The Kiwanis Club of Great Bend celebrated its 85th anniversary on Wednesday with a Great Bend Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Club President Barry Bowers highlighted Kiwanis’s community contributions. Recent donations include $30,000 to the City for a shade shelter at Heizer Park and $10,000 to Great Bend Rec toward the basketball court being built by the Rec Center in the park next to Eisenhower Elementary School.
“We don’t have any charter members,” Bowers joked, but he recalled Carlos Miller was a member for about 50 years. “I remember he had perfect attendance for almost that long, too. He talked about one of the very first pancake events was across from Park School; (the men) they took their wives’ electric skillets and made pancakes and pretty much ruined every one. It’s kind of fun to see how that’s evolved. Thankfully, we’re doing something besides pancakes now, but we’re still proud to support the community and make Great Bend a little better ‘one child at a time’.”
The annual pancake feed was the club’s only fundraiser for years, until it was replaced in 2020 by the flag project. Sponsors donate money and the Kiwanians set out U.S. flags with sponsor placards on five patriotic holidays. The next one is coming up on Sept. 1, Labor Day.
Previously, the club donated the funds to build the shade shelter next to the splash pad in Veterans Park, similar to the one going up in Heizer Park. They also created a walking trail at Vets Park and provided some of the playground equipment in that area. Each year, the club sponsors the Halloween parade, a costume drive, food boxes, the county Spelling Bee and the Easter egg hunt.
During the regular club meeting that followed the ribbon cutting, members approved donating $200 to Kids Ag Day.
“We do lots of kids’ stuff, so it’s a fun way to help out,” Bowers said. “And we’re always looking for members.”
There are about 35 members, with one more, Wanda Weber, joining that day.
Club treasurer Frankie Pelster said the Kiwanis also supports two Aktion Clubs in Great Bend, one at Rosewood and one at Sunflower Diversified Services. Aktion Club members also do a lot of community service, such as helping with the flag project.
Great Bend member Dan Soeken, serving as the governor of the Kansas Kiwanis Division, said he travels around the state celebrating many clubs’ 75th and 85th anniversaries.
“Kiwanis are amazing,” Soeken said. “Congratulations on this milestone, and we look forward to working with you in the future.”
Cynthia Bender, Ellsworth, is also on the state leadership team and visited that day. She explained that while the Kansas Kiwanis is celebrating 75 years, Great Bend was chartered 85 years ago when it was in the Missouri-Kansas District, which started in 1920.
The club meets at noon every Wednesday for lunch and a program. This week’s speaker was Jodi Schmidt from the University of Kansas Health System. Bower noted that the club will not meet next Wednesday, Aug. 27.
