By Natalie Covher

The last Kiwanis meeting before the vote on proposed changes was held Thursday, Sept. 8 at the NSU recreation complex.

Members were given a preliminary October calendar to show how the month would look if the I-Plan vote passes. The calendar included several service projects and clearly mapped out how the club would meet under the I-plan.

David Waskom expressed concern over casting his vote and wondered how the board will hold future presidents accountable to upholding the proposed changes. Sighting that not all past presidents continued the work of their predecessors and wondered if the club would lose traditions if the cycle continued.

“I have had a front row seat to watch this club go from a 160-member club to a 30-member club,” said Waskom. “I’m not saying that it is a bad thing but I am wondering if we should be having exit conferences with parting members to see why they are leaving. I also don’t buy in to the ‘get more members to do more service’ idea. I believe that if we build it they will come.”

Dion Boyett responded by reiterating the basis of the I-plan.

“This is not a problem unique to our club,” said Boyett. “The I-plan helps get members involved from bottom to top. Going and getting 20 new members so we can do something doesn’t work. If we want to grow our group, we have to get out there and do service projects to help the community. Then incoming members that have seen the work we do will want to be involved because they want to make a difference. Hopefully this format will help disperse the work amongst the entirety of the club.”

During the meeting, the date for this year’s Kiwanis Kid’s Day was set for Oct. 29.

Guests included Sandra Foster and Caroline Miller of Legacy Hospice.