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Local Kiwanis Club celebrates 90th Anniversary

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By Tom Stafford, Staff Writer 6:30 PM Monday, May 18, 2009

The day the Springfield Kiwanis Club was organized, President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for a Constitutional amendment to allow women to vote and the Springfield Daily News reported that hometown boy Lt. Samuel Bowman was serving a courier in the peace talks aimed at ending World War I.

Today, May 19, the club will celebrate its 90th birthday with a 6 p.m. party at Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Springfield, the capstone to what the City and County commissions have declared Kiwanis Day.

Former Kiwanis International President Steve Siemans will speak, and entertainment will be provided by the only known Kiwanis Club band in existence, Springfield’s own, founded in 1927.

“That’s one of the things we’re really proud of,” said George McCann, a Kiwanian for more than 50 years.

But it’s more than the band’s performances of “Take the A-Train” prior to its Tuesday noon meetings at St. John’s Lutheran Church that has kept the club going.

“We do many marvelous things for the community, that’s number one,” McCann said. “And number two is the friendships. The older I get the more important those friendships become to me.”

“Our emphasis is on children and services to children,” said current club president Jeanine Fox. “However, we co-sponsor the 50th anniversary party at the (Clark County) fair each year.”

The club also has weekly speakers that this year have included two Olympic gold medalists and new Springfield city manger, Jim Bodenmiller.

Said Fox, “We just try to keep up with what is happening in the community, and we’re always looking for ways we can serve.”

Because Kiwanians share those interests, “it’s a good way to meet people and make contacts,” she added.

A member for 16 years, Fox wouldn’t have qualified for club membership until about 22 years ago.

“There were a small minority of members who thought that was the end of us,” McCann recalled of the decision to admit women “But time has proven they have brought enthusiasm, have brought knowhow, have brought a lot of good things to the Kiwanis Club of Springfield, members included.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0368 or tstafford@coxohio.com.

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