Governor Tom's Message

by Gov. Tom Varner

The 2011 District Convention in Williamsburg was fantastic. A big thanks for a great weekend goes out to all the committee under the leadership of Caren Schumaker and Carla Morin. Beginning with the MNT Golf fundraiser (which benefits The Eliminate Project to stamp out Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus worldwide) on Thursday through the Governor Jeff's speech on Sunday morning, everything ran smooth and provided an excellent source of information and training for everyone who took advantage of them. We had over 530 total Kiwanians and guests and everyone had a good time with fun, fellowship and festivities.

Our International Counselor, Kiwanis International Trustee Designate Jane Erickson, was an inspiration to everyone. Her session "Key Leader for Adults" on Friday was a big hit. As an aside, this was Jane's third Key Leader for the Captial District this year. She went to Maryland on Monday and did a Key Leader Alumni workshop for anyone from the two earlier sessions who could make it. This included the participants, the youth leaders, and the adults. Jane's two addresses to the convention were timely, fact filled, and enjoyed by all.

The greatest part of the weekend was the salute to retiring Secretary/Treasurer Ellis Stroup. Since March 1975, Ellis has served the District in this capacity. Many of those who attended the Governor's banquet understood for the first time what Ellis really meant to the Capital District. One does not serve that long without having a giant impact on the office.

The Past Governors presented several memorials to Ellis.  Secretary Kevin Thomas came from Pennsylvania to share letters from Ellis' peers throughout North America. The Capital District Key Club Board presented Ellis with a Charter Zeller. Finally, the Captial District Board of Trustees designated Ellis Stroup as Secretary/Treasurer Emeritus and Life Member of the Captial District. It was a fitting memorial to a deserving Kiwanian.

I want to thank all the Kiwanians and their guests who attended the District Convention. Your presence and participation made the convention a success, and your support and dedication are appreciated by the District Officers.

August was a rather slow month except for the District Convention. On August 5, Lin and I travelled to Middletown, MD to visit with Ellis and to go out to lunch with him. He was in very good spirits and at that time we thought he would be with us at the convention. As you know now, that was not the case.

On Saturday, we attended my Official Visit to Division 1. Governor Jeff and I met with the President's Council prior to the meeting and had a very informative discussion with the Division's leaders. One of the highlights was the honoring of their recent Past Lieutenant Governors. They are a good group and we had a wonderful time.

On Tuesday, August 9, I joined a team of Joe Stankus and John Morris to participate in the Kiwanis Club of West Point's Tyler Bland Golf Tournament. As usual, we did not win, but we also did not come in last. Did I mention we did manage to come in last at the MNT Tournament? Bill Hand substituted for John Morris in that round.

Following golf, we attended the Crab Feast and enjoyed shrimp, crabs, and hot dogs. While not as many attended as previous years, the attendees enjoyed themselves and made a serious dent in the many bushels of crabs. All the shrimp were long gone with this group of gourmands.

Interesting happenings since I started this article -  I spent most of Monday getting ready for the Fall Semester at the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. In between, I was adding to this article. After teaching on Tuesday I had to mow the yard. While I was in the front yard, Lin came running out and said we had just experienced a 5.9 earthquake! Of course, I had not felt anything in the yard. We had no damage here although we are within 30 miles of the epicenter.

And then on Friday, like most of the east coast, we started experiencing the outer edges of Hurricane Irene. For some reason we were in some of the highest sustained winds and rain for about 36 hours. We did not suffer any damage, but some of our neighbors and the town of Ashland were not that lucky. Most of the damages were downed trees, but a man lost his car a block over and there were some houses damaged in our subdivision. Looking at the reports yesterday and today from New England and other parts of the East, we were very fortunate that both acts of nature left us unscathed.

I hope all of you were as fortunate. If anyone knows, where Kiwanis can furnish workers to help clean up let your Lieutenant Governor know and he/she can let the District know so we can make an effort to mobilize. We are about service so if someone needs us let us not let him or her down.

Other than three or four meetings in September, my year as your Governor is winding down. It has been an interesting year and one that has been dedicated to making the Captial District a little better on September 30, 2011 than it was when I assumed the mantle of Governor on October 1, 2010. We had a positive membership growth at the end of July; however, it is going to take a lot of work to remain positive through the end of this administrative year.

Clubs will purge their membership roles in August and September of member who have not paid their dues. In addition, several clubs are preparing to surrender their charters at the end on the year. Others were planning mergers. With a little work, the remaining clubs in a Division can keep those Kiwanians on the role by recruiting them into their home club. It will take work, but it is doable.

We have become an electronic District. The District is using the Internet to expand and to expedite communications with it members. The agenda and minutes of meetings are on the web site so every Capital District Kiwanian can read them and have input through their Regional Trustees. The budget and financial statement will be available so every Kiwanian knows where their money is going. We are not only electronic but we are also transparent.

Much of my work this year was been done with the assistance and support of Governor Designate Jeffrey Wolff. As I retire as Governor, I look forward to working with him and all you as your new Capital District Secretary/Treasurer.

Of course, nothing is possible in the work I do for Kiwanis without the love and support of my partner, Lin. We've been together for the past 49 years. We have been through a war together - with separations and the concerns that goes with being half way around the world; however, we've also been through many happy times together and have enjoyed every minute. We've especially enjoyed all the wonderful people in Kiwanis. So, thanks, Lin, for all your support. You've made this a great year!

May the supreme architect guide and protect you. May all your wishes bring you happiness and health.