Governor's Message

by Gov. Don Dudey

My year as your Governor is now drawing to a close after almost a two year journey. It all began in the summer of 2008 when my wife and I were discussing the merits of running for the office of Governor of the Capital District.  I had just overcome a major medical situation in my life, I had been retired for two years and the time seemed right to run for the office of Governor. You have almost 8 months of campaigning, then, once elected, another year of getting prepared for the office, and finally the year as Governor. This journey has been extremely rewarding for me and I hope I have lived up to the expectations you have for the Governor of the Capital District.

Capital District - you the membership - have accomplished so many service projects and fundraisers during this year. You have showed me those accomplishments as I traveled from the southwest corner of Virginia - Wise, VA to the northern top - Wilmington, DE or to the southeast part of our District - Great Bridge, VA.  Everywhere I visited, everyone gave my wife Jan and me the greatest hospitality and showed us what Kiwanis is doing in all the communities we visited. You should be proud of these accomplishments and tell others every time you have a chance of the great deeds that Kiwanis is doing.

During these visits we made many friendships that will last a lifetime, and we will cherish them forever.  Kiwanis is about people and the relationships we have between each other. As individuals, clubs, divisions and Districts the relationships with others is the most important aspect of Kiwanis. As we work within our club or with our Service Leadership programs or build a new playground in our community, we show who we are as we interact with each other. As we bring in new members to our clubs this relationship begins anew and we have to work hard to make them all work properly. From my travels this year, these relationships in your clubs and divisions were outstanding and I hope they can continue into the future.

At our District Convention in Lynchburg, I highlighted some of the most outstanding service projects your clubs are doing in your communities. I was amazed  at the many types of activities you are undertaking. Working in a pediatric center for children, working in a Boys and Girls Club, taking young kids out and teaching them how to fish or working with young adults with disabilities - all were outstanding activities. I don't know how many service hours were spent on these projects but I am sure the recipients of your good deeds appreciated all of your hard work. With each of these activities you were trying to "change the world one child and one community at a time". You are to be congratulated for all the work you are doing for others in your community. All I ask is that you don't stop now, but continue these service projects and even make them better as time goes on.

One of the highlights of being the District Governor is the opportunity to work with our Service Leadership Program clubs. I was privileged to attend the District Key Club and CKI conventions as well as the Key Club and CKI International conventions. To see what these young adults accomplish in their clubs sometimes make us wish, "If only Kiwanis Clubs could to do this level of service in their communities, we would really be "changing the world one child and one community at a time"."

 I know the District only built 22 new Service Leadership Program clubs this year - 8 K-Kids clubs, 4 Builders Clubs, 8 Key Clubs, 3 CKI clubs and 3 Aktion clubs. This is great but we can do more - there are so many elementary, middle, high school and colleges out in your communities that would love to have one of these clubs in their school. You would be surprised at the joy and satisfaction your club would receive in building one of these clubs -  let alone the satisfaction the children would receive from their participation. Not every community has an organization that works with individuals with disabilities, but if one is in your community, an Aktion Club could be built to help these individuals too. The Service Leadership Program of Kiwanis is like no other youth oriented program. We should be extremely proud of this program and its 6 types of schools and organizations it services. You have shown that we can build new Service Leadership Programs within the District. I just hope that you can do more - the children are waiting for you.

Membership growth within the Capital District has been a difficult problem over the past several years. We have struggled with building new clubs as well as keeping your club membership equal or better than when we started an administrative year. Three years ago, the district leadership started a long term membership growth program to change the direction our district membership was heading. The results of the change are starting to show in the growth of members within the Capital District. With your help, we might be able to say for the first time in 12 years that we ended the year better than we began.  This is all because you, the Kiwanis Clubs, are actively working to increase your clubs' memberships. With the help of your LTG and our District Membership Growth committees, many of your clubs are showing an increase in membership. In addition, the District - you - are helping build new Kiwanis Clubs in communities like yours who want and need a Kiwanis Club. Last year you built 3 new Kiwanis Clubs. This year we will also build 3 new Kiwanis Clubs. The momentum for building more new clubs is there and you will see 3-4 new clubs built before Christmas.  This is really great, and all of you should be congratulated on these accomplishments. As you know, the more members your clubs add, the better you can service your communities - "more hands, more service". Keep up the good work.

Again, on behalf of my wife Jan and I, we want to thank the membership of the Capital District for their support, love and friendship extend to us during this year. We will cherish them forever.  I just hope that I lived up to your expectations as being your Governor.

Sincerely,

Don L. Dudey
Governor