Officers

President
Dave Maloney

Pres Elect
Bill Muffi

Vice President
Mick Hickman

Secretary
Terry Proescholdt

Treasurer
Debbi Matthews

Immediate Past
President
Phil Pople

Directors

2008-2009
Charlie Mertz
Eric Gatrell

2008-2010
Joe Vitanza
Larry Fellows
Christine Semon

Committee Chairs

Community Service
Debbi Matthews

Young Children: Priority One
Ed Crawford

Sponsored Youth
Christine Semon

Public Relations
Dave Maloney

Fund Raising
Joe Vitanza

Membership Growth & Education
Frank Parker

Interclubs
Brenda Edwards

Human & Spiritual Values
Mick Hickman

Mar 5 - Board Meeting

Mar 12 - Wanda Bailey, Frederick County Ambulance Transport Program (Hosted by Mick)

Mar 19 - MaryMargaret O'Neil will speak on her program of "Music for Life" (Hosted by Mick)

Mar 26 - Diane Ryan of the Jeremy Foundation (hosted by Mick)

Dave's Corner by Pres. Dave Maloney

Bill Muffi and I had an intesting meeting with Cap Dist. Marketing/PR/Communications Chairman Bill Butts from the Mt. Airy Club last week. You might recall that Bill Butts attended one of our club meetings in January acting as a facilitator as we discussed club growth issues.

At lat week's meeting, the two Bills and I discussed the challenges to growing the spirit of volunteerism facing not only Kiwanis but other volunteer organizations as well in this age of "Me." Seems the Internet and all our electronic gadgets that were supposed to make our lives easier and provide us more free time (to do such meaningful activities as spending quality family time with loved ones and friends or devoting more volunteer hours helping others) is, instead, having the opposite effect.

More gadgets (assuming you learn how to use them!) mean more information to absorb, take action on or stay current with. This has the unfortunate consequence of causing many to spending more time in front of computer screens coping with information overload and less time with family, friends and volunteerism. And I won't even get into the impact Hollywood, Madison Ave., cable TV and "Reality" shows have on diverting our collective attention from those things that are really important in life — specifically, leaving this old world just a little better place than it was when we first came into it.

What's the answer? We are not sure. Pehaps, as Bill Muffi suggested, is to approach it from the viewpoint of the very children who we are committed to help. "What child would not be proud of his or her parent for "stepping up" and helping out?" Bill asked. In addition to approaching the adult to join, his thinking goes, why not appeal to the parent's feeling of pride knowing he or she is percieved by their child as a winner for stepping up to the plate and volunteering to make this world a better place — a world their own children will be inheriting. Maybe Bill is on to something.

Homeless Women and Children Helped by Grant From Community Foundation's Kiwanis Club Fund

Frederick, Maryland; March 2, 2009: Hope Alive, Inc., a nonprofit, non-denominational Christian ministry serving homeless women and children in Frederick County recently received an $800 donation from the Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick through its donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation of Frederick County.

Founded in 2002, and located on 13 acres in rural Sabillasville, Maryland, Hope Alive offers a four-phase program and comprehensive support services to address the issues at the root of each family's homelessness.

Hope Alive can accommodate up to 25 individuals in its three-story home, which includes 12 furnished bedrooms. Resident families can stay for up to two years while learning new skills and working toward self-sufficiency, said Sue Oehmig, Executive Director.

"The grant from The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick Fund will support Hope Alive's after-school program for resident school-age children to address their unique needs and promote healthy growth and development," said Oehmig. "We are grateful for the Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick's committed partnership and generous support in helping to change their lives."

The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick, dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time, turned to the Community Foundation to establish a donor-advised fund to carry out its charitable activities with a focus on those relating to children in Frederick County.

Dave Maloney, Kiwanis Club president, says a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation allows the Club to enjoy the flexibility of maintaining an advisory role in recommending which charitable purposes or nonprofits to support while the Community Foundation manages the Fund.

" The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick is pleased to help support Hope Alive Ministries of Sabillasville through our fund at the Community Foundation," Maloney said. "Hope Alive's commitment to bettering the lives of homeless women and children mirrors our club's goal of helping Frederick Countians in need."

For those who wish to support The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick Fund, secure online donations may be made by visiting www.cffredco.org and clicking on "contribute" in the upper right hand corner. Checks may also be made payable to The Community Foundation of Frederick County and mailed to 312 East Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701, with the specific fund's name inserted in the check's memo line. All check or online contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Pictured (l to r) Sue Oehmig, Executive Director of Hope Alive, receives a donation from The Kiwanis Club of Suburban Frederick Fund from Kiwanis treasurer Debbi Matthews and Community Foundation President Elizabeth Y. Day.

Emergency Preparedness

At a recent meeting Pat Obrien from the National Capital Region Incident Manaement Team shared his recent experience as part of a professional disaster onsite management team working in Galveston, Texas following Hurricane Ike in 2008. Photos of the disaster management team's staging area as well as the total devastation of the Galveston helped illustrate the professionalism involved in dealing with such a disaster as well as the challenges the volunteers faced. Pictured l. to r. Pres. Dave Maloney thanks Pat for sharing his experiences with the club.

Club Donates to Frederick County Sheriff Department's Explorer Post

The Explorer Program is designed for those young adults, both young men and women, interested in a law enforcement career. Young people interested in becoming Explorers, who meet the minimum qualifications, are exposed to various career opportunities, leadership experience, life skills, character education and learning how to serve. In law enforcement, Explorers learn skills associated with general public service, crime prevention, law enforcement, traffic control, basic criminal investigations, communications, record keeping, public speaking, and riding with deputies once the appropriate time and training standards have been met. Explorers also participate in structured competition events with other Explorer Posts from other law enforcement agencies. Representatives from the Frederick Sheriff's Explorer Post 1218 visited out club recently to explain the Post's recent activities. Pictured l. to r. club member Larry Fellows presents a $600 check for the Post to member Zack Levine as Post Advisor Lindsey Rienks looks on.

Cub Pack 285 Blue & Gold Banquet

This past week your club had it largest contingent of members ever present at a Cub Pack 285 Blue & Gold Banquet. Bill Muffi, Larry Fellows, Phil Pople and Christine Semon joined Dave Maloney at the too-small kiddie's cafeteria tables to enjoy another B&G banquet where Cubs were presented their awards and Webelos II Cubs received their Arrow of Light award signifying their advancement from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. After "advancing the colors" (left) we feasted on shrimp, Buffalo wings, fried chicken, salad, bread, drinks and cake. Dinner was following by the award presentations and a presentation from our club of a $500 donation which is to go towards Pack operations. Pictured in the front row (l to r.) Bill Muffi, Dave Maloney, Cubmaster Karl Noah, Christine Semon, and BSA Capital District Area Director Wes Haynes. Back row (l. to r.) Phil Pople, Larry Fellows, Bud Foss (Scout Master for the Boy Scout Troop the Webelos II Cubs will join), and Asst. Cubmaster Dan Neuland.

Here is what snowbird Paul Sheets (left) and his buddies have been doing lately in Florida!