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Club builds on power of asking

Ask Sostene “Sos” Codispoti to tell you about his Kiwanis club, and his reply probably will be: “I can’t believe you haven’t asked me before now!”

Sos can—and will—talk to you all day about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Dublin, Ohio. He’s that passionate about the club. In fact, it seems a lot of people are passionate about Kiwanis in Dublin. The club chartered with 86 members this past July, and already has grown to more than 100 members.

“There are a lot of people who want to be involved in community service—you just have to talk to them,” says Sos.

But it’s not “all talk.” The club is ambitious—and active. The club meets Tuesdays, and there has been a program at every meeting. Featured speakers have included educators, an FBI agent, the state attorney general, political figures, head coach of Ohio State’s women’s basketball, and a former Ohio State football coach. The list goes on and on. In fact, programs already are scheduled through May.

Aside from great club meetings, the members have had immeasurable success with service projects and fundraising events. To name but a few: The club adopted six families this past holiday season, gathered donations for members of the United States military, and worked with a food bank. Sos even has been seen driving Santa Claus around town in a convertible.

But it’s one particular event that had members’ jaws dropping to the floor. The club staged a golf outing, dinner, and drawing all on the same day this past August. According to Sos, the plan wasn’t to have all these events in one day, but it sort of ended up that way, so the club members ran with it. The outcome was nothing less than astounding.

“In one day—August 19—we had our golf outing, dinner, and reverse raffle,” Sos says, “and we made $12,000.”

A club calendar, which is packed full of speakers, events, and projects, keeps members involved, and prospective members become interested.

“It’s exciting when you find good people,” Sos says. “And when you’re talking to people about a good thing, it’s not hard to get them to join.”