Last week I accepted an invitation to a Kiwanis club luncheon from Marge Jensen, whose TouchStone Marketing is right across the street from us on Diablo Road, because I wanted to know: What is the Kiwanis Club of the San Ramon Valley and who are its members?
Kiwanis. Rotary. I knew they were “service clubs” and I knew they “welcome you” to any town in America with those old-fashioned signs at the entrance. But I didn’t quite have a handle on who joins and what they do. The local Kiwanis is best known for the Danville Fourth of July Parade each year – it draws 30,000 people but I’m not sure everyone knows to give the Kiwanis credit. The club also sponsors an annual golf tournament in the spring.
The Kiwanis lunch I attended last Thursday was at Mudd’s Restaurant in San Ramon where they meet every week in the Fireside Room. It turned out to be a very pleasant hour and a half spent among good-natured folks who obviously are friends to each other plus interested in helping people in the community and the greater world. This particular day they honored special guest Dick Waldo, former mayor of Danville and man about town, and celebrated his 80th birthday. It was actually six months after his birthday but the Kiwanis don’t worry about such trivialities. Danville Town Councilman Mike Shimansky was another guest, who gave an impromptu speech about his recent two weeks in Houston helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kiwanis president Stuart Steele presented Mike with a check to the Red Cross for $1,000.
Toward the beginning of the meeting, folks took turns putting “happy” dollars and “sad” dollars into a basket that was carried from speaker to speaker. Elizabeth Gonzalez put in $1 because she was happy to have just become engaged. Others followed suit, giving dollars – and more than just one – because they shared in Elizabeth’s happiness and adding more dollars as they told their own good news. Many gave sad dollars. Some worried about family members hunkered down in Houston waiting for Rita to attack. It was a spontaneous way to share their thoughts and what was new in their lives while raising money.
A new member was initiated into the club and given two minutes to talk about anything he wanted – himself or his business. After the initiation, if members mention their businesses they are fined. Making business contacts is not the club’s purpose. The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Mich., in 1915, as a men’s club and for the first few years there was some debate over whether it should be dedicated to community service or whether its purpose should be the exchange of business. Service won out. It spread throughout the United States and Canada, and in 1962 expanded worldwide. The Kiwanis Club of the San Ramon Valley was one of the first to admit a woman, incoming president Bill Shryer told me. In 1987, Joan Franciosa August became the first woman member in the entire California-Hawaii-Nevada District. “She’d come as my guest many times,” recalled Dave Stegman. He said Bill Blendow – who never needed a microphone – stood up at a meeting and announced loudly, “I think it’s time for us to induct a woman into this club.” They nominated Jonie and voted her in, not worrying about protocol. “Now a good part of our success is that a very strong portion of our club are women, so Jonie paved the way for that,” said Stegman. “It is one-third women now, which has made it much stronger and more representative of what we do in the community.”
The San Ramon Valley club gives to the community through the Child Car Seat Inspection Program, the Danville Library Book Sale, the Contra Costa County Food Bank, the Adopt a Family Program and more, giving $30,000-$40,000 annually, according to Stegman. But what impressed me most at the luncheon was the fellowship of the members. They seemed to truly care about each other’s daily lives and their happy and sad happenings. They listened a lot, and they laughed a lot and were warm and funny. And the vegetarian lasagna at Mudd’s was delicious. If you want to do some good in the community, and meet some nice folks, you might consider dedicating time to this group. Newcomers can attend three luncheons to get the flavor before joining, Marge told me. More information is available at www.kiwanis-srv.org; or telephone 831-3802 and talk to Marge.
