Kiwanis Club
of Friendly Duluth
Celebrates our 91th Anniversary
on January 30th 2008!
Hold on tight! It's going to be a fun-full year of celebration in store for us!!

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It's Auction Time!
And it's our 40th Anniversary!

April 19, 2008
6:00PM    WDIO TV 10 & 13

Kiwanis Club of Friendly Duluth is honored to once again to be helping our area youth programs like: Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Life House, CHUM, YMCA, Jr. Achievement, and many more youth organizations. 

Remember to sign up for your Bidder Number.
The bidder number helps you to bid on your favorite items faster without having to give your name, address, etc!

The 40th Annual Kiwanis Auction Chairs this year is Jason Malmstrom, Auction Host will be Dennis Anderson.

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Presidential Thoughts
Denny Nelson

Happy New Year Kiwanians!

I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to 2008.  It has been a good year but I feel better things are coming in the new year.  The Kiwanis new year is looking good as well.  As we exit 07 and enter 08, I look forward to continued growth in many different ways for our club.

Our club is into positive numbers for membership!  Let’s keep this momentum going into 08!  Wayne Johnson has become the membership committee chair and has  a lot of ideas on how to get more members to the group.  Also, thank you to Ben Blaze for the GREAT programs!  December was great with the high school choirs.  It always makes me get into the Christmas season a little more after hearing the school groups sing holiday songs.  If you have any program ideas, I’m sure Ben would be glad to hear from you.

As we enter the new year, we are still looking for a few committee chairs.  If you are interested in doing a little extra for the club this year.  Please let me or Tricia know!!  We need chairs for the Inter-cub, Sports and Social, and Community Services Committees.  Any takers…

Thank you for a great 07 and lets bring in 08 with a  BANG!!!

Denny

Auction Update!

Auction Kick-Off January 9th
There will be a few changes this year, none are too painful though.

Each Kiwanian will be given a packet which will include a standard approach for getting the contracts.
The Regular contracts will have a minimum donation of $250.

We are looking for some good men and women to head up the Auction Committees this year.
There will be a Committee for Major Contracts, and one for Regular Contracts.
Do you think you would be interested in either of these?

We are also looking for 3 - 4 members to be on the 40th Anniversary Special Committee.
This would be going out and getting certificates from local restaurants to make up a 40th Anniversary Basket. (This is a take off from the 90th Anniversary Basket)
There is not a base amount to the certificates, WE just need a lot of them.

Our $100 sponsor spots are going up to $125 this year, and we are hoping to
double the amount we got from last year. This is a GREAT ad opportunity for
businesses.

The Auction is our biggest fundraiser of our program, and we need your help.

This is a really fun event, so plan on participating.

April 19, 2008
Kiwanian's - Get all your contract supplies
from Tricia, lets make this year the best ever!!

For those of you who have been out of touch or possibly sleeping for all of 2007, THE 40TH ANNUAL KIWANIS TV AUCTION IS COMING. This year's event is scheduled for April 19st at the WDIO studios.

PLEASE get your contracts in early with a few reminders...

1) Get as much information as you can about the product and the company. Your script writers will love you.

2) TV is a visual medium. If you can not get the actual item to display on the air BE CREATIVE; Get a picture, a color brochure, a company sign, etc.

Our production costs this year are high. We need to begin the process of securing sponsors for the Auction. In addition to our 1 hour and 1/2 hour slots, we have brought back the best marketing deal west of the Lester River. For $125 an organization, company or individual will receive three (3), yes I said THREE, ten second spots during the broadcast of the Auction.

There is a lot of work to do and we need your help to make this a great event once again. If you have any suggestions, creative ideas or helpful advice, please contact Jason.

Jane has retired form the Girl Scouts
If you need assistance, pleace call 218.726.4710 or l.877.476.6748.
Happy Holidays.

Jane Dolter
Former Director of Membership Services
Girl Scouts-Northern Pine Council
218-726-4710

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Bring a friend to lunch!
Be the next to bring in a new member! Don't forget to invite a friend every week!!
Tricia will have new cards ready for you by our next meeting.

Thank "YOU" for bringing a guest!

A huge thank you to the Kiwanians who brought  guests and prospective members to our December meetings!

Sports/Social events in December:

This year we moved our Annual Children’s Christmas Party to an evening time at our office.  This was done because of the way Christmas landed during the week.

Although we had less attendance; we still had a great time.  Santa came and handed out presents, there was food and friends to visit with and the kids really enjoyed it. 

We’re not sure how it will be next year, but we’ll keep you updated. 

Scholarships:

The Kiwanis is very proud of it’s long tradition of providing scholarships to area youth.

There are 3 scholarships available each.  Two are from our own Kiwanis Club and are available to qualifying high school seniors from the 3 public schools in town.  They are also available to UMD or CSS students. 

The other scholarship is offered to UMD or CSS medical students through the Andrew Reardon Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Requirements and applications are available through the guidance office at the high schools and the Financial Aid office at UMD/CSS, and on our web site; kiwanisduluth.com.

Food Drive Update

2007 marked the 15^th year of our annual Kiwanis/Rotary Food Drive. What started as a competition for bragging rights has evolved into a cooperative effort with staggering results. This year through the hard work and generosity of the two clubs and with wonderful assistance of Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans we were able to put together over 60,000 pounds of food. This brings the 15 year total to over 594,000 pounds of food and over $24,000 in cash donations.

This event has become one of the largest impact food drives in Northern Minnesota. There are many people that have been instrumental in the formation and growth and success of our event. If I attempted to list each person, I am afraid I might miss an individual. So, from me and all of the people who have benefitted from this drive a great big THANK YOU!!!

Now, the work is not done. There will still be a need next year and we will still be attempting to fulfill that need. As always, we need creative thinking to help secure the funds required for our success. Here is one idea- Once a week forgo that half-caff-double-latte-creamy-foamy-thingy from your favorite coffee shop and put that $3.00 in a old fashioned coffee can under your bed. Even if you miss a few weeks during the year, you will still have over $100.00 to give to the food drive. And if 50 people do that, we have over $5000.00 to start with next year. Come on, one coffee a week to benefit so many! Should be a no-brainer.

George A. Lah

Participate in Read Around the World

•  Brochure: Browse through this informative piece and learn more about easy reading events.

•  Booklist: A list of the top age-appropriate books from Reading is Fundamental, a Read Around the World partner.

•  Poster: Place this event poster in key locations, such as schools, libraries, grocery stores, town offices, and more.

•  Bookmarks: Once a young reader has reached a goal, give him or her a bookmark of success! The template is designed for six bookmarks.

•  Advertising slicks: Publicize your reading event in the local newspapers and other media outlets.

•  Banner patch order form: Don’t forget to submit your form for a Read Around the World banner patch.

By using these resources, you will be able to reach out to young children, open a book, and discover a new world. Every child should understand the joy of reading. The first step is reading with children. The second is to give them books they can treasure and read again and again. Please mark your calendars to participate in Read Around the World, a Young Children: Priority One Kiwanis International project.