The Lee County and Labelle area Kiwanis clubs attended the 99th Annual Florida District Convention in Orlando. The Florida District of Kiwanis, which covers the entire State of Florida and the Cayman Islands, is composed of over 7,400 members in 242 active clubs. Thirty-one Kiwanis members attended convention to represent the 14 clubs in the area. Two local Kiwanians were recognized for their achievements at the convention- Patrice Cunningham and Harris Segel. Stewart Ross was inducted as the 2016-2017 Division 19 Lt. Governor and Bruce Boyd as the Florida Kiwanis Foundation Trustee for Division 19. Lehigh Senior High School Key Club graduate Julie Bernard did a singing performance at the convention.
Patrice Cunningham, a member of the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis club, was recognized for her work as Florida District Chair for Social Media. Harris Segel of the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis club was recognized for his new club building efforts in the division as Lt. Governor.
Stewart Ross of the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis club was installed to serve as the 2016-2017 Division 19 Lt. Governor on the statewide board of the Florida District of Kiwanis. Lt. Governor Ross will serve as the liaison between the 14 Kiwanis Clubs of Division 19 which covers Lee County and Labelle, and will serve on the 34-member governing Board of Kiwanis which oversees all branches of the Kiwanis Family. There are 27 Lt. Governors which represent the different divisions of Kiwanis throughout the state of Florida and Cayman Islands.
Bruce Boyd, a member of the Lehigh Acres Kiwanis Club, was installed as Division 19 Florida Kiwanis Foundation Trustee. This will be his third year in this role. He will serve alongside 26 other trustees throughout the Florida District. The Florida Kiwanis Foundation is the fundraising entity of the Florida District of Kiwanis International with the objective to provide an endowment fund to which clubs and individual Kiwanis members can contribute gifts and bequests.
Lehigh Senior High School Key Club graduate Julie Bernard sang for the convention attendees at the Sunday breakfast. Bernard was winner of the Florida District of Key Club Talent Show. Florida District of Key Club has over 22,300 members.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Founded in 1915, Kiwanis and its sponsored service organizations, including CKI at the college level, Key Club at the high school level, Builders Club at the middle school level, K-Kids at the elementary school level, and Aktion Club for adults with disabilities, dedicate more than six million volunteer hours annually to strengthen communities and provide service to children. To find a Kiwanis club in your area, please contact 2015-2016 Kiwanis Division 19 Lt. Governor Harris Segel at (239) 939-4027 or email harris@pampered-pooch.com.Kiwanis Division 19 can also be found online at kiwanis19.com or on Facebook.