Kiwanis groups staves off disbanding

FORT MADISON - The Fort Madison Kiwanis Club will go on.
The group voted Monday to hold onto the group after declining membership and lack of volunteer support prompted the group to hold a vote on disbanding.
Joe Bowen, the most senior member of the Fort Madison social organization, pleaded with the group to persevere. The 55-year-old service group is also responsible for sponsoring the Key Club at the Fort Madison High School.
In addition to volunteer service in the community that includes adopting Ivanhoe Park on the city’s west side, the group provides scholarships to area students and contributes funding to Spastic Paralysis, a national Kiwanis effort.
Peanut sale fundraisers and a large annual carnation sale effort have both been canceled in recent years as volunteers become harder and harder to find.
Outgoing president Samantha Vidal wrote in an email to the club in September that the board was to consider disbanding.
“I have some unfortunate news to report. We are below 15 active members and have been for quite some time. We have continuously demonstrated that we do not have the manpower available to keep our community commitments. Due to this, the board has decided to pursue disbanding the club. We are working with Kiwanis International to make sure protocol is followed & any remaining funds are distributed appropriately. We will have a final vote on this matter October 2^nd at our noon meeting. I want to personally thank all of you for your time & commitment over the years!” Vidal wrote.
On Monday, the board didn’t have the votes to reach the bylaw thresholds to disband the organization so the group’s efforts will continue.
The group is considering changing the meeting day from its current Monday noon lunch meeting to a different day to possibly attract more of its members on a regular basis and attract new membership.
The club was instrumental in helping raise funds for a new youth disc golf course in Ivanhoe Park and has taken on some needed landscaping in the park. Last summer they held a cookout in the park for residents to come experience the new disc golf course. For the past year, they’ve held clean-ups in the park monthly.
Other projects the group has been involved in include the Glo Run that benefitted the Test Kitchen in Fort Madison, now under the leadership of the YMCA. The group has sponsored movie days for children in the community as well as free swim days at the Fort Madison Pool.
The group meets every other week and has speakers from around the community to inform membership of happenings in the area.
The group has a rich history that includes helping bring an annual circus to the community and more than five decades of community service. They currently have 29 members listed in the membership directory with about a dozen currently active. Kevin Adams,  assistant vice president at Lee County Bank, was installed as the new president with Vidal as Past President, and Lee County Auditor Denise Fraise as President Elect.
Anyone interested in joining the club can contact those individuals for more information.