Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club
by Bruce Malkin
The Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club is sponsoring its sixth community service student club in this area. In addition to the Kiwanis Key Clubs at Mount Vernon and West Potomac High Schools and Hayfield and South County Secondary Schools and the K-Kids Club at Stratford Landing Elementary School, the newest addition is the Kiwanis CKI Club at NOVA Community College, Alexandria campus. Two West Potomac High School Key Club alumni, Ashraf Elmelik and Ryan Pierpoint, spearheaded the movement and gathered together 82 charter, dues-paying members to found their Kiwanis community service club. They recruited Ken Balbuena on the NOVACC staff to be their Faculty Adviser. The Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club provided guidance, financial support, and administrative assistance through the chartering process. The CKI Club was formally inaugurated at a Chartering Ceremony held at the Alexandria campus on April 22. Kiwanis Capital District Governor Don Dudey and District 20 Lt.-Governor Larry Demarest presided at the official ceremony.
Avovet, CKI President "Ash" Elmelik and VP Ryan Pierpoint with Faculty Adviser Ken Balbuena when they received official baseball caps from Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club President Bruce Malkin after a dinner held April 21 at the Mount Vernon Country Club where the student leaders and their Adviser spoke about the new club to the MVKC members.
On April 16, Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club member Bob Valone led the senior residents of Paul Spring Retirement Community in a sing-along of old and familiar songs. He presented a wide range of musical genres, and the residents appreciated the musical diversity by singing the words as they flashed on the big-screen TV. This program was developed in conjunction with Ms. Darnall Graham, the Program Directer of Paul Spring Retirement Community on Fort Hunt Road. In above photo, Bob Valone and Darnall Graham in front of the big-screen TV, where the words of each song were displayed to make the sing-along easier for the residents to join in. Bob leads karaoke singing at a number of area locations for his club, including Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Mondloch House, and Creekside and Sacramento Neighborhood Centers.
Retired US diplomat, Laurie Tracy, spoke after dinner at the Mount Vernon Country Club on April 7 to the members of the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club. She covered the waterfront on her exposition of the history and politics of Iran, which elicited a number of thoughtful questions from the audience. The MV Kiwanis Club, a volunteer community service organization, meets every first and third Wednesday night from 6-8 at the MV Country Club. For more information, see www.mtvernonvakiwanis.org or its FaceBook page. Above, MVKC President, Bruce Malkin, awarding the much-desired MVKC baseball cap to Ms. Tracy at the conclusion of her program.
