President Myrna McCurdy called the weekly meeting of the Ada Kiwanis Club to order at 12 noon on Tuesday, September 10 at McIntosh Center, ONU.
Jon Umphress offered the invocation.
The following guests were introduced: David Faulkner, Allie Puntel and Elizabeth McKinney.
The 45th wedding anniversary of Bruce and Sandy Neely (September 14, 1968) was noted.
Joe Ferguson reported that the club’s donation to the Buyers Club at the Hardin County Fair Livestock Show was a good investment. 19 fair animals were purchased by the group.
In business:
-Treasurer Bryan Marshall presented an updated financial report.
-President McCurdy reported that that the next Division 2 Council Meeting is set for Tuesday, September 17 at the Briarwood Village Community Room in Coldwater. Our own Jeffrey Schulman will be receiving the Lt. Governor’s Banner to the Ada Club.
-Dues are due now due.
-The annual Spaghetti Dinner will be held at the Ada High School Cafeteria, Friday October 18th. The time of the dinner is from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Tickets are now available from any Kiwanis member.
-The club will participate in the Harvest and Herb Festival Parade.
-Heather Cox will be installed as club president at a noon luncheon on September 24th.
- ONU Circle K members reported that at their last meeting (the first of the new school year) 40 current and prospective members were in attendance. They noted that many that attended will join the club.
Kiwanis Education Minute:
From Len Abrams, “As I look across the giving this year it is very apparent that there are a few clubs stepping up but a majority that have made no contribution to the International foundation. Please remember that the most important this is not necessarily the size of your support, but that you take the step to contribute. I often hear the reframe that all money raised by our clubs should stay locally. Consider a typical club with 30 members and a service/welfare fund of $10,000.If this club gave the maximum of $6.00 that we have set as a target, then the gift is $180 and this represents 1.8% of your budget. This means that this club has funded to the target level of $6 per member and has 98.2% for its service/welfare fund for its local community.” If we give $250, I believe we get recognized for the giving level of Kiwanis Leadership Society.
Upcoming Events:
-Sept. 17 Division meeting in Coldwater at 6pm
-Sept. 21 Harvest and Herb
-Sept. 24 Installation of Officers regular noon meeting time
-Oct. 1 New Kiwanis Year Begins-Charles Van Dyne has the program.
-Oct. 8 Myrna McCurdy
-Oct. 15 Jon Umphress
-Oct. 15 Crock Pot Tues. ReStore
-Oct. 18 Spaghetti Dinner at Ada Schools
-Oct.22 Mark Light
Joe Ferguson introduced retired Judge David Faulkner who presented a very interesting program on the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.
One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad". British North America (present-day Canada), where slavery was prohibited, was a popular destination, as its long border gave many points of access.
More than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network during its 20-year peak period.
Faulkner noted that his interest on the subject when he learned that his southern Hardin County farm house was perhaps at stop on the railroad.
He then detailed, through an imaginary journey, the difficulty for an indentured slave to escape and make his way north to Canada.
Faulkner was thanked for his interesting presentation.
The Ada Kiwanis Club meets each Tuesday at 12 p.m. in McIntosh Center, ONU. Guests are always welcome.
Visit the club’s web site at adakiwanis.org.
