Kiwanis International president-elect visits Wooster
By Lisa Amstutz
January 23, 2011
783
The Wooster Kiwanis Club welcomed Alan Penn, Kiwanis International president-elect, to their Jan. 18 meeting. This year is the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Kiwanis Club. Thats what were celebrating today; thats why we invited Alan to come and speak, said Wooster Kiwanis president Steve LoGiudice. It is a real honor for us to host him. Several other area Kiwanis clubs attended the event as well.
Penn lives in Medina and is a former educator and school administrator with a long list of civic accomplishments. He attributes his interest in working at the international level to the first international conference he attended. In 1983, my breakfast club sent my wife and I to the Vienna convention, he said. I found out that breakfast club in Vienna is the same as breakfast club here. I made friends and connections that I still have today. But the most important thing I did was to sit in the house of delegates and vote. 1983 changed my life.
While the community focus of our clubs is important, there is value in representing yourself on the international stage, he said. Its important to be at the table, to help mold policies and ensure that the organization will continue to do the right things.
Penn is particularly excited about the new Eliminate Project, aimed at eradicating maternal and neonatal tetanus, a disease that kills 60,000 babies each year. In conjunction with UNICEF, Kiwanis International plans to raise $110 million to immunize 129 million women by 2015. In honor of Penns visit, members were asked to wear Kiwanis spirit wear, pins, T-shirts, etc. Ten dollars per item, amounting to $500, was donated to the Eliminate Project.
Helping children is central to the Kiwanis mission. Our focus is on children, and serving the children of the world and of our communities, said LoGiudice. Locally we sponsor Safety Town each year, build playgrounds, give scholarships, and so on.
In his address, Penn outlined some of his other priorities. Something that is near and dear to me, he said, is making sure we all understand that were truly an international organization. When I came onto Kiwanis International, the leadership was all North American. That has changed.
Another of Penns priorities is to increase membership. As we move into this year and next, if were going to survive, were going to have to find new ways to bring people in, he said. One of his initiatives allows parents of Key Club (children) and Circle Club (youth) members to join without paying dues to the international organization.
Along the way, Penn tested the crowds knowledge of Kiwanis trivia, with pins awarded for correct answers. The Kiwanis Club began in 1915, he said, with a group of businessmen in Detroit. They called themselves the Supreme Lodge Benevolent Order Brothers, or BOBs. Shortly thereafter, they changed the name to Kiwanis, which comes from an Indian word loosely translated as we have a good time and we make noise. Since that time, Kiwanis has grown to 8,400 clubs in 96 nations, with more than 600,000 members. Membership was opened to women in 1987, and longtime Wooster member Beverly Thiel was the seventh woman to join her club.
Ive spent 41 years working with children and families, so when I was invited to join it was a natural fit, she said.
Penn concluded with encouragement for the Wooster Kiwanians. Kiwanis is the finest organization in the world committed to taking care of kids and their families. Lets keep doing the great things you do!
The Kiwanis Club welcomes new members who want to make a difference in their community. Clubs for children, youth and people with disabilities are also available. For more information, see http://www.woosterkiwanis.org.
