The Kiwanis Club may soon be part of Innisfail's service club landscape.
A meeting will be held at the Youth Programming Facility at 4136 - 49 Ave. on Feb. 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to gauge interest and support for the potential formation of an Innisfail Kiwanis Club.
Kiwanis International is a worldwide service organization focused on children, but is involved in projects for all age groups.
Roy Bird, Western Canadian district governor and a 33-year Kiwanis member, will be speaking, said Diane Mineault, former charter member and president of Camrose Kiwanis.
ìHe is an enthusiastic volunteer and excellent ambassador for Kiwanis International who spent time in Los Angeles gluing flowers on the Kiwanis float for the Rose Bowl Parade this last year.î
Bird commented that Kiwanis International is dedicated to ìimprove the world one child and one community at a time.î
Membership in Kiwanis is open to students in either the Builders Club (junior high) or Key Club (senior high) and Circle K (university/college).
ìThe evening will be an opportunity to see if Kiwanis is the right service group for Innisfail,î said Dirk Bannister, district secretary-treasurer. ìWe believe the area is well served by existing service organizations but that there is room for more community-minded groups like ours. Kiwanis has been in existence for 99 years and provides top-rated community service in 80 countries around the world.î
Other service clubs in Innisfail include the Innisfail Lions Club, Innisfail Kinsmen, Rotary Club of Innisfail, and the Masonic Lodge.
ìWe believe that we will be a tremendous asset to the Innisfail community and look forward to working with other community service groups in the near future,î said Mineault.
Tim Howard, executive director of Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Innisfail, is anxiously awaiting the Kiwanis.
ìFrom our point of view this is a very positive step forward,î said Howard. ìWe do know there is a strong service club mosaic in Innisfail but Kiwanis is very specifically youth oriented just like our group.î
He noted that Innisfail has the foundation to serve youth, and Kiwanis will help put the building blocks into place.
For more information on Kiwanis International, interested individuals can call the office at 780-608-1417 or email [email protected] or a local contact at [email protected]. Online, citizens can go to the Kiwanis website at www.kiwanis.org
