| |
City: Greenville, South Carolina
Club: Greater Greenville
Age: 38
Number of children: 16-year-old son
Occupation: Sets up seminars and does office work for her husband’s financial-planning business
Year joined Kiwanis: 2001
Current Kiwanis position: Club secretary, Division 17 secretary, newsletter editor, advisor for the Aktion Club of Eastern Carolina
Previous Kiwanis positions: Club secretary and newsletter editor: 4 years; Division 17 secretary, 3 years
Other community activities/accomplishments: Volunteer at the hospital and son’s school, member of the Greenville Service League, assistant treasurer for Pitt County Republican Party Motivation: We live in a self-absorbed society where we are losing a sense of community. I feel that by volunteering, you develop character and serve as a great role model to the upcoming generation.
Why join Kiwanis: To get to know other people in the community who want to make a difference. I think people who are willing to volunteer and give of themselves without pay are pretty good people in general. Those are the types of individuals I would like to surround myself with.
Favorite inspirational quote: “So many people get hung up on their past,” Kiki says. “I wish everyone would realize each morning is a new day with a new start. Forget past regrets and move forward in life. You can make a difference!” That said, she has a fitting favorite quote: “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”—Carl Bard
Kiki is a hard-working member of Kiwanis, and she is always doing something to help others. One of her many contributions to her community, however, stands out as the most significant: “My husband was lieutenant governor a couple of years ago,” she says. “He started the Aktion Club of Eastern Carolina during that time. Since then, I took over. “I have seen so many introverted, shy adults with disabilities evolve before my eyes! Over the past two years, the same people have become a dynamic, outgoing group that loves to help children and get involved in the community. I believe we (the Kiwanians involved) also have added a great service to the parents and caregivers. They seem to be truly grateful that Kiwanis has taken such an active interest in this segment of the population. Seeing the joy in their eyes and the excitement at each meeting has been more rewarding than I could have imagined.”
|