• The Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg, KY was chartered 35 years ago on June 4, 1981 and received sponsorship from the Corbin Kiwanis Club. The club by-laws were signed on this date by the first president, Gorman Berry Croley, and first secretary/treasurer, Michael Colegrove.  These were approved by Kiwanis International on August 31, 1981.  The budget for 1981-82 was $2,820.50 with full approval by the board of directors in October 1981.  Club directors were Bob Bowman, Roy Fryman, Bob Morgan, Bill Clifton, Floyd Stroud, Oval Jones, Randy Stivers, Michael Colegrove and Paul Rains.  The club had 35 members at the time.

• Kiwanis International was a men only organization until 1987, when the new international by-laws were amended to permit women as members.  Williamsburg Kiwanis was the first club in Kentucky-Tennessee district to install a woman member when Barbara Neubert joined and later became the first elected club president in the K-T District.  Since then several women members have joined the club with three being elected president.
  The club initiated the Dr. Ralph Denham award for an outstanding student at Williamsburg and Whitley County High Schools.  In 1991, the club voted to change the name of the award given to Williamsburg to the Henry L. “Babe” Barton Award following the death of this dedicated member.  The Harold R. Wortman Memorial music scholarship was established by the directors in 2003 shortly after the passing of former club president, Dr. Wortman, who had been elected Lt. Gov. of Division 6.  Members Gary Barton and Harold Mauney co-chaired the first 5K Kiwanis Run event to be held during Williamsburg’s annual Old Fashion Trading Days.  This became the Kiwanis-Dr. Harold Mauney 5K Run-Walk in 2005 after the passing of this dedicated member. The National Day of Prayer Breakfast was established in 2000 by member, Joel Stenslie, who later became the club’s only president to serve successive terms.  The Kiwanis Cruise for Kids motorcycle event was started by members Dave Bergman and Mike Johnson in 2003.  Annual support is provided to the SEKY Fine Arts Series, WISD Family Resource Center, Whitley County Public Library, Whitley Co. 4H, American Relay for Life, local scholarships, KY-TN Annual Border Bowl and other local projects approved by the board.  Today, Kiwanis of Williamsburg is a thriving service organization surpassing fifty dues paying members.

• Kiwanis gives two college scholarships to Williamsburg H. S. seniors annually, supports Southestern Kentucky Fine Arts Association, supports the Williamsburg Family Resource Center, supports the Whitley County Public Library, supports Jellico Community Hospital Foundation, and supported the 2008 Border Bowl
• Kiwanis gave $10,000 to the City of Williamsburg for the City Park Playground in 2006
• Kiwanis participates in the Spring PRIDE Cleanup annually, Repair Affair, and Relay for Life
• Our three main fund raising projects are The Annual Day of Prayer Breakfast, Kiwanis Cruise for Kids and Kiwanis-Harold Mauney 5K
• Dr. Mike Colegrove has served as K-T Division 6 Lieutenant Governor
• President Joel Stenslie back to back terms as President (2001-03)
• Past President, Barbara Neubert, was the first female to become a member of K-T Division 6
• Barbara Neubert also served multiple terms as Club Secretary
• Tom Dowling was Kiwanis President while head coach of the Cumberland College football team (no small task) and he commuted from Corbin
• Past President Mike Johnson lived in Jellico and worked in Corbin during his term (what commitment)
• Past President Steve Morris also commuted from Corbin
• Past Presidents Joseph Ghulam & Bob Opp commuted from Jellico each week to preside over meetings
• Take a look at our Kiwanis Club Banner during the next meeting and see who is on the honor roll of Hixon Award Recipients. A member must either give or raise $1,000 for Kiwanis to receive a Hixon Award.

Williamsburg Kiwanis Club Celebrates 35th Anniversary

About 60 people turned out at the Cumberland Inn Thursday afternoon to help the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club celebrate its 35th anniversary.

“This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the 35 years we have been in existence here,” said current Williamsburg Kiwanis Club President Alvin Sharpe.

Chuck Fletcher, Kiwanis Governor for the Kentucky-Tennessee District, noted that is amazing to come to a place like Williamsburg that has such “excitement.”

“When you see excitement taking place. It gives you more excitement to do more and more for your community,” Fletcher said. “Thank you for what you do in your community. It is very important that we work with the community and network with the community to work together.”

Fletcher added that the Kentucky-Tennessee Kiwanis District is number one in the nation in club growth and he credited people like Sharpe, who are bringing in new people.

“I am challenging everyone of you all to bring one new member in,” Fletcher said.

The Williamsburg Kiwanis Club has gotten 29 new members since Sharpe took over as president in October.

Fletcher noted that for every one person a club brings in, you touch the lives of 206 people, many of whom are young people.

Club chartered

The Williamsburg Kiwanis Club was chartered on June 4, 1981, and received a sponsorship from the Corbin Kiwanis Club.

The first president was Gorman Berry Croley and the first secretary/treasurer was Michael Colegrove, who is the only remaining charter member of the club, who is still active.

Colegrove noted that the true strength of Kiwanis is the uniqueness of each club and that no two Kiwanis clubs look the same.

Some clubs are very traditional with weekly meetings and a strong sense of history while other clubs don’t meet at all and instead hold meetings online only coming together for service projects, Colegrove said.

“Flexibility is the key to a successful club and the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club has a history of flexibility. During the 35 year history of the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club much has been achieved,” Colegrove said.

“This club has served as a lighthouse to the community of Williamsburg. While other service clubs have flourished for a short period of time, Kiwanis has endured and is now stronger than ever. The current leadership has positioned the club for a bright future.”

Kiwanis International was a male-only organization until 1987 when the international by-laws were amended to permit women as members.

The Williamsburg Kiwanis Club was the first club in the Kentucky-Tennessee district to install a female member when Barbara Neubert joined and later became the first elected female club president in the Kentucky-Tennessee district.

Since that time, the club has had several other female members, including two other female presidents, Virginia Combs during the 2011-2012 fiscal year and Susan Stephens during the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Combs, who recently served as Lt. Governor for the Kiwanis Kentucky-Tennessee District, spoke during Thursday’s celebration.

She noted that Sharpe, who is the Lt. Governor Elect for the Kentucky-Tennessee Kiwanis District, has been slated to speak for eight minutes about club growth at the Kiwanis International Convention, which is scheduled for June 23-26 in Toronto, Canada.

Heart and soul

Dave Bergman, a former Williamsburg Kiwanis Club President and one of the organizers of Thursday’s anniversary celebration, noted that Kiwanis is the “heart and soul” of most communities in the world.

“We are passionate about what we do. Folks, we don’t just sit back and do nothing,” Bergman said.

Bergman noted that the Williamsburg club has donated $25,000 towards three parks in Williamsburg over the last 10 years due to its fundraising efforts.

The club annually gives a scholarship award to an outstanding student at Williamsburg and Whitley County High Schools. The Williamsburg award was named the Henry L. “Babe” Barton Award following Barton’s death.

The Whitley County award is named the Dr. Ralph Denham Award.

The club annually sponsors the Kiwanis-Dr. Harold Mauney 5K Run-Walk, The Kiwanis Cruise for Kids motorcycle ride, and the National Day of Prayer Breakfast.

The club also annually supports several projects and causes with the proceeds from its events, including the

Southeast Kentucky Fine Arts Series, the Williamsburg Independent School District Family Resource Center, the Whitley County Public Library, Whitley County 4-H, American Relay for Life, the Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl, in addition to several other local projects.

After 35 years, the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club is currently thriving. It recently surpassed 50 dues paying members.

About 60 people turned out June 2 at the Cumberland Inn for the 35th anniversary celebration of the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club. Several past presidents were on hand for the celebration, including: back row left to right, Dave Bergman, Charles Lester, Kenneth Carr, Ed McGrath, Reinhold Henkelmann, Terrell Medley, Mike Colegrove, Johnny Brown and Gary Barton. Seated front row left to right: current Wiliamsburg Kiwanis President Alvin Sharpe, and past presidents Virginia Combs and David Perry.

Kiwanis Williamsburg