jerry has served as a Board Member, Membership Chair, Foundation Chair, and as a member of the Program Committee and the International Service Committee, before serving as President in 2020-21. He is an RLI graduate. At the District level, he was co-chair for the Paul Harris Society in 2015-16, and an Assistant Governor from 2022 through 2025. Jerry is a Major Donor, Benefactor, and Bequest Society member, as well as a member of the Polio Plus Society and the Paul Harris Society. In 2013, Jerry was part of a group of Charlotte area Rotarians to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds and awareness for PolioPlus. Currently, Jerry is a WASH ambassador, advocating for water, sanitation, and hygiene projects. He serves as one of three North American representatives on the International Ambassador Committee of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group (WASH RAG). He is also a member of HANWASH, the Haitian National Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Initiative, working to bring clean water and sanitation to all 11.5 million citizens of Haiti. Jerry was named Distinguished Rotarian of the Year by his club in 2022-23. Professionally, Jerry is a Program Director at SSTI, a national nonprofit organization working to help states and regions create a better future through science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte, Assistant Vice President for Economic Development at George Mason University, and Executive Director of the Virginia Research & Technology Advisory Commission and the Governor’s Biotechnology Commission. Jerry holds a BS in Microbiology from Clemson University. He earned an MS in Microbiology and Immunology from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MBA from Shenandoah University. He performed doctoral work in Innovation Policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Jerry and his wife Claire live in Belmont, North Carolina. They are proud parents of two adult daughters, Cate and Mary. They enjoy traveling, hiking, bicycle riding, and flat-water kayaking.

Sharon Heinrich, Rotary 7680 District Governor-Elect (2027-2028)

Rotary Club of Gastonia

As a 3rd-generation Rotarian, Sharon’s journey with Rotary began at a young age in Ohio, as her father and grandfathers were all Rotarians. She would occasionally attend meetings as a guest, learned the 4-Way Test from certificates posted on their office walls, and recalls reading the Rotarian magazine, which opened a window to the world of Rotary beyond the local club and learning about the world. Even though women were not able to join Rotary at the time, her mother and grandmother also demonstrated a life of “Service above Self” through church and community activities. Faith, family and service shape Sharon’s life.

After graduating from DePauw University, she attended UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, then moved to Gaston County to work with Gaston County Health Department. She returned to graduate school at Vanderbilt University to become a Family Nurse Practitioner, with a focus on caring for under-served populations. She has served in a community health center, private practice, employee health coordinator in a health care system, and hospice.

Sharon was invited to join Gaston Breakfast Rotary Club in 2008, serving on the Board for many years and as President in 2013-14, when the RI theme was “Engage Rotary, Change Lives”. In June 2022, she joined The Rotary Club of Gastonia, where she now serves on the club’s service committee, is involved with community service projects, and is PI/PR Chair.

At the district level, Sharon currently serves as D7680 District Grant Subcommittee Chair. She has served as Assistant Governor for 4 years, one year for Cleveland County then 3 years for Gaston County. She has served in a variety of roles with Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders (SFTL, D7680’s RYLA), including as small group mentor, nurse, and photographer. She served as D7680 Rotary Peace Fellowship subcommittee chair for several years and now serves on the district Peace Committee. She is a Rotary Leadership Institute graduate.  In 2019, she was selected to participate in the “Emerging Leaders” track at Zone Summit.

Some of her most memorable international Rotary experiences include participating in a US/Canadian polio NID team in Nigeria in 2015, attending an Uniendo America project fair, and 7 RI International Conventions (singing in the Rotary World Choir for Interfaith Service).

Sharon supports The Rotary Foundation as a Paul Harris Fellow, member of the Paul Harris Society, PolioPlus Society, Bequest Society, and as a Major Donor (Arch Klumph Society). Sharon and her family are strong supporters of Rotary Peace Centers, attending the annual Spring Conference at Duke/UNC-CH Rotary Peace Center every year since first attending in 2008. She has served as a Rotary reviewer for Rotary Peace Fellow applications for 5 years.

She considers it a humble privilege to be selected to serve D7680 as DG for 2027-28 and is proud to follow in the footsteps of her father (Jim), who served D6600 as DG for 2009-10.

Sharon lives in Gastonia, NC with her cats and dog.