IN MEMORY

TO MY DEAR FRIENDS IN KIWANIS - My mother, Colleen Elkins passed away during the night. Please keep her in your prayers. And please accept my apologies for not being at the installation tonight. I will resume posting on this blog in a few days. LARRY ELKINS

MESSAGE FROM LARRY ELKINS

I may not be posting for the next few days. My mother is in I.C.U. in critical condition. Unfortunately, Iwill probably not be at the installation. LARRY

NEW CLUB EMAIL

BISBEE KIWANIS ALERT - The new email address for Kiwanis Club of Bisbee is as follows: kiwanisclubofbisbee@Gmail.com.

ASK A FRIEND

REACH OUT AND INVITE A FRIEND OR ACQUAINTANCE AND INVITE HIM OR HER TO JOIN KIWANIS.

A THOUGHT FOR STUDY

A THOUGHT FOR STUDY: Two mules pulling a cart in one direction get a whole fot further a whole lot faster than two mules each trying to pull a cart in opposite directions.

1987 - KIWANIS GOES CO-ED

The date was July 7, 1987. Kiwanis International was holding its annual convention in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. A vote taken that day that would profoundly change the nature of Kiwanis forever. The membership that day voted to allow women to join the organization, relegating to the trash bin the good old boys' club mentality that had defined the club's existence since its inception in 1915. In one fell swoop, Kiwanis, worldwide, had gone co-ed. The path leading to that day had not been smooth. In the beginning, the idea that Kiwanis would be a for men only organization was simply taken for granted. However, by the 1970's, the pressure to admit women was mounting to a crescendo. However, resistance to change held steadfast. Then, a few clubs began admitting women in blatant violation of the club's constitution. Kiwanis International's response was to attempt to oust the renegade clubs. The clubs fought back, court action ensued, and by the mid 1980's, Kiwanis was faced with the choice of either voluntarily admitting women to the club or waiting for the courts to mandate admittance of females. Even with the change in official policy, things did not proceed smoothly. Many individual clubs resisted change. However, the handwriting was on the wall, the genie was out of the bottle. Today, Kiwanis is fully integrated, its male and female member working hand in hand to serve the communities of the world and, in particular, the world's children. LARRY ELKINS

SEPTEMBER 8TH MEETING

I just got home from the weekly club meeting. We had two great programs this morning, one by the City of Bisbee Wastewater and another by the American Cancer Society. LARRY ELKINS

FELLOWSHIP AND ITS ROLE IN KIWANIS

A common definition of fellowship is persons who share mutual interests and activities. Kiwanis is indeed a fellowship. The mutual interests and activities in this case revolve around the concept of service to the community and its children and by extension, service to the greater world community. Sometimes, in the heat of jealousy or disagreement, we forget this. When this happens, we need to hit the reset button and concentrate on the true goals of Kiwanis, service to the world and its children.

9/2/09 MEETING

This is LARRY ELKINS. I just got home from the Kiwanis Club of Bisbee meeting. Kudos to the Bisbee Seniors Center for letting us meet there. The new venue arrangement is working out well. The breakfast is great. In addition, it's healthier and considerably less expensive than in the past. I would urge all of you to attend. We have some great programs coming up and the new venue just makes the meeting experience a lot more fun. SO COME ONE, COME ALL. WE MISS YOU WHEN YOU'RE NOT HERE.

SEPTEMBER 2009 CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER 2009 CALENDAR - REGULAR MEETINGS EACH WEDNESDAY 6:45AM AT THE BISBEE SENIOR CENTER 300 COLLINS RD BISBEE AZ - The KIWANIS CLUB OF BISBEE FOOD WAGON will be at the Brewery Gulch Daze celebration Sunday September 6th. Alot of work goes into this, so come support us.