Governor EC&C 2011-2012

Janet Atkinson Des Roches

January 1, 2012

It was an e-mail this morning that inspired this January message to you. As I look back over the past month of Kiwanis celebrations I realize how very proud we are of the service we give and the difference we make to the children and families in our communities. It is Kiwanis in action that makes us feel so good.
Kiwanis members participate in not one, two or three club projects but often four, five or six plus projects at every level - local, national and international levels. It is the pictures of the new playground structure proudly donated by the Kiwanis Club of Pembroke to a school in Tanzania that demonstrates Kiwanis in action. It was the members of the Kiwanis Clubs in Nassau, together with their family members, Builders Clubs and Key Clubs, reading to the children at the Children’s Youth Hostel that demonstrates Kiwanis in action. It is the Kiwanis advisors welcoming and transporting Key Club members to their weekend Board meeting at a Kiwanians’ chalet in Mt. Ste Marie, Quebec, that demonstrates Kiwanis in action. It is this positive vision of Kiwanis in action that inspires me and keeps me coming back and wanting to give more.

And now to the slightly edited e-mail that summed it all up for me this morning:
I feel good about sharing what I do in Kiwanis and I want to spread the joy around.
A few months ago while selling Kiwanis cheese, at the Bakery in 'Sometown', Eastern Canada and the Caribbean, instead of money, I was handed a negative reaction from one disgruntled community member.

Dear Daughter seemed to hit the nail on the head when she said, Dad you should have told him: “This is not about the cheese”!

So … I can be thankful that what we do is not about the cheese, the meetings, the pictures, the reports, and the minutes but about moving the ball forward and helping the children of the world.
May we continue to spread the joy around for that is Kiwanis in action and that is Kiwanis at its best.

With warm Kiwanis regards,

Janet Atkinson Des Roches