An impressive presentation was given at Wednesday’s Kiwanis meeting by Division Nine Representative Matt Wilson, sponsored by Jacksonville Kiwanis, in reference to his attendance of the Key Club International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia July 6, 2005. Wilson’s description of his stay in the Atlanta Hilton with about two thousand other members from all over the world representing about 33 districts revealed his impression of the establishment. He further stated that though he was really excited about the game the group was to attend, it was canceled due to a local tornado warning. However, though not the best way to start off a convention, it yielded more opportunities than his expectations had imagined.
Going over a day early gave Wilson opportunities to familiarize himself with his surroundings and to meet new people from all across the world. “The most interesting were from Aruba because of the different outlook on recent events there. Also, when you get up at 6 a.m. and go until 1 a.m., you feel pretty drained so it helped to have the extra time,” explained Wilson.
A lot of workshops were attended by Wilson and fellow key club members during the convention. Some were required, such as the Lieutenant Governorships workshop where students learned more about working with people. The Ice Breakers workshop where they did a lot of learning to work with others, was especially helpful to the majority of the group. Other required Publicity workshops also taught members how to recruit members in schools and spread throughout the whole community.
Wilson credited the open session as uplifting and inspiring as events go. He said they opened by raising flags from every country represented by Key Clubs who were in attendance there. “It was incredible and inspiring seeing that many flags in one establishment,” reminisced Wilson about his trip.
Wilson stated that even though there were many fun parts of the trip to be enjoyed, surprisingly to him, he enjoyed even the at first seemingly less attractive parts of the trip such as “House of Delegates” were he served as Delegate from Jacksonville Key Club.
International Trustee from Alabama, Zareck Campbell represented Alabama. He stated not everyone gets elected; so she was a real honor to be chosen.
Wilson claims that the closing session was his most inspiring moment because it left you pumped up about serving the community and leaves you full of ideas.
Wilson closed his speaking session with a note that Alabama District Convention was this coming weekend and that he would be attending and announcing he attended officer training conference the day prior to the Monday Kiwanis meeting. In other announcements: Fall Rally is October 6, 2005 at Pleasant Valley High School in the library at 6 p.m. Also, the Spring Rally is April 4, 2006 at Ohatchee High School at 6 p.m.
Bernice Coleman stood to give recognition of Alma Smith who was always kind and gentle to children: “How they treat children when no one else is looking says a lot about a person,” states Coleman about Smith who was a volunteer Pink Lady for 24 years and still showed up even when she wasn’t feeling well due to severe arthritis pain. She was known as an inspiration.
Mr. James Shelton stood to introduce Denise Rucker and gave a brief biography of the 1976 graduate who became Sergeant of Police in Jacksonville and began writing grants for seniors, later becoming RSVP Director last year and belongs to motorcycle groups.
Rucker stated she has been working with the Calhoun County Senior volunteer program for several years and further indicated the average age of volunteers is 72 years old. In her historical account, she informed that John B. Nisbet wrote a grant in 1973 that started this program. “We’ve been in existence over 30 years; each volunteer is required to be at least 55 or older.” stated Rucker. The ultimate goal is to give back to the community and continue to be a part of the 48 non-profit organizations in Calhoun County.
“We’re also in the schools; One is teaching a person from China to read The China Native . The volunteers come twice a week at 8 a.m. and stay about two hours; that’s part of the Adult Literacy program where learning as a family is what we like to see. That’s real interaction,” stated Rucker.
Rucker also announced a tax program where they assist over 5,000 people with a free tax service. Any type of tax return except businesses. They also do electronic filing. “We’re like the IRS except we don’t have rapid refunds,” stated Rucker. The service is free and the personnel are IRS trained and certified.
The volunteers claim it keeps their minds strong. Calhoun County Commissions office and churches provide free space for these services. They have a good rejection rate at only five percent or less and that’s because a lot of times they receive wrong information from their clients.
One-on-one instruction is going on with seniors and computers where they team up with the library. Seniors would like to send email to grandchildren but feel somewhat intimidated by computer technology.
There is a plan in place to deal with spontaneous volunteers of any age. This way, there will hopefully be a better way to keep organized especially in setting up shelters for people to go to during disasters and a way to manage the volunteers per assigned job in order to avoid chaos. Immediate goal is to work on the disaster plan because we never know when a tragedy will occur when we need these volunteers. So, it’s always best to be organized.
An opportunity to help Cerebral Palsy will grace Winn Dixie, an avid supporter of Cerebral Palsy, this weekend. Collectors will be setting up there and collecting donations.
