Peace poles in multiple languages from around the world. | wordpeace.org
Published on February 17, 2026 at 2:36 pm
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Symbolic Peace Poles are coming to Jacksonville’s Beaches areas.
The Rotary Club of Jacksonville-Oceanside is installing three 4-foot poles that feature the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in multiple languages.
Often installed by local Rotary clubs in schools, parks, and gardens, these 4- to 8-sided poles promote global harmony and are frequently used to commemorate peacebuilding efforts.
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Rotarians celebrate peacebuilding and conflict prevention in February. There are nearly 3,500 Rotarians across Northeast Florida in 65 clubs.
Peace poles are internationally recognized monuments displaying the universal message of peace, serving as symbols of hope and unity.
Each pole costs $4,000 dollars, and these poles were made possible through a grant from District 6970 (Northeast Florida) and The Rotary Foundation. They will join over 250 thousand others posted around the world.
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Jeff Michelman, chair of the Rotary Foundation for Jacksonville Oceanside Rotary, says peace building and conflict resolution are areas of focus for their nonpolitical club. The poles highlight the importance of resolving differences through dialogue.
“Peace has always been important to Rotary. But I think what the peace pole program does is it creates a relationship with communities that are concerned about peace in the world,” Michelman said. “We believe that peace starts with individuals rather than governments.”
Michelman said the four-sided posts will have “May peace prevail on earth” written in eight languages. He said Rotary surveyed the three Beaches communities to come up with languages most commonly spoken, including Tagalog since there is a large Filipino population in the area.
A public dedication for each of the three poles is Saturday:
- 9:15 a.m. at Atlantic Beach’s Russell Park
- 10 a.m. in front of Neptune Beach Elementary School, 1515 Florida Blvd.
- 11 a.m. at the Beaches Museum on Beach Boulevard, with a reception following
Mayor Chris Hoffman of Jacksonville Beach and Mayor Curtis Ford of Atlantic Beach (both are members of Jacksonville-Oceanside Rotary) are expected to attend the ceremonies.
Michaelman said Rotary is fortunate this year to be installing two new officers of Rotary International, a new director of Rotary International and a new trustee of the Rotary Foundation, the funding arm for Rotarians.
Marshall Butler is from West Jacksonville and will be installed as a new director, and Cindy Covington from South Jacksonville will be installed as a new trustee.
“So, Northeast Florida is really proud to have two people leading Rotary International in the Rotary Foundation, from Northeast Florida,” Michaelman said.
