Kelly C. Atkinson, PDG, is a native Utahn who has lived in the Salt Lake City Valley his entire life.
Kelly has a passion for Rotary and its humanitarian missions and it shows when he speaks. A sought after motivational speaker, he has addressed Girls State, RYLAs, over 100 youth groups, Interact, Rotaract, Zone Institutes and 300 Rotary Clubs as well as serving as a Rotary Presidential Representative. In 2007 he was the chairman of the House of Friendship Center at the Rotary International 2007 Convention. He is a Paul Harris Society member as well as a Major Donor.
In 1986, Kelly was elected to the Utah State Legislature. He became the first democrat elected to the Utah House of Representatives from his area of the Salt Lake Valley since the Great Depression.
He served in the leadership from 1990 to 1996 as the Minority Whip. During his 10 years in office, the Deseret News named Kelly as "one of the most effective legislators" on Capitol Hill each term he served. In 1990, he was named as the most effective legislator on Utah's Capitol Hill by the Dnews.
Upon his election in 1986 to the Utah State Legislature, Kelly was approached by Bob Ladenberger, a hospital administrator, to help form a new Rotary Club in West Jordan, Utah. Kelly became a chartered member of the West Jordan Rotary club established 1987.
In 2010, Penny, Kelly's wife of 45 years, was elected as the first woman Governor in the history of District 5420. Kelly and Penny are among just a handful of Rotarian couples in the world that have both served as District Governors and the first couple to do so in District 5420. Penny’s year, Kelly was the architect of a program that reversed a 5 year downturn in membership. Together, the Atkinson's have hosted 28 Exchange Students from all over the world.
The Atkinson's have two sons, Steven and Shannon. Shannon and his wife Tara have three sons, Ashton, MacKinley, and JJ.
5108 Woodsmere Lane
Herriman, Utah 84096
Phone: 801-673-2861
Email: Congresman@comcast.com