Meeting date: 06/16/22  

Inspirational Quotation:
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

- Edith Wharton"

Agenda items:

John and Kathy reported on the Kiwanis International Convention. Elections and action on 12 proposed amendments took place on June 11 at the convention in Indianapolis. There were 1,138 delegates present representing 588 clubs.
Election Results:

  • President: Bert West, Rocky Mountain District
  • President-Elect: Katrina Baranko, Georgia District
  • Vice-President: Lee Kuan Wong, Malaysia District
  • Trustees:
    • Steve Ingraham, Indiana District
    • Jackie Sue McFarlin, Pacific Northwest District
    • Gary Jander, California-Nevada-Hawaii District

    • Bylaw Amendments:
    Details on these proposals can be found on the Kiwanis International web site.

    • Amendment 1:
      Protection of Kiwanis Brands and Marks
      Bylaw change to increase Kiwanis' ability to prevent its brand and logo from being used inappropriately.
      Approved by 96 percent.
    • Amendment 2:
      Designation of Kiwanis International Officers
      Removes International trustees and district governors from the list of "officers" to reduce liability.
      Approved by 86 percent.
    • Amendment 3:
      New Member Add Fee
      Eliminated difference in language between new members of existing clubs, and members of new clubs.
      Approved by 94 percent.
    • Amendment 4:
      Club Status to Propose Amendments and Resolutions
      Added a requirement that a club must be in good standing to propose a Kiwanis International bylaw amendment or resolution.
      Approved by 99 percent.
    • Amendment 5:
      Emergency Conditions Adjustments
      Improved language to give the International Board more flexibility in dealing with such situations as a pandemic.
      Approved by 89 percent.
    • Amendment 6:
      Remote Voting for Kiwanis International Business
      The change would have eliminated voting at conventions. Instead voting would be conducted online following the convention. This type of action has been considered and defeated in the past, but this time it was with the support rather than the opposition of the International Board.
      Two-thirds approval was required. After a lengthy debate, it failed with 54 percent in favor.
    • Amendment 7:
      Voting Process to Elect Kiwanis International Vice President
      Provision will establish a new process for resolving tie votes.
      Approved with 89 percent in favor.
    • Amendment 8:
      Basic Structure Governing Comprehensive Bylaws Revisions
      Clears the way for entirely new bylaws to be considered at the 2023 convention. The new re-write is designed to resolve conflicting wording and obsolete provisions.
      Approved with 88 percent in favor.
    • Amendment 9:
      Lieutenant Governor Election Criteria
      This provision will allow a Kiwanian from outside a division to serve as lieutenant governor if no member from the division agrees to serve.
      Approved by 80 percent.
    • Amendment 10:
      Prohibition on Purchase of Alcohol
      Would have prohibited the use of Kiwanis International funds, regardless of their source, for the purchase of alcohol.
      Defeated with 32 percent in favor.
    • Amendment 11:
      Prohibition of Purchase of Airfare
      Would have prohibited purchase of first class or business class airfare by Kiwanis officials when traveling.
      Defeated with 44 percent in favor.
    • Amendment 12:
      Family Membership Status
      This is the third time a proposal for family membership has been considered. The provision would have allowed individuals living in the same household as a member to join and pay only 50 perccent of the dues. Proponents argued that it would increase membership, while opponents, including the International Board, said the change would more likely cause a loss in income as a result of existing members switching to family status.
      Two-thirds approvals was required, but it was defeated with 49 percent in favor.


In attendance:
Dilmus Hogan
Lindsey LeGasse
Jim Thompson
John Woolston
Kathy Woolston
Harris Segel

John is this year's Florida Kiwanis Foundation Trustee for Division 19. He has to make a presentation to each club in our division and we want to support him by having some of our members attend whenerver he is the speaker. Each of these will then also count as an Interclub for our club. As he is scheduled at other clubs we will be asking one or two of our members to attend. He has alrerady spoken to the our club, Lehigh Acres and Metro-McGregor clubs. Interclub credits also are received for members attending Division Council meetings and we received credits for DCM's sponsored by Fort Myers and SanCarlos Park.
Click here for information about the Florida Kiwanis Foundation

Harris announced that we would need to make some changes to our Reading Rocks for the coming school year. The number of titles from our source for free books has been greatly reduced meaning our costs will increase substantially. The club decided that we should cut back to just one school (North Fort Myers Academy forthe Arts) .

The Florida Kiwanis District Convention (DCon) will be held August 4th - 7th at the Naples Grande Beach Resort. Harris would like to see a good turnout of our members for this. We will discuss poSsible club financial support for attendance at our next meeting.
Registration closes July 1st

Click HERE to register

We cover a Meals On Wheels route every Tuesday. Harris covered it this past Tuesday.

John announced that he was going to Edison Kiwanis Hall following today's meeting to put the batteries in the ewxit signs. Once that is done he will contact the fire department for an inspection so we can get our Occupational License. Once that is done we can get the water turned on and the large metal Edison Kiwanis sign for the front of the building installed.