Jason Smith--March's Featured Kiwanian

Jason Smith is this month's Featured Kiwanian. Jason and his wife Ronda have 4 children and live in rural Hiawatha. Jason recently earned his master's degree and is the assistant general manager for Rainbow Communications. He enjoys participating in his kids' activities and especially coaching youth sports and working in his yard.

Jason enjoys a lot about Kiwanis, but especially the opportunities it has provided him within his community.

Brrrrr ..... It's February!!!

February 26: Denise Elffner, USD #415 Board of Education, presented Janice Smith with a Friend of Education Certificate of Merit Award from the Confidence in Kansas Public Education Task Force for "outstanding contributions to public education in Kansas". Jere Bruning presented Jim Bush as the speaker today. His topic was the completion of the Frances Sewell Plamann History Center. After his presentation, he invited all present to move to the Center for a tour of the facilities. 6 Sabetha Kiwanians were our guests today (Hicks, Grimm, Girton, Cook, Lukert and Lippert).

February 19: Today's program by Troy Boswell dealt with 'money trivia'. 18 members were present on this wintry day. The secretary read correspondence from Lt. Gov. Dan Gaumer asking for our club's official vote for 2010-2011 Division 2 Lt. Governor -- Beckham Smith moved that we cast a unanimous vote for Sabetha Kiwanian Doug Clark, seconded & carried.

February 12: Plans were continued on our club sponsoring the March 19th Community Blood Bank -- John Moore, John Severin, Jere Bruning, Lana Reigle, Beckham Smith and Gretchen Randall will call past donors; Justin Fluke will be responsible for posting posters and putting information on the radio. In addition, Jere, John, Beckham, Janice Smith and Eric Gustafson will be at the refreshment table that day. Sean Binkley gave the program today on "Partners in The Perfect Crime!" touching on the 4 Deadly Food Additives, The Dangers of Sugar, Whole Food Nutrients vs. Synthetic Nutrients and much more. Topeka Kiwanian Harold Wohlgast and his guest Layman Pierce were present along with 19 Hiawatha Kiwanians today.

February 11 - Club Valentine Party: 26 Members and guests welcomed our 2 honored guests -- Mrs. Fern Wolney and Mrs. Nancy Klontz, wives of former Kiwanians no longer with us. Randy Quinn led the group in reading the official Kiwanis prayer from 1955. Vice President, Jennifer Ploeger presented Gretchen Oldham with the "Night At The Cabin" certificate she had won in November.

Secretary, Janice Smith, delivered the "First 50 Years of Hiawatha Kiwanis Club" in a trivia format. Door prizes were won by Jere Bruning, Nancy Klontz, Kathy Nelson, Gretchen Randall and Beckham Smith. All present enjoyed the delicious meal and fellowship.

February 5: Chad Bachman introduced Payton Trosclair, member of Boy Scout Troop 313, who gave the history of scouting as well as personal information of the troop. His mother Dawn Newman and Jay Boyles were guests. Janice Smith presented more trivia that she has gleaned from the club's archival files. 19 members were present.

February 3 - Board Meeting: Pancake Feed's net now stands at $1460 -- this money is used to support our 4 scholarships given to Hiawatha High seniors that will be attending a Kansas Community College or Kansas Vo-Tech School the following year. January Volunteer hours totaled 132 hours by 16 Kiwanians impacting 128 children. January attendance was up 3% from the previous month; 9 members had perfect attendance -- Chad Bachman, Jere Bruning, Joe Koechner, Peggy Kolb, Del Larson, Laurie Neeman, Beckham Smith, Janice Smith and Terry Smith. Thank you notes were received from a Christmas Adopted Family and for "Fighting 4-Phoenix" Lucky Bears donated to Hiawatha Community Hospital. The club will be sponsoring the March 19th Community Blood Drive. Voted to invite 3 widows of former Kiwanians to be our honored guests at the February 11th Valentine Party. Carl Nelson, Eric Oldham, Pat Loyd and Troy Boswell were reappointed to the Hiawatha Foundation Board for an additional 3 years. Carl Nelson was a guest today and explained their plans for a Spring Golf Tournament to be held May 1st and asked that our board designate how proceeds be used. Board gave the secretary permission to donate the original 1930-1934 Kiwanis Scrapbook to the Brown County Historical Society once she has made copies of the information contained therein to be retained with club archival records.

February Featured Kiwanian--Beckham Smith

Beckham has been a longtime resident of the Hiawatha area and has been a very active Kiwanis member. He and his wife, Janice, have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. Beck is self-employed working for Rainbow Communications. He enjoys spending time in the yard when he is not working on computers.

FUTURE KIWANIANS ????

We have two births to announce --

Kirsten Luci -- daughter of Jason & Ronda Smith, born December 18, 2009. 7 lbs. 11 oz.; 20 inches long.

Carla Ann -- daughter of Eric and Cara Gustafson, born January 10, 2010. 7 lbs. 4 oz.; 18 inches long.

Congratulations fellow Kiwanians -- Jason and Eric!

January 2010 ........ HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

January 29 -- Doug Weinberg introduced his speaker following a few comical remarks -- Eric Oldham. Eric took us back in time to "Grand Prairie: A One Room School House" with many visual aids such as slate boards and pencils, pinafore smocks, McGuffey's Readers, and old game boards. For this blogger, it hit very close to home as I attended Grand Prairie School from first thru 6th grade. 19 members present.

January 22 -- Janice Smith provided information regarding the upcoming Valentine Party. Bee Strobel presented trivia and Janice Smith gave "a new way to look at a deck of cards" for todays program. Eric Gustafson was inducted as a new member by President Fonda LaFrenz and his co-sponsors, Jere Bruning and Beckham Smith. 23 members and 2 guests -- Dustin Williams and Jackilynn Randall -- present.

January 15 -- Bee Strobel introduced today's speaker: Drew Bauerle, son of Daron and Elizabeth Bauerle. Drew, a Senior at Hiawatha High School, was our 2008 representative to HOBY - Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Conference. He related how the experience has encouraged him to become more confident in his everyday experience to become a leader rather than always being a follower. Thank you for confirming our stance to continue sponsoring the HOBY program. 19 members were present.

January 8 -- Despite the cold and snowy weather, 17 Kiwanians welcomed 5 guests (Dave Grimm, Malcolm Grier, Randy Phillips, Sheila Schwalm and Dr. Willie Geisendorf) to our Membership Day. Each member described what induced them to become a Kiwanian with "helping children of the community" being the top reason. Gretchen Randall was inducted as a new member by President Fonda LaFrenz and her sponsor, Peggy Kolb. Secretary, Janice Smith gave a board report and a brief history of the Hiawatha Kiwanis Club that began in 1930. Much laughter and comraderie was enjoyed by all.

January 6 Board Meeting -- Treasurer Peggy Kolb reported a net of $1459.94 for the Pancake Feed to date. Jennifer Ploeger purchased toys, clothing and food for the two families our club 'adopted' for Christmas 2009 with 8 children impacted. 18 Kiwanians volunteered 130 hours in December, which impacted 346 children in the community. December attendance was DOWN 24% from last month: 100% attendance = Jere Bruning, Peggy Kolb, Laurie Neemann, Mike Schmitt, Beckham Smith, Janice Smith, Terry Smith; 75% = 5 members; 50% = 9; 25% = 3; 0% = 12 members. Dr. Delbert Larson is the 'Featured Kiwanian' for January. Community Blood Drive sponsorship was once again tabled till next month for additional information. Membership applications for Eric Gustafson and Gretchen Randall were approved. Final review for Friday's Membership Day was completed. 6 members were present.

Membership Meeting -- Would you like to learn more about Kiwanis? We would like to invite you to our Membership Meeting on Friday, January 8th at 12:00 noon at Laurie Beth's in Hiawatha. Come learn about our organization and see if it might be a way for you to get involved in our community!

January's Featured Kiwanian

Dr. Delbert Larson Dr. Larson enjoys the fellowship and community involvement that being a Kiwanis Member provides. Delbert and his wife, Nancy, enjoy traveling and spending time with family and friends. They have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.

DECEMBER 2009 -- MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!!!

December 25 -- NO MEETING.

December 18 -- Spiritual Aims. Randy Quinn's speaker, Phil Duncan has been a Midwest Transplant Network Ambassador since early 2008 -- not long after his heart transplant at Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City in June 2007. His volunteer work with MTN and Gift of Life Foundation has made a real difference in getting the word out about the importance of organ and tissue donation. 2 guests present -- Eric Gustafson and Gretchen Randall.

December 11 -- Beckham Smith introduced George "Ty" Tyler as his speaker today. Ty gave a brief history of his road to becoming a jeweler and invited anyone that have needs to contact him. Ty also works as a reserve police officer for the City of Hiawatha. Janice and Peggy read thank you notes from Melster Family and First Baptist Church Mission Board for our donation to the 2009 Community Thanksgiving Dinner and from Brown County 4-H Council for the club's donation. Eric Gustafson and Gretchen were visitors again today.

December 4 -- Guests introduced today were Eric Gustafson and Gretchen Randall. John Severin presented today's program on the woes of the the local school district. Janice Smith, club secretary, gave a board meeting update. A reminder was made to drop off items to the Rainbow office for items to be sent to the 425 area soldiers from the 2nd-130th FA now serving in Egypt.

December 2 Board Meeting -- 9 members were present as we met at Laurie Beth's today. 165.5 volunteer hours were turned in for the month of November by 25 Kiwanians impacting 273 children. November attendance was 76% -- an all-time high for the past three years. Those with 100% attendance for the month: Chad Bachman, Jere Bruning, Brad Edwards, Hallee Edwards, Joe Koechner, Fonda LaFrenz, Del Larson, Carl Nelson, Eric Oldham, Jennifer Ploeger, Lana Reigle, Mike Schmitt, John Severin, Beckham Smith, Janice Smith, Terry Smith and Bee Strobel. Pancake was a success with $1380 being cleared -- but several Kiwanians still owe for their tickets. Night At the Cabin winner was Gretchen Oldham. Youth Services committee will be shopping, wrapping and delivering gifts to our two 'adopted families in the next two weeks -- 5 children will be impacted. Featured Kiwanian for December is Eric Oldham. Plans continue for our upcoming Membership Day on January 8th. Be sure to bring a guest to this meeting. Coourtney Brennan is the Hiawatha High School's HOBY representative. Club will sponsor a Youth Bowling Team with the Tuesday After School League effective immediatly. Club will donate 2 "Lucky Bears" in honor of Phoenix Entriken to the Hiawatha Hospital. Next meeting will be January 6, 2010.

Eric Oldham -- December's Featured Kiwanian.

Eric works for the Brown County Historical Society as the Director / Curator. He and his wife, Gretchen, moved to Hiawatha in 2007. They have two children. When Eric isn't spending time with his family, he enjoys golfing. Eric enjoys the camaraderie we have as well as the ability to help many children through our efforts as Kiwanis members.