Charlottesville Kiwanis Club

by Jim Hart

Charlottesville K-Family Spring Service Retreat at Camp Holiday Trails

More than thirty-five CKI, Key Club, and Kiwanis volunteers pulled together on the weekend of April 22-23 to engage in the fourth annual Charlottesville K-Family Spring Service Retreat benefiting Camp Holiday Trails, a summer camp for children with special health needs. The project was coordinated by Tameka Glover, of Smithfield, VA, the K-Family Relations Chair of the CKI Club at the University of Virginia. Not only were there CKI members from UVA, but also from Virginia Commonwealth University and James Madison University. They worked alongside Key Clubbers from the five Key Clubs sponsored by the Charlottesville Kiwanis Club, and were joined by seven Kiwanians. The Kiwanians included their two newest members, Matt Tremper, a past Governor of the Montana District of CKI International, and Stephen Rogers a former Key Clubber from Dallas, Texas, who is currently the programs director at Camp Holiday Trails.

On Saturday morning and afternoon, a thorough cleaning of the dining hall tables and chairs was accomplished, while every trash barrel the camp owns was disinfected. Kiwanis President-Elect Barb Ritter led the group in keeping ahead of the yard work which is always a must at the camp, while Kiwanis Treasurer Norm Gutzler power-washed the deck of the dining hall and a cinder block storage shed, all in anticipation of a painting project which had to be deferred due to wet weather. After lunch, Service Leadership Program Chair Don Foss convened a K-Family President's Council meeting, where the leaders of Kiwanis, the Key Clubs, and CKI for 2011-2012 were introduced.

On Monday evening, April 25th, fifteen Kiwanians turned out for their scheduled fourth-Monday service work night. The Kiwanians, led by Service Work Night chairs Charlie Krizek and PLG Dick Fowler, in addition to painting the deck and the shed, covered about ten picnic tables with paint, vacuumed and swept out several cabins, and in about two hours accomplished what Stephen Rogers said he and the camp handy-man would have taken three weeks to finish.

Pictured is the Immediate Past Governor of Capital District CKI, Brian Cofrancesco (2nd from right), confering with K-Family members on the tasks at hand. Brian, who will be graduating in May and returning to his hometown of Meriden, CT, conceived of this Service Retreat idea four years ago when he was a 1st year at UVA and Lieutenant Governor of the Presidential Division of Capital District CKI.

New Kiwanian Matt Tremper (from left) and Past President Don Foss put paint on the shed.

Charlottesville Kiwanis Provides Pancakes on Parade Day


Although the skies opened up causing rain to cancel Charlottesville's 62nd annual Dogwood Festival Parade, it was all sunshine and smiles for the seventh annual Kiwanis Dogwood Pancake Breakfast on Saturday morning, April 16, at First Presbyterian Church. A record-breaking crowd of 600 hungry patrons braved the downpours to meet Brian O'Connor, head coach of UVA's nationally-ranked baseball team, and a host of local radio and TV celebrities, who were flipping flapjacks and serving them up with sausages and strawberries in support of the Carson Raymond Foundation. When the final accounting is done, approximately $7,000 will have been raised to support the foundation which honors the life of a young boy by rehabilitating and building baseball fields and providing equipment, coaching, and transportation for elementary-aged children, so they can "Go Play" in their own neighborhoods.

Pictured are Coach O'Connor at the griddle (from right) alongside Kiwanian Marc Bridenhagen.

Also pictured are Kiwanis Membership Chair Bob Pflugfelder (from left), past President Ray Hogan, and Board member Don Riechman, greeting the guests and offering them a chance to win the lovely commemorative Charlottesville Coverlet. "Team Kiwanis" sponsor Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia once again led dozens of other generous local and national industry partners in an event that has become one of the highlights of Dogwood Festival season in Charlottesville, come rain or come shine.