"Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time."
Upcoming Events
Future Speakers for Weekly Club Meetings - Thursdays 7am
February 23 – A.J. Cunha, Petty Officer 1st Class, USN will
speak on “The Wounded Warrior Project”.
March 1 – Brian Weiss, Recently appointed Commander of
NOPD, Fourth District.
Board Meeting is the first Tuesday each month at
Aurora Tennis and Swim Club from 6:30-7:30
FOR YOUR KIWANIS CALENDAR
February 15 – Deadline for early, discounted registration
for the Kiwanis International Convention to be held in New
Orleans, June 28 through July 1. Consider volunteering
some of your time to help make this convention a success.
March 10 – Mid - Year Conference of Kiwanis Region 4
(The Bayou Region) of the Louisiana-Mississippi-West
Tennessee District. It will be in Chalmette (I think). We’ll
elect our next Lieutenant Governor and conduct other
business of the divisions and clubs in the region.
April 10 – Kiwanis “One Day”. This is the annual day when
Kiwanis clubs and their sponsored youth can get together
perhaps with other clubs to perform a “significant hands
on service project”.
April 27 – First weekend of Jazzfest 2012 starts. Consider
how you can participate in this major fund-raising effort of
our club.
May 1 – Officers and directors who will serve our club
during the 2012 – 2013 Administrative Year should have
been elected by this time and names submitted to the
district and international.
May 3 – The second weekend of Jazzfest 2012.
June 28 through July 1- Kiwanis International Convention
in New Orleans.
August 2 through 5 – LA-MS-W.TN District Convention in
Lafayette, Louisiana.
October 1 – Start of the 2012 – 2013 Administrative Year.
Kiwanis International Convention
Plan to attend the Kiwanis International
Convention which will be held in New Orleans June 28
through July 1, 2012. Many conventions are held in places
where most members cannot justify the expense. Joe
Pratt, a member of The Kiwanis Club of Lakeside, Metairie,
Louisiana is the Host Chairman. I understand he has
recruited Gary Bair and Bobbie Whiddon to assist him and
they will be offering our members numerous opportunities
to make the convention a memorable one for local and
visiting Kiwanians. Following is an extensive list of various
functions needing volunteers.
Pre-convention golf tournament Monday, June 24th, VIP Pickup
Monday, June 24th through Wednesday, June 26rh
Involves airport pickup and transport of Kiwanis
Governors, Governors Elect and International Board
members to their respective hotels.
Airport Reception Monday, June 24th through Wednesday, June 26th
Includes airport greetings of convention attendees
providing information, diredtion etc.
Convention Registration Wednesday, June 26th through Saturday, June 29th
Manning the registration desk at the Convention Center.
Information Booth Wednesday, June 26th through Saturday, June 29th
Greet and help with directions.and help with directions.
Kiwanis Family Lounge
Wednesday, June 26th through Saturday, June 29th
An area for convention attendees to bring their children
for games etc. Not a baby-sitting service!!
Forums/Seminar Support & Coordination
Wednesday, June 26th through Saturday, June 29th
Help assure that seminars run efficiently.
Recent Happenings
Last Thursday's Meeting - February 9
Following a period of much needed rain, it was
appropriate that our song, led by the Prez Tom Cruser, was “Wait ‘til
the sun shines Nellie”. Our scheduled speaker cancelled
and we were fortunate to have a substitute with an
important and interesting message. Fellow member Tom
Nagelin, President of the Tour Guide Association of
Greater New Orleans was our speaker. He pointed out that
tourism is the #1 industry in New Orleans. Accounting for
$5 billion dollars to the local economy it provides one third
of the city budget. Statistically this amount of income
would require a city of 2 million residents and New
Orleans only has 300,000. This emphasizes the attraction
our community has for tourists, many of whom are repeat
visitors. There are many things drawing people to New
Orleans not the least of which is the cuisine and fine dining
establishments. Tom emphasized that visitors “get more
bang for their buck” in New Orleans. Conventions and
cruises departing New Orleans provide a source of much
of the tourist dollars. This year will be most important as
Louisiana will celebrate its bicentennial providing many
functions of interest to the tourist trade. Tom pointed out
that many of the volunteer guides he oversees are retired
people. Some are dropping out due to new restrictions
placed on them. He offered an interesting volunteer
opportunity through Amtrak called “Trails and Rails”.
Photos of three recent presentations are shown on
"Kiwanis In Action" page.
IN OUR KIWANIS FAMILY
The members serenaded Tom Arnold and John
Powers by singing “Happy Birthday To You” recognizing
their natal day as they contributed the “Happy Dollar”.
Also, Bob & Sue Tomlinson were recognized for their 61st
wedding anniversary as were John & Kathy Powers who
were observing their 36th anniversary. Congratulations to
all the above!! It was great to see that Bob could make a
meeting. Dave & Sue Knox have returned from an
extended trip to Australia or “Down Under”. Dave spent
considerable time there when he was working for the oil
field service company Schlumberger.
We are happy to welcome two new members
into Kiwanis. Sponsored by Ron Bridges. John & Kathy
Powers were formally installed by President Tom Cruser.
Tom challenged them to accept and abide by the Six Objects
of Kiwanis which they did and were extended a welcoming
hand shake as the membership sang “How Do You Do
Fellow Kiwanian, How Do You Do etc.”
THE FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING
The clubs’ Board of Directors met on Tuesday,
February 7th. Eight of the fifteen members were present.
The upcoming Crescent City Classic and Jazzfest 2012 were
discussed briefly.
Pending receipt of applications for membership,
the board approved John and Kathy Powers for
membership. Their sponsor is Ron Bridges. They have
attended three meetings so far. Gary Bair reviewed a potential fund raising
opportunity involving placement of the American Flag on
residents and businesses. More later.
It was announced that early discounted
registration for the Kiwanis International Convention has
been extended to March 15th. Several members have
indicated a desire to participate as volunteers in the
Information Booth. The club will pay their registration fees
The Treasurer reported 76 members as of
February 6, 2012. Seven are somewhat in arrears on dues.
The balances in our two checking accounts as if January 31st were:
Administrative $9,967.37 Project $11,062.99
A note of interest on the Secretary’s report of
the board meeting held December 6, 2011. President Tom
Cruser reported that we had 19 or 20 volunteers helping
at Holiday’s On the Point (wow!!) and that we should
make $200.00 in tips. Also, he reported that Bob Stengl
donated $1,204 being the net profit from the sale of
popcorn. This was deposited in our Administrative
Account.
