Club News – Sept. 1-21

At our September 8th meeting, we were happy to have William Assamoi join us as a guest and prospective member! William is originally from the Côte d’Ivoire and works in home health. 

Raymond Miller attended the Manor New Tech High School Key Club meeting on September 7th. He reported that over 100 students were in attendance – that’s about a third of the school’s total student population! We’re eager to see what these student leaders have in store for the coming year.

This month’s meetings are focused on the Kiwanis I-Plan as we plan for the 2016-2017 year.  In line with the theme of our first meeting, Inspiration: Membership & Engagement, members shared their stories of inspiration. Here are a few excerpts:

• Ron Kingsbury shared that he’s inspired by the opportunities that new and old members alike have to serve and lead at the club, division, district, and international level. The structure of Kiwanis provides incredible opportunities for individual growth.
• Bill Gordon recounted his impressions of the club’s 50th anniversary in 2011. The celebration was held at Region XIII and involved the club members, as well as the larger community, AISD School Board members, school leaders, and UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. Past Governor Gene Jantzen spoke on the impact of Kiwanis from the international level and much discussion revolved around enhancing the quality of education in East Austin. The most impressive portion of the meeting was hearing the children’s’ choir of Pecan Springs Elementary. For many parents, it was their first exposure to Region XIII and to the service that Kiwanis provides. 
• Raymond Miller shared a recent story about our Kiwanis-family outing to the Round Rock Express baseball game. He loved the energy and excitement from the Austin Achieve Builders Club members as they told stories about how much fun they had at the event.
• Phil Thomas, in recalling that we were approaching the 15th anniversary of the 9/11, recalled that the terrorist attack created an opportunity for the country to think about disaster readiness. Our club’s partnership in disaster relief operations with the Salvation Army allowed us to respond to the space shuttle Columbia crash. We formed our own training team that went on to do trainings with other Kiwanis Clubs. Disaster relief trainings eventually became a project of the Texas-Oklahoma Kiwanis District and Kiwanis International. Phil fondly remembers disaster simulation trainings at the airport with recently departed member, Neil Hopkins. 
• Noel Roebuck has always loved our club’s Valentines banquets because of the conversations shared amongst friends that demonstrate the close bonds shared between members and friends.
• John Cano didn’t have a moment of inspiration to share…yet. He says it’s in development.