Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Kiwanis Club celebrated the 100th birthday of its parent organization Friday evening at a dinner hosted by Sunshine Industries.
“This is our birthday party,” said David Jurney, president of the Sweet Home Kiwanis, which were established in 1948. “We’re celebrating 100 years of Kiwanis. We invited all the groups in town that are working with kids.”
“That’s Kiwanis’ focus,” said member Don Gonzalez. “It’s a worldwide community of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one community, one child at a time.”
Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 in Detroit, Mich., and became an international organization with the creation of the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, the following year. The name is reportedly borrowed from a Native American phrase, “Nunc Kee-wanis,” meaning, “We trade” or “We trade our talents.”
In the early years, members focused on business networking, but in 1919, the organization changed its focus to service. In the 1960s, the club expanded worldwide, and within a decade Kiwanis International-Europe formed representing 11 European countries.
The Sweet Home club has 27 members, said member Kimi Nash.
About a dozen regularly attend weekly meetings, while the rest show up when the Kiwanis have work to do, Jurney said.
“It’s all about kids,” said member Gina Riley. “That’s what we’re dedicated to, helping our local kids.”
The club sells concessions at the Mud Festival and runs the Sweet Home Sweet Ride car show to provide funds to the Doernbecher cancer program for Sweet Home children, Sunshine Industries’ building project last year, Shop with a Cop, the Sweet Home Police Department Sharing Tree and the annual Jim Bean Public Safety Fair, Riley said. Those are just some of the highlights.
“At almost every event, you’re going to find a Kiwanian,” she said. “We fellowship together. We work together. We play together.”
The group often partners with the Rotary Club, she said, and members of both organizations really see themselves as one Sweet Home organization.
“Doing this is fun,” Jurney said. “The fun part is doing stuff together. You get a bunch of old guys out putting up a tent, it’s fun.”
The club also works with high school students through the Key Club, led by Gonzalez. The students get a handle on what it’s like to volunteer in the community. Key Club members run two blood drives and a Halloween dance each year, and they volunteer for a variety of jobs, from serving at the Chamber of Commerce banquet to helping the Kiwanis at the Mud Festival.
Those interested in the Kiwanis should contact Jurney at (541) 818-0245. The club meets at noon every Wednesday at The Point Restaurant.