Photo by Julia Ferrini
Members of the Batavia, Warsaw, and Pembroke-Corfu-Darien (PCD) Kiwanis clubs recently celebrated their accomplishments — and more importantly the lives they have impacted — with two centennial and one golden jubilee gatherings, respectively, for the international organizations.
“I am always excited to introduce new people to Kiwanis,” said Gene Scherline, Lt. Gov. Designate Genesee Division, during their dinner at Terry Hills restaurant in Batavia. “I’ve been in Kiwanis for 43 years. It is a very exciting time to have people just starting on their journey. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”
Founded on Jan. 21, 1915, in Detroit, Mich., by a group of businessmen networking in a social club. It soon morphed into a community service organization. Kiwanis in Rochester was the fourth club organized and the first in NewYork State. Its first meeting was in the home of George Dixon, the first president of Kiwanis International.
In 1916 Kiwanis became an international organization with the charter of the Kiwanis club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. At that time, it limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962 when worldwide expansion was approved. There are now Kiwanis in seven different countries around the world. In 1986 women were accepted into the organization as members.
“Batavia Kiwanis is a longstanding organization that has been around for more than 100 years,” said Crystal Benjamin-Bafford, Lt. Gov. Genesee Division. “The work that the officers do to keep the club's vision and always keep moving forward, to do all the activities they do, to file reports. We appreciate the folks who stand up and volunteer and want to do this, it’s not paid but often is like a second job.”
Officers inducted at Thursday’s event into the Batavia Kiwanis include Dave Rumsey, president; Reita Fletcher, president elect; Jim Dillon, vice president; Vicky Muckle, secretary; and Jon Tretter, treasurer.
“Batavia’s club started first and sponsored Warsaw’s club, then 50 years later started the PCD club. So they’re basically our offspring -- father, son, and grandson,” said Peter Guppenberger, a 21-year member of Kiwanis.
Benjamin-Bafford said that monthly reports “are super important for people like me.”
“So later on, if I have comments, we can look back and see how much we raised, and without you we cannot really understand how we serve the community and how we help. What you are to us is represented on this pin; it’s ‘you are the right stuff’.”
Batavia Kiwanis President Dave Rumsey presented three special awards.
“It is [my] hope that the continuity and perseverance that has allowed this club and the Warsaw club to maintain 100 years and the Pembroke-Corfu-Darien club 50 years to look towards the next 100 years," Rumsey said.
The Presidential Appreciation Award was presented to Jon Tretter for his tireless assistance with the finances of the club. Vicky Muckle was also presented with the Presidential Appreciation Award for her dedication and assistance as secretary.
“Her communication skills kept me in the loop, and she puts on a great chicken barbecue,” Rumsey said. “If I had speed-dial capability, I would have this individual’s number right on top,” he said. “As a new president, when problems arise, I would make a call to discuss the matter and, with the information provided, make an informed decision. This individual is also assisting with the coordination of many signature events for this club.”
The 2023 Kiwanis of the Year Award, which has been presented to members since 1967, was awarded to Guppenberger.
“Peter does everything with enthusiasm and confidence, and I swear he knows everybody in the community,” Rumsey said.
Legion of Honor and Merit awards are presented to those who have notable longevity within the Kiwanis clubs. As Guppenberger noted, the awards are significant because they chose not to give their time to their community but because they chose to invest their time in their community.
“There’s a difference between giving and investing,” Guppenberger said.
The Legion of Merit recognizes those members who have at least five years and up to 20 years of consecutive membership. This year’s recipients for members with five years up to 20 years are: Rumsey, five years; Jocelyn Sikorski, 10 years; Sue Maha, 10 years; and Mark Lewis, 15 years. Both Lewis and Sikorski are past presidents.
The Legion of Honor recognizes those members who have at least 25 years of consecutive membership. This year’s recipients are: Frank Ciaccia, 25 years; Gary Maha, 35 years; Patricia Forsyth, 35 years; George Arnold, 35 years; and Eric Adams, 45 years. Maha, Arnold and Adams are all past presidents, and Forsyth is a past secretary.
Warsaw Kiwanis, also celebrating 100 years, inducted new officers, including Lindsey Rissinger, president; Kevin Carlson, vice president; Gwen Carlson, secretary; and Richard Humphrey, treasurer.
Members inducted into the PCD Kiwanis, which is celebrating 50 years, include John Drogi, president; Penny Arnold, vice president; Debbie Krenzer-Lewter, secretary; and past Lt. Gov. Pat Weissend, treasurer.
The lifeblood of any organization is getting new members, they said. PCD had the opportunity to induct two new members in its organization: Casey Stocking and Megan Tocha.
“The hierarchy of Kiwanis exists because of its members,” said Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate. “Two new members mean two new people who have joined us. So you look around the room right now, and this is your family, this is who you turn to. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Because it’s the membership that makes things happen. It’s the members of Kiwanis who do the work. Leadership starts at the club and moves its way outward.”
The name Kiwanis stems from Nun Keewanis, an expression of a Native American tribe in the Detroit area where the organization was founded. It is loosely translated to “we serve.”
According to the International Kiwanis Club Website, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time.
“You’ll find clubs all around,” Guppenberger said. “You drive into town, and you see the ‘K’, and that means there’s a group of people that want to help that community. And everybody does things a little differently. It just depends on who the members are. The members drive the club. You’ve got a board of directors – a president, vice president and whatnot – and other members who all come together to come up with ideas on how to help the community - how to help the kids - with fundraisers like dinners and other events.”
Part of Kiwanis is service, yet members are also getting together, having fun and building relationships, Warsaw Kiwanis Vice President Kevin Carlson said.
During its infancy, Kiwanis was a group of businessmen networking and servicing the community through volunteer work. However, over the past century, the organization has grown to be a real community-based organization.
“While there may be one or two members who actually work in the Pembroke area,” said John Drogi, PCD president. “The rest of us are community members. We are just people who want to make an impact in the community.”
Drogi joined the Batavia club in 1999 and, in 2009, joined the PCD club.
Currently, in Batavia, one of the projects is funding the Books for Babies program facilitated through the Richmond Memorial Library in conjunction with the hospital (United Memorial Medical Center). So when babies are born, they’re enrolled in a program through the library to encourage early reading.
Kiwanis Park, built in 1976, was a joint effort between Batavia Kiwanis and the town of Batavia.
The Warsaw Kiwanis help raise money for the children's playground at Warsaw Village Park on Liberty Street in the village. The club helped get the project started and recruited other community members to help bring the playground into fruition.
Events like the recent car show put on by PCD raised funds for projects such as Dolly Parton’s Books for Kids. Participants receive one book a month until they are five years old. The project was inspired by a member who worked for the health department in early childhood intervention, where she noticed many of the kids didn’t have books during home visits.
“We’ve been doing this for about six months and have around 70 kids signed up already,” Droji said.
“That’s part of joining the club,” Carlson said. “You bring your ideas. Some get accepted, some don’t get accepted, but don’t get let down. It can be brought up again, and maybe it can get done. A big part is enthusiasm. We have an enthusiastic group right here, and you can get a lot done.”
That’s the idea behind it. One may have an idea but think, “How am I going to get it done?” If one is a member of an organization like Kiwanis, it’s not just one person trying to get something accomplished. There is a group of people ready to help get a project done. According to Guppenberger, if it's an idea that resonates with the members, they will do everything to get it done.
To encourage future members, Kiwanis also has a presence in area schools, grades four through 12, via Service Leadership Programs (SLP). They include: the ‘K’ Kids, fourth through sixth grades; Builders Club, middle school; and the Key Club for high school students. There is also a club at the college level for those who are physically challenged.
“The kids run the programs. They decide what they are going to do,” Guppenberger said. “It’s building leadership; building service. They have their own officers, their own fundraisers, all under the umbrella of Kiwanis International.”
Initiated by Ashton Caney, the Batavia Kiwanis received its charter on Feb. 23, 1923, with 56 members of businessmen. Note ‘businessmen,’ said Guppenberger.
“It has certainly changed since then, for the better, I may add,” he said. “We are honored and fortunate to have the second ever female inducted in the Kiwanis Club here tonight — Patricia Forsyth, who became a member in 1987.”
Since then, there have been approximately 12 female presidents in their clubs. The clubs at the time were mainly men’s clubs. It was “the old boys” club stereotype, says Forsyth. Yet women were just as much in business as men were.
The main focus is still service in the community; it is the backbone and strength of the Kiwanis community, members said. You are joining an organization that is dedicated and serving the local needs of the community and having fun doing it.
City Council President Eugene Jankowski and Vice-Chair Genesee County Legislator Marianne Clattenburg read proclamations exalting the efforts of the Batavia club.
“I just want to say, as a lifelong resident of Batavia, I am the benefit of one of your investments. As a youth, I played in sports, and you guys supported our community way back when and has kept me out of trouble,” Jankowski said. “It kept me on the ball field instead of other activities. Thank you for that.”
The Kiwanis Club of Batavia is included in those community service projects in sponsorship of sports, construction and development of the many community parks, the Fresh Air Program, and three Richard Rung Memorial Scholarships a year. The scholarships are offered to graduating seniors at Batavia High, Notre Dame High School, and Genesee Valley BOCES.
The Fresh Air program was created to bring sponsored children from the cities to the country for a week, explained Clattenburg. In addition to sponsoring the development of Kiwanis Park in the town of Batavia, the club helped to convert the park so that it offers specialized equipment for children with developmental disabilities.
The Kiwanis Club offered holiday totes at Christmastime to families in need throughout the city, school district, and St. Joe's from 2015 to 2019. Totes included a holiday meal, books, mittens, and hats for each child, as well as supporting the Autism Trail at Letchworth (State Park) through fundraising efforts.
“I always thought 50 years was a long time,” said Ed Arnold, one of the founding members of the PCD club. “Doesn’t seem that long. When I think back on how great it is to have this many people ... Hank is the one who really pushed it for all of us to make it happen, and Hank did nothing but give a million percent to make sure that everybody would come [to meetings].
“The meals that he would give us… and it was every Tuesday night. Hank is gone. Greenwoods restaurant is gone - and the changes we have had. But you people should be so proud of what is here from 50 years ago of what it was.”
Guppenberger read a list of the Batavia club’s services, supports, and projects with the speed of an auctioneer, periodically taking a breath and asking the audience if he had forgotten anything from the scroll-like list of services, supportive efforts and projects. Most significantly, the club raised more than a quarter-million dollars for the Justice for Children Advocacy Center to be renovated.
“One of our sponsored clubs was the Golden K,” he said. “We used to do the Golden Olympics for I can’t remember how many years. All the county nursing homes, patients who wanted to participate, would come to Batavia, and we had the Golden Olympics and gave out ribbons, and the patients would put their ribbons on their beds. They were so proud of them.
“We had a beanbag toss, bowling, wheelchair races and all kinds of crazy stuff like that. Unfortunately, it became difficult to continue the games because there wasn’t enough staff to bring the residents in. It was a cool thing to do, and as a kid, I loved helping my dad out with the Golden Olympics.”
Lucien Giancursio, NY District Governor Designate, congratulated the three clubs for their respective milestones.
“We are here because people were here before us,” he said. “So let's be the people here for someone behind us.”
Photos by Julia Ferrini.
