Friday, July 29, 2005
HONOLULU -- Three Kiwanis leaders from Division 21 attended the international convention July 2-6 in Honolulu.
Those attending as voting delegates were Tony Serluco of Kiwanis Club of Eastside Youngstown, Ed Gluck, past president of Youngstown Kiwanis, and Barbara Smith, lieutenant governor-elect of Division 21 and a member of Youngstown Kiwanis.
Division 21 covers 10 clubs in Mahoning and Columbiana counties and further south, including Steubenville and Toronto. Elected as Kiwanis International president for 2005 to 2006 was Stephen K. Siemens, a motivational speaker from Des Moines, Iowa.
Highlighting the event was a report on the strides Kiwanis has made to eliminate iodine deficiency disorder. Kiwanis has raised more than $75 million since it started working toward eliminating IDD in the world and an estimated 1.5 billion people originally at risk of the condition are no longer at risk.
Kiwanis has worked with UNICEF to get salt iodization throughout the world in the effort to eliminate IDD.
Members also voted to replace Kiwanis' long-time motto, "We Build," to "Serving the Children of the World."
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. A goal of reaching one million members by the year 2015 was announced.
For more information about local Kiwanis clubs, call Smith at (330) 533-4121 or membership chairman Bob Guyan, lieutenant governor, at (330) 788-5047.