Highlights of St. Louis 2004 Kiwanis International Convention

C. Edward Callis, 1992-93 governor of the Kentucky-Tennessee District, along with his co-chair Steve Siemens, presented the Kiwanis International Foundation report to the convention. They announced that a $300,000 matching grant was made available to the foundation and that individuals could purchase Hixson Awards for $500, to be matched by the grant, as long as the grant principal remained. It was announced that convention attendees had already purchased $100,000 Hixson awards during the course of the convention.

Robert P. Connelly Medal for Heroism from the Kiwanis International Foundation (KIF) Board presented to three individuals from Lebanon, Tennessee. The family of Gregory N. Griffith, who lost his life confronting a gunman, accepted the Kiwanis recognition from Bill Packard, Kiwanis International Foundation President. Other medal receipts were Napoleon Bissaillon of who steered gunman away from co-workers and Andrew Smith who disarmed a gunman that had just shot a co worker.

A Recap of the Business of the Convention

A proposal to merge the Kiwanis International Constitution and Bylaws into one document was approved by the 2004 House of Delegates, which convened Monday and Tuesday at the 89th Annual International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. In other action, delegates approved a measure that will allow for annual dues billing and a proposal to provide for a global magazine.

The effort to produce one governing document-to be known as the Kiwanis International Bylaws-was undertaken more than two years ago by the International Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. The committee met regularly, reviewing each document line by line to produce one that would be easier for Kiwanians to understand and use. Outdated language and redundancies were removed, but substantive provisions of each document were left unchanged.

The move to annual dues was approved by delegates, which will not be implemented until the 2005-06 Kiwanis year, clubs will pay International and district dues, based on a club's anniversary date.

Under the amendment to establish Kiwanis magazine as a global publication, each club in the United States and English-speaking Canada will collect from each member $8 per year for six issues, with clubs in all other areas collecting $4 per member for three issues.

AMENDMENT #1 ­ To require that any amendment to the Constitution require a two-thirds vote be made by a written or electronic ballot. PASSED

AMENDMENT #2 ­ To provide for annual dues, effective Oct. 1, 2005. PASSED

AMENDMENT #3 ­ To provide a worldwide publications. PASSED, AS AMENDED

AMENDMENT #4 ­ To reduce the number of members on the Standing Committee on Past International Presidents to eight members and provide that the members of the Standing Committee are members of Council. DEFEATED

AMENDMENT #5 ­To include lieutenant governors-elect as delegates-at-large to all International conventions. PASSED, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #6 ­ To allow districts to establish an alternate form of district governance. PASSED

AMENDMENT #7 ­ To allow the use of the number of delegates clubs can send to district conventions as incentives for clubs to be "in good standing." DEFEATED

AMENDMENT #8 ­To require the use of a written ballot to change dues and some fees paying to Kiwanis International by individual Kiwanis clubs and members. DECLARED MOOT

AMENDMENT #9 ­ To provide Kiwanis clubs with oversight, through the House of Delegates, of dues and/or membership fees for sponsored youth programs that don't elect their own Board of Trustees. DEFEATED

AMENDMENT #10 ­ To reduce the annual per capita International dues from US$42 to US$35. DEFEATED

AMENDMENT # 11 ­ To use bar-code scanning to validate admission into the House of Delegates. DEFEATED

Source: http://www.Kiwanis.Org/news/article.asp?id=152

A complete list of amendments and resolutions is available to download (126584 bytes.) at: http://www.Kiwanis.Org/lit/download.asp?id=256

Opportunity to meet present and past leaders of Kiwanis International. Fred W. Troutman , editor of K-T Notes visited with current Kiwanis International President Bob Moore as did Becky from the Kiwanis Club of Irvine-Ravenna, Kentucky; Donald H. Jones, Lt. Governor of K-T Division 5 and his wife Audrey visited with Torre, immediate past president of Kiwanis International.

Election of Kiwanis International Leadership

At the 2004 House of Delegates on Tuesday at the Kiwanis International Convention, three international officers and five new trustees were elected. The results are as follows:

President-designate: Case Van Kleef, Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District

President-elect-designate: Stephen K. "Steve" Siemens, Nebraska-Iowa District

Vice President/Treasurer-designate: Nelson Tucker, California-Nevada-Hawaii District

Trustees for Region I (United States):

Fred Bishop, New England District

Peter J. "Pete" Mihelich, Jr., Missouri-Arkansas District

Paul Palazzolo, Illinois-Eastern Iowa District

Trustee for Region III (Europe):

Grete Hvardal

Trustee for Region IV (Asia-Pacific):

Hui-Wan "Michelle" Wu

Source: http://www.Kiwanis.Org/news/article.asp?id=153

Newly elected VP/Treasurer Nelson Tucker was unaware he selected a seat next to a fellow Kiwanian under signs that read Frick and Frack.

Click here for photographic coverage of the Kiwanis International election campaign

In convention business Lt. Governor David Duncan consults with K-T Secretary Frances L. Marion (left) and Past Governor George H. Harding speaks to an amendment presented to the house of delegates.

Jan Larson and William "Bill" Larson both served on convention committees.

Former K-T Governor Jim Ware worked at the Kiwanis International Foundation booth

Governor elect C. D. Reese and K-T Foundation Chairman Mark L. Garman enjoyed the convention.

Following the Kentucky-Tennessee caucus the convention committee met to discuss plans for the Clarksville convention. Click here for information on the 2004 District Convention.

Circle K members carried in the flags of the nations for a general session of the house of delegates. There were 2,356 clubs represented by 2,624 club delegates and 556 "At Large" delegates for a total count of 4,180 delegates.

The convention provided an opportunity to attend specialized presentations on Children Priority One - and to visit with old friends.

Another of the opportunities at the convention was to visit the exhibition hall with many Kiwanis projects on display. Click here to see some of those projects.

The convention also provided an opportunity to represent various areas of the world. Click here to see some of those projects.

Kentucky delegates were attentive to their duties as delegates.

So were the delegates from Tennessee.

The Kentucky-Tennessee delegation stayed at the Adam's Mark Hotel which was quite near the St. Louis Arch. One of the side benefits of staying there was to watch the progress on a sand sculpture that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the St. Louis World's Fair.

The sculptures seen from different vantage points with the Old Court House in the rear (left) and the St. Louis Old Cathedral in the background (right).

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