What Is A Kiwanian, Anyway?
by Governor Tom Ganse

How much change can Kiwanis accept and still be Kiwanis? At what point will we be so different that we lose our distinct identity as Kiwanians?

Have we abandoned what it means to be a Kiwanian if we don't start a meeting with a song or offer a Christian blessing? Can we have a meeting without a meal, or a guest speaker? Are we still good Kiwanians if we don't wear our lapel pins, regardless of whether or not we have lapels? Where do we draw the line to say "enough is enough"? At what point will we lose our elder members because "this is not the Kiwanis I joined"? What is a Kiwanian, anyway?

The answer is really pretty simple when you get down to basics. A KIWANIAN IS SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES IN, AND PRACTICES, THE SIX OBJECTS OF KIWANIS. Period. Everything else is window dressing. Tradition. Ritual. Habit. Call it what you want, but the bottom line is that, if it doesn't further the Six Objects of Kiwanis, it can change and adapt without jeopardizing our identity as a Kiwanian.

Let's take a minute to focus in on those Objects:

• To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life.
• To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
• To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards.
• To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship.
• To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.
• To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and goodwill.

I don't see anything in there about a dress code or mandatory meeting protocol. If your club's membership continues to evaporate, I encourage you to look beyond the club's "style points" (or lack thereof in a 21st Century society) and focus instead on the behavior; the acts. We form "enduring friendships" by welcoming new members and doing things with them. We "promote ...higher social, business and professional standards" by example - reply to e-mails and phone calls, pay your dues when you get your bill, treat your fellow citizens with respect even when their views are different. I could site an example for each object, but you get the point.

Now consider the following topic as presented in Kiwanis International CEO Rob Parker's November 2008 edition of "The Insider". It's called "Classic Refresh".

"While we all agree that Kiwanis has a rich history of service and leadership, most of us also recognize the world has changed dramatically since our founding in 1915. Although Kiwanis has adapted to some of these changes, our decline in membership over the past 20 years would suggest that we still have some changes to make to remain relevant to both this generation, and the next. While the development of Kiwanis NEXT is an ongoing process, there are also some things we are working on to "refresh" our classic model of Kiwanis. Leaders and members from all over the Kiwanis world are sharing their ideas with us in answer to the following question: "If you could change anything about Kiwanis, what would it be?"

Following is a brief summary of what people have been telling us:

1. Decrease the frequency and length of meetings.
2. Create a fun atmosphere that makes people want to come back.
3. Design the meeting with a focus on interaction between the members and planning our service projects, rather than around a program/speaker.
4. Reduce the reporting requirements and make things simpler.
5. Focus service efforts on fewer things that will have a greater impact.
6. Stop promoting district and international fundraising projects so often."

Clearly, we must adapt if we have any hope of remaining relevant in today's society, and we need to do it more swiftly. We have a lot of catching up to do. Things are moving at the District level, and not simply just for the sake of change. We are aggressively pursuing new strategies to bring our image up to modern standards, be more financially astute (which is not the same thing as being frugal - "you have to spend money to make money"), and provide an operating environment and support structure that allows our clubs to prosper and grow.