Greetings, fellow Pennsylvania Kiwanians,
May turned out to be a nasty month for spring weather. Above average low temperatures and rainfall. That put a “damper” on many Kiwanis outdoor events. But our clubs are resilient and can turn weather lemons into lemonade. A prime example of this was on Saturday, May 31, when the Kiwanis Club of Fort LeBoeuf hosted their annual “Spring Fling” event at the Waterford Elementary School. This service project is so special that I gladly drove cross-state to attend. I was invited by club President Mark Rose and Division 1 Lt. Governor Val Rose. They welcomed me to stay at their lovely home outside of Waterford, Pa. Friday night I enjoyed a tour of nearby Erie, including a drive around Presque Isle State Park, the convention center complex on the lakefront, and most enjoyably a visit to Sara’s Restaurant for soft ice cream cones! Earlier on Friday afternoon and all morning on Saturday, members of the Fort LeBoeuf club and other volunteers set up activity stations in the school gym and cafeteria. Due to the damp and chilly weather, all activities had to be moved indoors, including a large, inflatable slide. The children began arriving around 1 PM, many of them members of the 3 K-Kids Clubs that Fort LeBoeuf sponsors. There was cookie decorating, golf ball face designs, face painting and much more in the cafeteria. The kids really enjoyed petting several therapy dogs that joined the festivities.
The gym was bursting with energy, with children selecting one of 4 birds; a Cardinal, Grosbeak, Blue Jay, or Oriole, then taking the wooden body shape and wings to a series of tables where volunteers helped them assemble their “whirligig” birds. At the end, they were mounted on thin poles and tested out. Each child got to take his or her birdie home. What a creative and unique project! When the event was over, adult volunteers had the opportunity to assemble their own whirligigs. Mine was an Oriole, which is now proudly displayed in front of my house.
Also in the gym was a long table with different hand tools and measuring devices for the children to try out, as well as an obstacle course and spinning wheel with prizes. After the event, I presented the Fort LeBoeuf club with my 2nd Quarter “Rise in Membership” award, which included a Certificate of Achievement, a $100 Sheetz gift card, and a $100 donation to their service account. In the first two quarters of this Kiwanis year, their club welcomed 7 new members! Since March, they have inducted another new member, and are now the largest club in the District with 54 members. And several more in the wings. Way to go, Fort LeBoeuf! I ended my visit by joining several of their members for dinner Saturday night. They all deserved an evening of relaxation after such a mammoth and highly memorable undertaking.
Over the past two weeks our Northampton New Club Opening Team has been busy signing up charter members with the goal of having at least 15 members to organize the club. We ended up doing better, with 16 new members enrolled by the time we met on June 4. District membership Chair Mike Coolbaugh, and Region 6 Trustee Tiffany
Callaio, who coordinated all of our social media advertising and Facebook leads, travelled down from the Wyoming Valley to help out in person. We had a quorum of at least 8 members, and were able to organize the club. First order of business was for the members to choose a name for the club. They agreed to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Northampton Area. Mike called on volunteers wiling to serve as officers and board members. Crystal Messer, who is the Director of the River Crossing YMCA was unanimously elected President, as was Linsey Hall as President-Elect, Gail Taylor as Secretary, Wendy Milhime as Treasurer, and Linda Macnamara, Janet Jackson and Rob McCann as members of the Board of Directors They chose to meet the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM, initially at the Suburban North YMCA in Catasauqua. After completing all the requirement of new club chartering, the audience broke into enthusiastic applause. This club already has a ton of energy. Two additional new members signed up on the spot. And there are many others in the community who are seriously considering joining the club. They are already brainstorming ideas for fundraisers and service projects. My club, the Kiwanis Club of Allentown is their sponsor, and will be mentoring them in the year ahead. We are thrilled to welcome to the Pennsylvania District the Kiwanis Club of Greater Northampton Area!
We have three additional new club opening sites in the works for the summer months. From my own experience as a member of a new club sponsoring club, I would like to encourage other clubs in our District to consider doing the same. I know that many of you are working hard to grow your own club’s membership. But there are many advantages to being a new club sponsor. It will energize your club, and provide you with techniques and experiences that will only help your efforts for club growth. All that is asked is that you help mentor that new club for a full year. Attend their meetings. Enjoy interclubs with them. They are your neighbors! Show them real Kiwanis hospitality. There are many communities in Pennsylvania that are underserved by NOT having a Kiwanis Club. Think of how worse off YOUR community would be without YOUR club. That community in your vicinity that does not enjoy the benefits of a Kiwanis Club needs your support. So, as we plan to open new clubs in the District, we call on our existing clubs to lend a hand. You will not be sorry that you did.
By the time this blog spot is published, there will be just 16 days left until the KI Convention in Pittsburgh! A year of planning by our District host committee is coming to fruition. In terms of registration, it will likely be the most highly attended convention in years. As of May 30, total registration stood at 1,734 Kiwanians and guests. Our District has the second-highest number of registrants with 137. Only the Ohio District is higher with 166. We were informed that Henry Winkler has been replaced by Martin Sheen as the Keynote Speaker for the Opening Session. There is so much to look forward to at the convention! Former Pittsburgh Pirate great Al Oliver signing autographs at the Wednesday Welcome Reception in the Kiwanis Marketplace. Dozens of educational sessions. The Signature Service Project Breakfast Thursday morning and Sunset Social that evening. The Service Leadership Programs Luncheon Friday. Our baseball outing Friday night. The International House of Delegates Annual Meeting Saturday morning, followed by our own District House of Delegates in the afternoon. All culminating in the
Kiwanis Roaring Twenties Gala Saturday night. This is a “don’t miss” event that will feature the first time that Pennsylvania has EVER hosted a Kiwanis International Convention. If you are not already registered, there is still time to do so. I would like to recognize and THANK everyone on our “Keystone Committee”, especially its Chair, Shawn “Spike” Smith for devoting hours of planning to make this the best KI Convention EVER! There is still time for you to volunteer for a variety of convention support assignments. Join us as we provide our international guests with a warm “Keystone State” welcome!
Let’s “Forge the Future” in Pittsburgh June 25-28 and continue to “Rise and Shine for the Kids!” all year long.
Best wishes,
Governor Tom
Pennsylvania District Governor
Posted: June 6, 2025 by pennsylvaniakiwanis
See Yinz in the Burgh!
Greetings, fellow Pennsylvania Kiwanians,
May turned out to be a nasty month for spring weather. Above average low temperatures and rainfall. That put a “damper” on many Kiwanis outdoor events. But our clubs are resilient and can turn weather lemons into lemonade. A prime example of this was on Saturday, May 31, when the Kiwanis Club of Fort LeBoeuf hosted their annual “Spring Fling” event at the Waterford Elementary School. This service project is so special that I gladly drove cross-state to attend. I was invited by club President Mark Rose and Division 1 Lt. Governor Val Rose. They welcomed me to stay at their lovely home outside of Waterford, Pa. Friday night I enjoyed a tour of nearby Erie, including a drive around Presque Isle State Park, the convention center complex on the lakefront, and most enjoyably a visit to Sara’s Restaurant for soft ice cream cones! Earlier on Friday afternoon and all morning on Saturday, members of the Fort LeBoeuf club and other volunteers set up activity stations in the school gym and cafeteria. Due to the damp and chilly weather, all activities had to be moved indoors, including a large, inflatable slide. The children began arriving around 1 PM, many of them members of the 3 K-Kids Clubs that Fort LeBoeuf sponsors. There was cookie decorating, golf ball face designs, face painting and much more in the cafeteria. The kids really enjoyed petting several therapy dogs that joined the festivities.
The gym was bursting with energy, with children selecting one of 4 birds; a Cardinal, Grosbeak, Blue Jay, or Oriole, then taking the wooden body shape and wings to a series of tables where volunteers helped them assemble their “whirligig” birds. At the end, they were mounted on thin poles and tested out. Each child got to take his or her birdie home. What a creative and unique project! When the event was over, adult volunteers had the opportunity to assemble their own whirligigs. Mine was an Oriole, which is now proudly displayed in front of my house.
Also in the gym was a long table with different hand tools and measuring devices for the children to try out, as well as an obstacle course and spinning wheel with prizes. After the event, I presented the Fort LeBoeuf club with my 2nd Quarter “Rise in Membership” award, which included a Certificate of Achievement, a $100 Sheetz gift card, and a $100 donation to their service account. In the first two quarters of this Kiwanis year, their club welcomed 7 new members! Since March, they have inducted another new member, and are now the largest club in the District with 54 members. And several more in the wings. Way to go, Fort LeBoeuf! I ended my visit by joining several of their members for dinner Saturday night. They all deserved an evening of relaxation after such a mammoth and highly memorable undertaking.
Over the past two weeks our Northampton New Club Opening Team has been busy signing up charter members with the goal of having at least 15 members to organize the club. We ended up doing better, with 16 new members enrolled by the time we met on June 4. District membership Chair Mike Coolbaugh, and Region 6 Trustee Tiffany
Callaio, who coordinated all of our social media advertising and Facebook leads, travelled down from the Wyoming Valley to help out in person. We had a quorum of at least 8 members, and were able to organize the club. First order of business was for the members to choose a name for the club. They agreed to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Northampton Area. Mike called on volunteers wiling to serve as officers and board members. Crystal Messer, who is the Director of the River Crossing YMCA was unanimously elected President, as was Linsey Hall as President-Elect, Gail Taylor as Secretary, Wendy Milhime as Treasurer, and Linda Macnamara, Janet Jackson and Rob McCann as members of the Board of Directors They chose to meet the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM, initially at the Suburban North YMCA in Catasauqua. After completing all the requirement of new club chartering, the audience broke into enthusiastic applause. This club already has a ton of energy. Two additional new members signed up on the spot. And there are many others in the community who are seriously considering joining the club. They are already brainstorming ideas for fundraisers and service projects. My club, the Kiwanis Club of Allentown is their sponsor, and will be mentoring them in the year ahead. We are thrilled to welcome to the Pennsylvania District the Kiwanis Club of Greater Northampton Area!
We have three additional new club opening sites in the works for the summer months. From my own experience as a member of a new club sponsoring club, I would like to encourage other clubs in our District to consider doing the same. I know that many of you are working hard to grow your own club’s membership. But there are many advantages to being a new club sponsor. It will energize your club, and provide you with techniques and experiences that will only help your efforts for club growth. All that is asked is that you help mentor that new club for a full year. Attend their meetings. Enjoy interclubs with them. They are your neighbors! Show them real Kiwanis hospitality. There are many communities in Pennsylvania that are underserved by NOT having a Kiwanis Club. Think of how worse off YOUR community would be without YOUR club. That community in your vicinity that does not enjoy the benefits of a Kiwanis Club needs your support. So, as we plan to open new clubs in the District, we call on our existing clubs to lend a hand. You will not be sorry that you did.
By the time this blog spot is published, there will be just 16 days left until the KI Convention in Pittsburgh! A year of planning by our District host committee is coming to fruition. In terms of registration, it will likely be the most highly attended convention in years. As of May 30, total registration stood at 1,734 Kiwanians and guests. Our District has the second-highest number of registrants with 137. Only the Ohio District is higher with 166. We were informed that Henry Winkler has been replaced by Martin Sheen as the Keynote Speaker for the Opening Session. There is so much to look forward to at the convention! Former Pittsburgh Pirate great Al Oliver signing autographs at the Wednesday Welcome Reception in the Kiwanis Marketplace. Dozens of educational sessions. The Signature Service Project Breakfast Thursday morning and Sunset Social that evening. The Service Leadership Programs Luncheon Friday. Our baseball outing Friday night. The International House of Delegates Annual Meeting Saturday morning, followed by our own District House of Delegates in the afternoon. All culminating in the
Kiwanis Roaring Twenties Gala Saturday night. This is a “don’t miss” event that will feature the first time that Pennsylvania has EVER hosted a Kiwanis International Convention. If you are not already registered, there is still time to do so. I would like to recognize and THANK everyone on our “Keystone Committee”, especially its Chair, Shawn “Spike” Smith for devoting hours of planning to make this the best KI Convention EVER! There is still time for you to volunteer for a variety of convention support assignments. Join us as we provide our international guests with a warm “Keystone State” welcome!
Let’s “Forge the Future” in Pittsburgh June 25-28 and continue to “Rise and Shine for the Kids!” all year long.
Best wishes,
Governor Tom
Pennsylvania District Governor
Category: Governor Blog
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