Kilgore gets Kiwanis as new service organization

By BRENDA ALLUMSnews1@kilgorenewsherald.com

Members of the newly-organized Oil Patch Breakfast Kiwanis Club of Kilgore helped with greeting and ushering duties recently at the Texas Shakespeare Festival. Sporting their new club shirts are Bob Davis, Jessica Williams, Valerie Larson, Lawanna Chrisman, Ricki Oubre, Margaret and Dana Logston, Joyce Speer, Karen Custer and Amelia Free. Not pictured is Dorsha Morgan who also helped usher.

Kilgore has a new service organizations -- the Oil Patch Breakfast Kiwanis Club of Kilgore.

Some area residents have been working diligently for several months to organize a local chapter of the international service organization.

Kiwanis is a global organization made up of volunteers dedicated to improving their communities, primarily by helping the children.

“We’re very excited about the club,” said President Amelia Free. “We want to address issues children, primarily young children have like reading, immunizations and leadership development.”

Free said the Kiwanis “family” has been very welcoming.

“I received a letter from a former Kilgore resident who now lives in Maine,” she said. “He’s now a member of a Kiwanis Club there and wrote to wish us good luck.”

The club has 21 members and is not awaiting formal charter papers from Kiwanis International. However, that hasn’t slowed them down.

The club meets Fridays at 7 a.m. The current meeting place is Mama’s on Kilgore Street. However, the regular meeting place beginning in August will be the Citizens Room of Citizens Bank.

Margaret Logston is vice president. Other officers are Jessica Williamson, secretary, and B.J. Owen, treasurer.

Board members include Bob Davis, Dana Logston, Karen Custer, Joyce Speer, Mike Sechrist and Lewis Copeland.

Recently, members served as greeters and ushers for the Texas Shakespeare Festival.

Members participating in that event were Davis, Free, Williamson, Lawanna Chrisman, Ricki Oubre, Margaret and Dana Logston, Custer and Dorsha Morgan.

Other charter members of the new local service organization are Ernest Williams, Jason Ray, Carmel McElyea, Valerie Larson, Kelli Page, Roni Parrish, Mike Free and Michael Boatman.

Kiwanis' continuing service emphasis is called "Young Children: Priority One," which focuses on the special needs of children from prenatal development to age five. In one year, projects conducted as part of the "Young Children: Priority One" service emphasis involved $14.3 million and 1.3 million volunteer hours.

Kiwanis International sponsors several service clubs for young people: Circle K International has 12,000 members on 500 university and college campuses; Key Club International has 245,000 members in 4,700 high schools; and Builders Clubs have been organized in 2,000 junior high and middle schools. Other members of the Kiwanis family include K-Kids in elementary schools,

The local organization sponsors the Kilgore High School Key Club and is planning on starting a Builders Club. Club members are planning to spend a day painting and working at the Truman W. Smith Center in Gladewater.

For information on joining the organization, contact a member or attend a meeting.

News Herald Photo by Brenda Allums