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Kiwanis Club of Bridgeton News |
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July 2,
2009 Thought for the Day This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~~ Elmer Davis Today's meeting was called to order at 7 am by President Janice Duke. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by John Schuette; the Invocation offered by Rex Rocine; and Lorraine Walker led the singing of God Bless America. Guests: No guests today except our speaker. Birthdays & Member Anniversaries: Only one birthday this week, that of Al Drury on Monday, July 6th. Happy Birthday Al! Wellness Report: Rex Rocine reported that Kathleen Telscher had a mastectomy yesterday and is already home today, and seems in very good spirits. President Janice told about the difficulty Madaleaze Cramer's son Ryan has had the last few years. First he was shot in the head at a fast food window hold up, then a year or so later was in a head-on collision, and now has this tumor on his testicles. Let us all keep him in our prayers. Good News: Dick Wilhelm reported that he couldn't believe he was "carded" when he asked for a drink recently, but the waiter insisted it was the policy of that establishment to card anybody asking for an alcoholic drink, and Dick paid his dollar for the good news. It was also reported that Ellen and Bob Staples took a trip to Alaska that will be part of every transportation type there is: plane, bus, walk, jeep, train and cruise. Committee Reports and Announcements: President Janice reported she, daughter Carol and Natalle Gosejohan, along with Joe Campbell worked the Concert in the Park last Sunday and made $90 profit but ran out of food. She also announced that July 19th Concert in the Park will be a beer fest for Kiwanis members and spouses only and is not for sale. She also said Mike Katsev is getting ready for the Senior Barbecue September 10th, but he wants to have a Co-Chair to help him with getting some of the supplies. And Tom Fehrenbacher announced the Community Helping Ministry Food Drive, July 11th, and sent around a sign-up sheet for workers. Keep in mind, that's a week from this Saturday!!! And don't forget the Mo-Ark District Convention July 31 - August 2 in beautiful Joplin, MO. Governor-Elect Mike Grimes encourages every member to attend and you can win TWO FREE nights at the hotel by registering by July 10, 2009!!! See attachments that have been forwarded to every member by E-mail. Till Fehrenbacher reported briefly
on the Convention, starting first with a few comments about the
Kiwanis Hit Parade, which she spent considerable time manning the
booth/board Thursday morning and Friday afternoon, and didn't get
to see the other booths/displays, (about 12-16 total). Wednesday from 1:00 to 6:00 pm she attended Key Leader for Adults
who are interested in experiencing Key Leader so they might adopt
the Key Leader principles of integrity, growth, respect, community,
and excellence. Rex Rocine added a few brief comments about the Convention, saying there were about 5,000 people in attendance and 3,384 total at the Delegate, (business) sessions. They also had electronic voting this year for the first time that enabled us to know immediately which Amendment or Candidate won or lost. Just this alone, enabled the Convention to be a day shorter and saved Kiwanis $40,000. Kiwanis International CEO Rob Parker mentioned that Kiwanis International is in very sound financial condition, something it had not been in during the previous 10 or so years. It was also announced that the IDD Project raised 90 million dollars and Kiwanis is now inviting organizations to nominate our next world-wide project that will be announced at our next year's Convention in Los Vegas. Program:
Mary Vaughan introduced our speaker for the day, Lisa Greening, Executive Director of Ready Readers, who has been in that position for about three months and was previously co-owner of Left Bank Books. She started off by giving a brief history of Ready Readers, which was started 12 years ago teaching three kids in a garage and today has 450 volunteers who read once a week to 6500 children in Head Start and Pre-schools for at risk children ages 2 through 5. They give to these children 6500 books every three weeks for their personal use before they go to school. 95 % of their children are black and 3 or 4 % are other minorities. Many don't even know what a book is, but as the kids are read to and take some books home they begin to ask their regular teachers to read to them. Books are purchased direct from publishers for around $2 each. Anyone interested in learning more about Ready Readers should go to their website: http://www.readyreaders-stlouis.com/ 50-50 Winner:
Mary Vaughan, $5. Pot is $162. Dates to Remember: July 4th U. S. Navy Seabees 60th Reunion, Boenker Hill, 4 pm July 6th Board Meeting, 7 pm, Bridgeton Community Center July 9th Board Review and Member Hi-Lite July 11th CHM Food Drive July 16th Reports on the International Convention, Rex, Tom, Till July 19th Resurrection Lutheran Church, service 10:30, Tour 11:30 am July 19th Concert in the Park, Quintessence, (Big Band/Classic Rock) July 30th Mo-Ark District Convention July 31 - Aug. 2 in Joplin, MO Aug. 9th Concert in the Park, Local Gents, (Blue Grass) Aug. 23 Concert in the Park, Ralph Butler Band Aug. 29th Fairmont Park social Sept. 10th Senior Barbecue Everybody
have a Happy Fourth of July!
********************************* June 25, 2009 Thought for the Day The more I help others to succeed, the more I succeed. ~~ Ray Kroc, (McDonalds) Today's meeting was called to order at 12:01 pm by President Janice Duke. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by President Janice; the Invocation offered by Rev. Rudy Schaser; and Lorraine Walker led the singing of God Bless America. Guests: Visitors today were Mimi Alcott, wife of James Alcott, President of the Cottleville Mid Rivers Club. Mimi is also associated with our Speaker, Rudy Schaser. A warm WELCOME to our guests! Birthdays & Member Anniversaries: Karen McCormick celebrates her birthday Saturday the 27th, and Lyle Downs was serenaded because he celebrates his birthday Sunday the 26th. Ron Abernathy celebrates his 34th anniversary as a member of the Kiwanis Club of Bridgeton tomorrow, the 26th; Alma Smith celebrates her 20th year as a member next Wednesday July 1st; and Dick Wilhelm celebrates his 5th anniversary as a member also on July 1st. Congratulations to all our celebrants this week! Committee Reports and Announcements: John Schuette reported on the Golf Tournament, saying they had 20 teams and 23 hole sponsors, considerably more than initially expected, and the Tournament made approximately $3,200. President Janice praised the members of the Committee and those who worked at the Tournament for making it a real success. Ron Abernathy reminded everybody again about the Night at Fairmont Park August 29th, because he needs people wanting to go to pay him the $20/person and make your checks to Ron. Alma Smith offered to ride her 1929 Model A convertible in the July 4th parade and Mary Vaughan said she'd ride her motorcycle, provided it's not too late to get the forms completed that allows them to do so. And Lyle Downs said he has sent copies of TWO rosters to everyone on the computer, asking that everybody check their mailing address, phone number, birthday, E-mail address, etc., and let Lyle know if there are any corrections needed. Program: Our speaker today was Rev. Rudy Schaser, a retired Lutheran Minister who is Executive Director of an organization called With God's Little Ones, and travels with shipments of food packed by Kiwanis Clubs and churches for a non-profit organization entitled Kids Against Hunger. The Cottleville Mid- Rivers Club obtained a franchise from Kids Against Hunger two or three years ago, and has been working within its community to raise money to buy and package food that Rev. Schaser then accompanies to foreign countries where children are starving. It is through their efforts that we have used KiwanisOne Day to get more Kiwanians to help this cause. Initially Rev. Rudy and his wife went to Uganda where they found many children who were emaciated, with protruding ribs and obviously malnourished. Many were orphans and in some of those countries any food first goes to the political leaders and military, so they were at the end of the food chain. He also found many of the child deaths were water related diseases. AIDS was rampant, and even had nearly eliminated an entire generation. Malaria was everywhere because there were nothing but holes in the ground for human waste, and there was also shrinkage of any food that was brought or flown in, due to inadequate security. He decided to remedy some of these problems, by digging wells, converting holes in the ground to clean rest rooms, and to provide food products that had been developed to provide a much higher quality of food. He also obtained oxen that enabled them to plow fields, and he bore holes so the people could obtain better water. The search for higher quality food brought him to Kids Against Hunger, an organization started over 30 years ago by a Minnesota businessman who decided to commit his life and financial resources towards the enormous problem of world hunger. It was through the efforts of the Cottleville Mid- Rivers Club and Rev. Schaser that the combined efforts of two or three local churches and Kiwanis Clubs were brought together for that first KiwanisOne Day event in 2008 when 60 cartons of food were packed. Each carton of food costs $50, and contains enough food to feed 216 children for one day. Special Note: Special thanks to Jesse Napoli for serving as the "cub reporter" for notes from the meeting. We also apologize for being late with this issue of the Newsletter. Finally everyone is reminded that our next meeting is a morning meeting, 7 am at the Bridgeton Community Ctr. 50-50 Winner: Lisa Busekist, $5. Pot is $153. *********************************** June 18,
2009 Thought for the Day Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome. ~~ Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Today's meeting was called to order at 12:02 pm by President Janice Duke. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Barb Abram; the Invocation offered by Tom Fehrenbacher; and Bob Duisen led the singing of God Bless America. Guests: Visitors today were Lorrie McKelvey and her daughter Becky Light, the Rev. John R. Reigstad, Jenny Boenker-Turner, Rosalea Vogler, and Fran Rocine. We are thankful for our guests who came to help remember Jack McKelvey! Birthdays & Member Anniversaries: Ray McCormick celebrates his birthday next Monday the 22nd and he let us serenade him, and Sharon Duisen celebrates hers Tuesday the 23rd. Congratulations to our birthday celebrants this week! Wellness Report: Weldon Zoellner reported that George Krelo, a past member and ex-police Chief of Bridgeton is in the nursing home on Conway Rd. across from St. John's Mercy Hospital, and though he wasn't doing well, he was doing better when Weldon visited him this afternoon. Bob Duisen said his seven year old granddaughter had a successful heart operation this past week and appears to be doing fine. Father's Day: Even though we reported Lorraine's Poem last week, we will again wish all Fathers a Happy Father's Day! Committee Reports and Announcements: Sponsored Youth, Youth Services Chair Till Fehrenbacher reported on the Concert in the Park last Sunday evening where Joe Campbell did the set-up; Ray McCormick did the barbecuing under the supervision of Karen; Natalle Gosejohan and Till took orders and Tom was cashier. John Sinovich bought some hot dogs and chips while Connie Campbell and LaVerne Sinovich enjoyed the music. And Pattonville Key Club members Danielle, Luke and Griselda sold candy and cookies. Shortly you'll be able to see photos from the Concert on our website. Next Concert will be June 28th and you're encouraged to enjoy a night of music in the Park. Jenny Boenker-Turner had several sheets about the 60th reunion of the 71st U. S. Navy Seabees at the Boenker farm July 4th at 4pm and food will be served at 6pm. If you have not signed up, but want to go, call Jenny Boenker-Turner, (phone: 314-739-3394), or report it to Till, because Jenny has to have some idea about the number of people attending. John Schuette reported that they fortunately have 19 teams for the Golf Tournament, and Dave Hilliard will not be able to attend but sponsored three hole signs instead. Thanks Dave! Lyle Downs reported that he, Ray McCormick, Mary Vaughan and Carl Vogler did an Interclub to the Harvester Club last Wednesday noon. Ron Abernathy reminded everybody again about the Night at Fairmont Park August 29th, and right now there are only two people signed up. For those wanting to go, it's $20/person and make your checks to Ron. Barb Abram said the bears were delivered to DePaul Hospital this past week and shortly you'll be able to see pictures of Barb and Till on our website with Wayne and Heather (Heather is Sherry's replacement in the Foundation) at DePaul Hospital. And next week the speaker is a retired
Lutheran Minister by the name of Rudy Schaser
who founded an organization called With God's Little Ones.
He has been working with the Cottleville-St. Peters Club on a project
called Kids Against Hunger. Rev. Rudy accompanies these food
shipments to their destinations, and he'll explain all about getting
food to starving children. Because Tom, Till and
Rex are going to the International Convention, we need
a good turnout on the 25th. Our speaker today for a few words to explain their relationship with Jack McKelvey was Rev. John R. Reigstad of the Resurrection Lutheran Church, 4112 W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis. Rev. Reigstad said he came to this church in 2002, and it was a beautiful building built with seven rest rooms and used to be called a pearl of a church. He met Jack in 2004 when Jack wanted to increase the insurance on the church, and the senior Trustee Willie Jones treated Jack like a father figure because their relationship dated back over 20 years, and Jack insisted they increase the coverage. In the summer of 2006 Rev. Reigstad wrote the Bishop that the church was too big and expensive to maintain, but nothing was done. On Christmas eve the church burned to the ground and on Christmas Day the FBI and Fire Marshall contacted Rev. Reigstad because of suspected arson, but later that was ruled out. When surveying the ashes, somebody recommended they get an insurance adjuster, but Willie insisted Jack could be trusted fully, and within 30 days they received 100 % of their payout with which to build a new, smaller church with only three rest rooms. On July 19, 2008 they had their first service in the new church and Rev. Reigstad invited us to attend the first anniversary service at 10:30 am July 19th which would be followed by a tour at 11:30 including seeing their Tree of Life that includes a leaf dedicated to Jack McKelvey. Rev. Reigstad accompanied us to the flagpole at City Hall where President Janice read a poem for Jack, then Rex Rocine reviewed Jack's life briefly , including some of his characteristics of honesty, placing the interest of clients above his own, very sociable and learned through Kiwanis to be a part of the community, for not only was he active with other insurance professionals, he was a member of the Bridgeton Historical Society, Park Board and Police Commissioner, as well as John Calvin Presbyterian Church and he volunteered with the Gideon's to place Bibles in hotels, motels and correctional facilities. The Memorial Service was concluded with a Prayer by the Rev. Reigstad, including everybody joining in for the Lord's Prayer.
50-50 Winner: Rosalea Vogler, $5. Pot is $140.
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