Clubhouse
Worthy of honor
Who in your community is worthy
of recognition? For courage? For
dedication? For service?
Many Kiwanis clubs honor their
neighbors for a variety of reasons
and usually attract a bit of news
media attention themselves. Kiwanis
magazine has matched a few award-dispensing
Kiwanians with their
honorees. Who does your club honor?
| Bainbridge, Georgia |
Teachers |
| Hendersonville, North Carolina |
Firefighters |
| Batesville, Arkansas |
Citizens |
| Stillwater, Oklahoma |
Students |
| Flint, Michigan |
Student athletes |
| Upland, California |
Senior citizens |
| Romeo, Michigan |
Cutest babies |
| Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Mothers |
| Bartlesville, Oklahoma |
military veterans |
| Cebu City, the Philippines |
Police officers |
| Red Deer, Alberta |
Terrific Kids |
Happy camper
|
A former camper herself, Allison Wetherbee now travels statewide, promoting the
Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults. |
Allison Wetherbee had a lot of
thank-yous stored up as she arrived
to speak to the Kiwanis Club of Foley,
Alabama. The Alabama Special Camp
for Children and Adults, for which
she directs public relations, has never
had to turn down a camper due to
an inability to pay. That has a lot
to do with the generous support of
Alabama District Kiwanis clubs.
Yet Foley Kiwanians discovered a
way to add one more thank-you to
the list. Her visit reconnected her to
an important person in her past—in
fact, at the very beginning of her life.
Wetherbee was born on December 8,
1970, with no arms or legs. Attending
at her birth was Judy Grudall, a
nurse assistant at a Selma, Alabama,
hospital. While reading the Mobile
Press-Register, Grudall came across
an article about her former patient’s
visits to Kiwanis clubs in the area and
picked up the phone.
“My birth obviously had made a
strong impression on her,” Wetherbee
says. “She was proud that I was
doing well.”
Media savvy
Is it possible to find three
speakers in one day’s news?
Here are 3 ideas gleaned from
one issue of a daily newspaper.
1. High school football season
opens.
Invite area coaches to a participate
in a “crying towel” contest.
At an annual Lafayette,
Louisiana, banquet, coaches
lament losses, bemoan the inexperience
of sophomores, and
get lots of laughs.
2. Gardens popular for marriage
proposals.
Ask around to find the most
romantic settings in town and
invite a caretaker to describe
the best—and oddest—marriage
proposals he or she has
witnessed.
3. New winery opens.
Any entrepreneur would
welcome the chance to describe
a new venture and maybe even
treat your club’s members to a
tour. Don’t forget to offer the
new community leader a membership
application.
Do you think you can do
better? What intriguing meeting
program ideas have you
found in your local newspaper
headlines? Where and how
does your club find its best
speakers? Share your ideas.
Where in the world is Nashville?
Where will you find the world’s
largest concentration of dinosaur
tracks or the world’s largest reptile
exhibit? What city is known as the
Bell Pepper Capital of the World?
|
Downtown Nashville, Georgia.
|
If you answered “Nashville,” you’d
be correct. But if you’re thinking
of Kiwanis International’s 2009 convention
host city, you’d be wrong.
That’s because no fewer than seven
North American cities share the name
“Nashville” with Tennessee’s Music
City USA. While you’re planning
your trip to the Kiwanis convention,
June 24-28, here’s a quick primer on
the “other” Nashvilles:
Nashville, Georgia: Bell Pepper
Capital of the World and the City
of Dogwoods.
Nashville, North Carolina: Founded
in 1780; rare collection of Victorian
and Queen Ann style homes.
Nashville, Illinois: Located on
Nashville Creek and birthplace of
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry
Blackmun.
Nashville, Indiana: Home of the
Little Opry and the world’s largest
reptile exhibit.
Nashville, Arkansas: Once the center
of the peach trade in southwest
Arkansas; world’s largest dinosaur
trackway was discovered near the
town in 1983.nearby.
Nashville, Kansas: City in Kingman
County, Kansas, with a population
about one-tenth of the number
of the “1,352” guitar pickers in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville, Michigan: Village in Barry
County with a population of about
1,700, most of whom live within a
two-square-mile area.
Nashville, Ontario: Sparsely populated
farming area on the western
edge of Kleinburg.
Nashville, Ohio: Located about one-half
hour from Canton, home of
the National Football League’s
Hall of Fame.
Who put the "Nash" in these Nashvilles? Watch for your February 2009 issue of KIWANIS magazine.
Fast friends
|
Sharyn McCrumb's novels have ventured into the world of NASCAR.
|
What would a bestselling novelist
and a Virginia District Kiwanis club
have in common?
NASCAR!
Author Sharyn McCrumb often
gives serious presentations about literature
and the scholarly research
that goes into writing fiction. But at a
Salem, Virginia, Kiwanis club meeting,
club president Allen Cross suggested,
“Why don’t you talk about
NASCAR?”
The subject suited her just fine.
McCrumb, who has achieved fame
for her Appalachian “Ballad” series,
recently branched out into writing
stock car racing novels.
“I spent the requisite 20 minutes,”
she says, “telling them how I came to
write St. Dale, a modern version of
The Canterbury Tales set in NASCAR,
and how the book had led to awards,
an invitation to the White House, and
a friendship with Dale Earnhardt’s
wonderful family. I finished speaking
on time, but then we did a question-and-
answer fest that went on longer
than the talk, swapping stories about
our favorite speedways and our least
favorite drivers.
“It was a delightful visit with kindred spirits."
Making a mark
How can you spread your club’s
fame? Brand your projects with the
Kiwanis name. Through hard work
and generous contributions, clubs
earn the right to put the Kiwanis
name on a variety of community
facilities and programs, such as:
|
The Simi Valley, California, K-Bus transports young adults with disabilities—and
builds the Kiwanis brand. |
The K-Bus is coming. The Kiwanis
Club of Simi Valley, California,
helped purchase a vehicle that transports
young adults with developmental
disabilities on the local park
district’s field trips, excursions, and
athletic and social events.
Touchdown. Football fans in
Noblesville, Indiana, get an eyeful
and earful of Kiwanis. To recognize
the area’s four Kiwanis clubs’ support,
the Elementary Football League
named one of its fields “Kiwanis
Field,” erected a Kiwanis sign on
the scoreboard, regularly announces
Kiwanis’ backing through its public
address system, and prints the
Kiwanis name across the players’
jerseys.
Play ball. When the Kiwanis Club
of Des Moines, Iowa, raised more
than $150,000 for a new Miracle
League Baseball field, organizers
expressed their gratitude by adopting
the “Kiwanis Miracle League” name.
In addition to giving children of all
abilities an opportunity to bat, field,
catch, and run, the project attracted at
least 10 new members to the club.
Deck the halls. Families in Racine,
Wisconsin, decorate their Christmas
trees with ornaments that depict
local attractions. The 2002 ornament,
for example, features the Johnson
Research Tower, which was designed
by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. All
of the ornaments bear the name of the
Racine Kiwanis club, which sells a
new edition to the series every year. |
