Officers

President
Christine Semon

Pres Elect
Phil Pople

Vice President
Dave Maloney

Secretary
Rob Summers

Treasurer
Ellis Stroup

Immediate Past
President
Ken Dell 

Directors

2005-2007
Larry Fellows
Charlie Mertz
Ed Crawford

2006-2008
Leslie Bruchey
Terry Proescholdt
Eric Gatrell
Jim Wiggins

Committee Chairs

Community Service Bud Jackson

Young Children: Priority One
Ed Crawford

Sponsored Youth
Eric Gatrell

Public Relations
Dave Maloney

Fund Raising
Phil Pople

Membership Growth & Education
Phil Pople

Interclubs
Jim Wiggins

Human & Spiritual Values
Ken Dell

Click here for District-wide Calendar of Events

Read the Capital District's online eBuilder

Aug 2 - Board Meeting

Aug 9 - Bill Muffi, Furniture Insdustry update

Aug 16 - Don Easterday, Myersville Trolley

Aug 23 - TBA

Aug 30 - HOBY Speakers, induction of new member, Joe Vitanza

Christine's Connections by Pres. Christine Semon

My dear Kiwanians, we started off July with a lot of rain and heat. This was good for our veggie and flower gardens and we also got to drag out our umbrellas and galoshes for a while. Ya gotta love our Maryland weather!

Our own Ellis Stroup represented our club at the International Convention in Texas where he reported that it didn’t rain as much in San Antonio as is did apparently in other areas of Texas that week.

At our Board meeting, the first week of the month we covered several important topics, however one great thing the board did was vote on a new application for membership from Joe Vitanza. Thanks to recently new member Bill Muffi for sponsoring Joe into our club!! Keep up the great work and all other members are, as always, encouraged to follow suit! Please continue to share what we are doing with your friends and acquaintances out there!! Stay tuned, as Joe's induction will be coming up in the near future.

On July 12th we had the pleasure of honoring the Distinguished Capital District Secretary-Treasurer (our own Ellis Stroup) at our meeting to give us an update on the International Convention. Ellis updated and reported to us his summery of the activities and exciting happenings of the International Convention which had been held in Texas the previous week. He reported on who won as our new International Trustees, updated us on the amendments that passed with the voting delegates and presented us with a few messages that were offered at the convention. He also reported on the great Divisional meal that Governor Bob and the First Lady Nancy Cressey sponsored for the Capital District.

On the 19th of July Dave Maloney arranged for Dorothy Penders to visit with us. She was representing the St. Andrews Society of MidMd. She gave us a very interesting and entertaining presentation about her Scottish heritage and travels to that beautiful land. She shared some great stories and brought in some wonderful show & tell items. If you missed it, bummer for you better & luck next time!

For our meeting on July 26th, we had the pleasure of having several representatives from the Brunswick Potomac Foundation visit our meeting. Katherine Tynan, the President of the Foundation, and Tony Hopko from their Board and his two sons. I believe that Tony is also one of their chief engineers for the programs. They shared with us some interesting facts about the history of Brunswick, the Railroad and the Brunswick Railroad Museums’ renovations and upcoming projects. They did share that one of their current projects is reinstalling the buttons on the 1,700 sq foot model railroad laid out on the third floor of the museum. The buttons (when pushed) will enable certain activities or sounds to occur, to assist with the education of all watching. This project will also get Tony off the hook from the many visitors (young and old) complaining that the model is not working anymore, since their recent renovations required it to be dismantled. Since he was in charge, he gets the blame!

On a lighter note, who is a baseball fan out there!??! Did anyone hear about the induction of one of our local heroes into the Hall of Fame this past weekend?? Well, in case you didn’t, Cal Ripkin, Jr and Tony Gwynn were both hanging out in Cooperstown, NY, with about 75000 fans, waiting around to be inducted into the Baseballs Hall of Fame on Sunday July 29th. I must admit that I do not know a lot about Tony Gwynn, however I have followed the wonderful career of Cal Ripkin with the Baltimore Orioles through recent years. There was a common thread through both of their acceptance speeches. It was that hard work and dedication went into their careers, and that they both had a deep appreciation for the fans that supported them all those playing years and now. I thought it was pretty similar to what we do in our Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick. In Cal’s speech, he mentioned that he choose to use baseball as a platform, especially with kids, to try to set a good example for them. He wanted to help and influence young people in positive and productive ways. On Cals Plaque, it is partially inscribed with the following: “He arrived at the ball park every day with a burning desire to perform at his highest level. Dedication and work ethic resulted in a record of 2,632 consecutive games” in his 21 season career. The Iron Man chooses not to focus on his past accomplishments, however to point towards the future, especially through his Ripkin Baseball Company and especially focusing on youth. Sound familiar my fellow Kiwanians?!?

Along similar lines, I am reminded of another two great quotes. Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” And Dr. Albert Schweitzer once said “A man can only do what he can do. But if he does it each day, he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.” Let’s continue to follow these words and in the footsteps of our local hero, Cal Ripkin, Jr. and let us, as Kiwanians, continue our commitment and dedication to changing the world one child and one community at a time!! Have an awesome August!!!

Club Picnic August 25th!

Be sure to plan on attending our annual club picnic to be held at Larry and Judy Fellow's home to be held on August 25th at 1 P.M. There will be great food, yard games, and drinks fun for all. Take a dip in the pool if you like!

Member Ellis Stroup Represents Club at KI Convention

Capital District Secretary/Treasurer and club member, Ellis Stroup, attended last month's Kiwanis International convention held in San Antonio, TX. Photos show Ellis enjoying good food (did he eat that whole platter of ribs?) and posing with dignitaries (including Capital District Gov. Bob Cressy (the one with too-white hair.))

Welcome New Member, Joe Vitanza

Bill Muffi sponsored our newest member, Joe Vitanza. Joe lives in Frederick with his wife, Bonnie. He works at Controls NT, a company that specializes in the repair, testing and calibration of industrial temperature and process control equipment, indicators, and panel meters. Pictured is Bill Muffi (on the left) welcoming new member, Joe Vitanza, to the club.

Dorothy Penders' Scotland

The St. Andrew's Society of Mid Maryland was well-represented at a recent club meeting during which Dorothy Penders entertained club members with the history and stories of her native land, Scottland. Celtic Festivals and other Scottish activities abound in the Maryland area and she encouraged members to participate in the fun-filled events. Pictured right are Dorothy posing with some of her props with club member, Dave Maloney.

Brunswick Potomac Fondation Topic at Recent Club Meeting

At a recent club meeting, Brunswick Potomac Foundation Pres. Katherine Tynan explained about the Foundation including its goals and needs. Shown left welcoming Katherine Tynan (c) are club members Pres. Christine Semon (l) and Joe Vitanza (r).

Funds For Safe Kids

The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick recently made a donation of $1000 to Safe Kids of Frederick County in support of child safety. The funds will be used for auto safety seats and bike helmets. Shown receiving the check from Ed Crawford of Suburban Frederick Kiwanis are Cindy Bowers, left, and Nancy Boyd, co-ordinators of Safe Kids. Suburban Frederick Kiwanis has been a supporter of Safe Kids since 1996.