Marilyn Bostick and Dana Williams, Billy's wife, were our guests today. Marilyn has one more visit before becoming a member. Dana came to see Billy being inducted into the club.
Jesse and Willie did the honors of inducting Billy Williams into our club. He previously was in the Lockhart Kiwanis Club so is well acquainted with Kiwanis already. Jesse relayed the following:
Billy has been married over 35 years to his wife Dana and they have 2 boys and a daughter.
Billy is in IT Management-Works for Rackspace and has his own business Williams Computer Consulting.
He has helped with many charities and organizations. While with Kiwanis Lockhart he helped with their website as their webmaster. He volunteers as Santa for many organizations. He has helped with the Boerne food bank and does computer work for Hill Country Alliance.
His hobby is scuba diving. He is a dive instructor and is a dive master for Spring Lake.
Billy was asked to choose 3 main projects or events he will serve on for San Marcos Kiwanis. He will be serving as our webmaster and would like to help with managing the youth camp as he lives close to it. He will also be working with the sponsored youth program and is interested in mentoring youth in technology. Billy has also agreed to be our Santa for Pancake Day.
Lon presented Billy with the Kiwanis opening meeting bell to take home to polish per our new member requirement.
Welcome to our club, Billy!
REPORTS:
Lon reminded us there will be no meeting next week. Instead it will be a Round Table. These are relaxing lunches making for a good time to visit with other members.
He reported that Martindale is having a 4th of July Parade which will include four John Deere tractors of various vintages. These will make a great addition to a small town parade in a rural setting. So representative of a big part of America.
Lon then set up an introduction to the meeting which was a Sponsored Youth panel to describe the various clubs at different school levels as well as the Terrific Kids program which is not a club. Charles, Willie and Cheryl all spoke of different areas.
PROGRAM:
The reason for today's program is that Sponsored Youth in the form of the various age level clubs within the schools is falling to the wayside. The Rotary Club and Lion's are having the same challenge of keeping these types of clubs vital. Schools are not cooperating for a variety of reasons in promoting them; teachers are reluctant to help; and even getting a meeting place/time is difficult to attain. There are also program initiatives such as Terrific Kids which is also addressed.
Charles spoke first listing the different Kiwanis Service Leadership Programs in the form of clubs for sponsored youth. The main ones are Circle K for students in an institution of higher learning; Key Club for high school level; Builders Club for middle school and K-Kids for elementary age students. Charles noted that the youth of today are more inwardly focused rather than outwardly focused like they used to be. He has had a career of working with youth so is experienced in this area. He knows that a student who has membership in a Service Leadership Program has an improved chance of receiving scholarships.
Charles brought up background checks which are required for working in these programs. Although everyone in a Kiwanis Club is required to have a background check, there are two different ones. To work with the Service Leadership Program, a background check is required through Kiwanis International. Last year I understand it was $35 and is good for two years. If a member is not working in those specific programs, they may get a district level background check which is around $7 and also lasts for 2 years. If your background check is due to expire soon, consider first whether you might want to volunteer in one of these programs to determine to which level you need to apply. I received this information from the district level secretary and Kiwanis International.
The service clubs are structured such that a faculty member or teacher works with a Kiwanis member to serve as guides in creating a meaningful program for that school which serves to help with character development, leadership skills and serving the community. These are student led organizations with student boards so the main responsibility is with the students. Kiwanis members do not have to be at every meeting if that isn't feasible but do need to be present enough to help support the school representative and, of course, the students.
Willie touched on the Terrific Kids program which is not a club. Its purpose is to recognize students who have modified their behavior to be their best selves. Teachers nominate who is to be awarded. The Kiwanis Club provides "Terrific Kid" bumper stickers and trinket bags to the students in recognition of their achievements. This is not an all school year program so does not involve a lot of time commitment. Our club has been involved with this before.
Cheryl passed out hard copies of a "Strategic Plan for Key Club" with directives and a worksheet for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The strategic plan included categories for Service, Leadership, DEI, Membership Experience and Growth with goals and objectives. This is a great guideline for managing a Key Club. Cheryl mentioned that the Kiwanis International website has suggestions for how to make membership meaningful. There are very clear descriptions of the different clubs. If at all interested in volunteering in one or more of these clubs, take a look at that information.
https://www.kiwanis.org/what-we-do/service-leadership-programs/
Lon wants a commitment from our club members before moving forward with getting involved again in one or more of these sponsored youth clubs and service programs. With how the youth of today are so distracted by cell phones, Youtube, social media, and video games just to name a few and not being engaged with the community or being introspective about character development and leadership skills, these clubs are more important than ever.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
July 4th: Holiday. Round table at Grin's.
July 11th: Lea Franks, Acclaimed Senior Living
July 18th: Haley Brooks, CASA
July 25th: Danny Arredondo, Law Enforcement Asso.
Regular Reminders:
Don't forget to click "like" and "share" on Facebook and other social media to promote the Kiwanis Club. We need to keep getting the club's name out there to promote our community involvement and to add new members to help in our endeavors.
Be sure to check the Calendar posted on the San Marcos Kiwanis Club website to stay up-to-date on what is happening.
Humor and Musings:
These are more from a small book Live and Learn and Pass It On written and compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The quotes come from different people of different ages.
"I've learned that you should fill your life with experiences, not excuses."
Age 51
"I've learned that you shouldn't push your luck. Play it safe and move the ladder." Age 79
"I've learned never to underestimate the potential and power of the human spirit." Age 82
An extra one this week:
"I've learned that goldfish don't like Jello." Age 5
bring a guest to an upcoming meeting!
