Katrina Baranko elected 2023-24 president of Kiwanis International  

Katrina Baranko elected 2023-24 president of Kiwanis International  

Aug 16, 2023 | Leadership, News | 1 comment

Elections also brought new trustees and the selection of Lee Kuan Yong as president-elect. 

By Debra Des Vignes 

Katrina J. Baranko of Albany, Georgia, U.S., was elected president of the board of trustees at the 2023 Kiwanis International Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Lee Kuan Yong of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, was chosen to be president-elect. They begin their new terms on October 1, 2023.  

Michael Mulhaul of Interlaken, New Jersey, U.S., was elected vice president of the organization.  

These three Kiwanians were elected trustees for the United States and Pacific Canada Region: 

  • Dennis Baugh, Palmyra, Virginia, U.S. 
  • Matthew Cantrall, Lakeland, Florida, U.S. 
  • Cathleen Ann “Cathy” Tutty, Butte, Montana, U.S. 

Chang-Ching Hsu of Tainan City, Taiwan, was elected during the Asia-Pacific convention in March to represent the Asia-Pacific Region as a Kiwanis International trustee. 

Mohan Lamsal, Kathmandu, Nepal, was elected as an at-large trustee. 

The House of Delegates voted on one proposed amendment to the Kiwanis International Bylaws. The delegates voted against a proposal put forth by the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees to increase members’ annual dues to help address a growing deficit.  

The delegates also voted to approve a modernization of the Kiwanis International Bylaws.  

From time to time, every organization should conduct a comprehensive review of its governing documents and make appropriate adjustments. The last such review of the Kiwanis International Bylaws took place 30 years ago. A special global committee spent two years conducting a new review. Their recommended changes were presented as a special type of amendment called a revision.  
 
Most changes simply moved text, improved clarity or updated language to reflect current processes, with no change to the way Kiwanis does business. Substantive changes were removed and addressed individually at the 2022 Kiwanis International Convention. 
 
2023-24 Kiwanis International President Katrina Baranko of Albany, Georgia, U.S., has been a member of Kiwanis for 29 years and served the Kiwanis Club of Albany as distinguished president and secretary. She also served as membership chair and as a member of the board of directors. At the district level, Baranko was a distinguished governor, lieutenant governor and member of the finance committee, and she has been parliamentarian. She is also a certified club leadership trainer and has presented at three Kiwanis International conventions. She has received the district Leadership Medallion and has served as chair of the Past District Governor’s Association, as well as chair of the 2007 Georgia District Convention, the Training and Education Committee and the Youth Services Committee. She and her husband, David, have a son, a daughter-in-law and one grandson. 
 
Lee Kuan Yong joined Kiwanis in 1993, served as a Kiwanis International trustee in 2011-14 and was the Asia-Pacific chair in 2016-17. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur in the Malaysia District and Eye of the Tiger eKiwanis Club in the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District. He has also served as president of the Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation, Malaysia. He and his wife, Kon Cze Yan, have two sons and one grandson. He will serve as president of Kiwanis International in 2024-25. 

The 2024 Kiwanis International Convention will be held in Denver, Colorado, July 3-6. 

Building literacy

Building literacy

Jul 19, 2023 | Leadership, Literacy | 0 comments

A Kiwanis club in Arkansas, U.S., brings bookcases and books to kids. 

By Julie Saetre 

In April of this year, 50 children in Conway, Arkansas, U.S., eagerly gathered at the Conway Public Library for a special presentation. Soon, each child would be awarded a personalized bookcase, a starter kit of age-appropriate books and a “reading buddy” — a stuffed animal toy — courtesy of the Conway Kiwanis Club. 

The presentation marked the 19th year of the Conway Kiwanis Bookcase Project, founded in 2005 by club member Jim Davidson with the goal of promoting literacy at an early age and setting kids up to excel in education and future professions. The Kiwanis club assumed oversight of the project in 2020. 

Recipients are 4- and 5-year-old preschool children who are enrolled in three area Head Start centers; they are selected by the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas, the centers’ administrator. 

“They’re old enough to understand they’re receiving a gift and they react in particular to books with colorful pictures and their ‘reading buddy,’ says Richard Plotkin, the Kiwanian who chairs the Bookcase Project. “One recipient could not wait to have her bookcase loaded in her family’s car before checking out her copy of ‘Three Little Engines.’” 

A local construction company builds the bookcases, which the Kiwanis club funds through ticket sales to its annual banquet and supplemental cash and in-kind donations from businesses and individuals. A personalized nameplate, donated by a local trophy and awards shop, identifies the owner of each bookcase, which contains a selection of books that the Conway Public Library receives through community donations. Other area supporters donate books as well, and an individual donates the “reading buddies.”

A seven-person operating committee provides functional oversight of the Bookcase Project. Committee members include representatives from the fields of education, government and community service.

Bookcase recipients, however, are unaware of the annual team effort organized by the Conway Kiwanis Club. They’re just happy to receive the gift of literacy.

For Plotkin, one experience from earlier this year stands out: a bookcase ceremony in which a representative of Child Care Aware of Northcentral Arkansas led recipients in numerous activities.

“I was told after the ceremony that the children did not want to return to their parents at the end of the session,” Plotkin says. “They wanted to stay.” 

How we reach recruits

How we reach recruits

Jul 17, 2023 | Club building, Leadership | 0 comments

From Two For Two to SLPs, the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, Illinois, has several ways to recruit people.

By Brock Tumbleson, Angela Burford and Willie Burford 

Kiwanis members all have different spheres of influence. In the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, we have found that new members help us fulfill the mission of Kiwanis — by bringing much-needed resources to our club.

Here are some activities, principles and people that have proved useful in our recruiting efforts:

  • Two For Two. We first heard about the Two For Two program in 2021. With our 100th anniversary taking place in November 2022, we used it to bring in 22 new members during the year. Our greatest success through Two For Two has been with our evening club. Younger members can attend meetings and get involved in community projects. They have expanded their meeting schedule to two meetings per month. One meeting focuses on service opportunities while the other meeting is more traditional with a program and the like.
  • Putting it in print. Our best aid is a statement of club activities, fundraisers and where our dollars go. Potential new members need something physical to go back and study as they make a decision. We can tell a great story, but people also need something tangible to consider.
  • Following up. If you don’t get back to those you have visited with, they may think you have forgotten them. We try to reach out again in a week or 10 days to answer any questions they may have, explain our mission more clearly and hopefully get a signed membership application.
  • Persistence. When it comes to inviting people to join a Kiwanis club, the worst someone can say is “no.” And we have found that many times they mean “not now.”
  • Kiwanis youth connection. We are very fortunate in Kewanee to have nine Service Leadership Program clubs — at least one in every category. This is a tremendous help in that Kiwanis is well-known and respected in the community. We strongly encourage other clubs to work on building SLPs in their communities.

Brock Tumbleson is the president of the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, Illinois, U.S. Angela Burford is club secretary, and Willie Burford is a club member and Tumbleson’s Two For Two partner.