Dear Alyson,

Welcome to the second edition of the Kiwanis Club of Cincinnati Monthly Newsletter. We hope you find each edition informational and helpful in planning your calendar. We expect the newsletter to evolve based on input from our readers, so please provide us your input!

In this issue you will find:

• Kiwanis Inspirational Moment


• Celebration!


• Upcoming Events


• Kiwanis Club News


• New Members


• A Club Member Feature


• Kiwanis International News


• Did You Know?


• A Word of Encouragement


• Membership Information




Inspirational Moment Mother Teresa said: "To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." This is a lesson for each of us; if our lives are to continue burning brightly, we need to keep adding new experiences and new goals. This is also true for Kiwanis - if Kiwanis is to keep burning brightly, we need to keep adding new members and new ideas for service.




Celebration! Join us in congratulating our club members on these recent and upcoming milestones! Birthdays Ty Foster - November 9 Kelly Flick - November 10 Jessica Vichitchot - November 17 Brian Yacucci - November 26 Happy Anniversary! Congratulations to club member Sandy Zimmerman and her husband Bob on their upcoming wedding anniversary (Nov 6)! Brian and Jeanette Yacucci are expecting a baby early next year. Congratulations on the news of your bundle of joy! We Achieved Distinguished Club Status! Our club achieved "Distinguished" status for the Kiwanis year 2007-2008! The Distinguished status is awarded to those clubs who have excelled in service, membership education, and growth. When the club accumulates at least 80 points, the club will receive the distinguished club banner patch, a distinguished lapel button for the president and secretary, and a certificate from the International President acknowledging their achievement. Congratulations to everyone for all your hard work this year! More about Distinguished Clubs




Upcoming Events To RSVP for any event, please either contact the RSVP Contact or email us at info@cincinnatikiwanis.org. 11/08 - 9:00 AM - For the Love of Kids Conference Staffing - Many community volunteers are needed to help make this day a success and a wonderful experience for parents. Volunteer positions include Room Monitors, Hall Monitors, Greeters, Registration Check-In, On-Site Registration, and more. You can volunteer for just the Morning Conference (8 am – 1:30 pm) or for the Full-Day Conference: 8 am – 4:30 pm (Lunch included for full-day volunteers only). Event Location: Duke Energy Center (Cincinnati Convention Center) RSVP Contact: Alyson Gerwe 11/10 - 6:00 PM - Monthly Planning Meeting - We'll be discussing the club budget, club goals, sponsoring service leadership programs, a holiday donation drive. It is important for all of the Board of Directors and members to attend, as we are making some important decisions at this meeting. The meeting will be held at Tim and Linda Gramke's house and will be potluck, so bring your ideas and something to share! RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci 11/12 - 4:15 PM-5:45 PM - St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen - We are serving dinner at the St Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen on the second Wednesday of every month. It is fun, rewarding, and your help is greatly appreciated! The work includes preparing food, cleaning pots/pans, and serving food. RSVP Contact: Bill Swanson 11/12 - 6:00PM-8:00PM - Division 6 Meeting - The clubs of our division (Division 6) meet every other month to share experiences, ask for volunteers at events, learn more about Kiwanis and to network. Social hour will begin at 6 PM with the meeting beginning at 6:30. Our special guest speaker will be Rex Cheek from Kiwanis International Store in Indianapolis, IN to talk about branding, marketing and products using the Kiwanis logo. Our Key Club LTG Gabbie Isadore is also planning to attend. As Division 6 Lieutenant Governor, our own Amy Zimmerman now plans and sets the agenda for the division meetings. Amy will be collecting coats for our coat drive for the Horizon Science Academy. Cost is $15, dinner is included. Location: Receptions West at Western Sports Mall. RSVP Contact: Amy Zimmerman 11/14-11/16 - Key Leader Retreat Chaperones - Brian, Jeanette, Jim and Alyson are volunteering to chaperone at a Kiwanis sponsored leadership retreat for high school kids in Ashley, OH. RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci 11/17 - 12:00pm - Lunch & Learn - Adopt a Class - Bill Burwinkel, Executive Director, will talk to the club about the Adopt A Class program, which is committed to building personal, sustained connections with students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grades with the purpose of providing positive role models and developing practical and social skills for the students. Our club will be working with this program in adopting a 3rd grade class at Rockdale Elementary; so, this is our chance to learn much more about what this program has to offer and how we can make a difference. Adopt a Class website RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci 11/22 - 9:00am-3:00pm - Growth Summit for Southwest Ohio Kiwanis - This is an event all Kiwanians should be interested in because it is about growing the organization, so that we can provide more hands-on service. Topics include: Meeting growth goals by working together, using available resources, and following proven growth strategies, developing a plan for going from a good club to a great club, and opening and mentoring other Kiwanis clubs. Location: Sharonville Firehouse. Cost: $10 includes lunch. Read the Flier 11/24 - 5:00pm - Ronald McDonald House Service Project - Join us in our monthly service project cooking dinner at the Ronald McDonald House. We serve the residents - families and patients, and always find it a rewarding experience! RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci Check out our club calendar for more details





Kiwanis Club News Monthly Quiz Winners Congratulations to Linda Gramke and Jeanette Yacucci, who correctly answered this month's quiz. Want the answers to October's quiz? Ready to try your hand at November's quiz? Check out the Quiz page on our club website > Event News from October 10/06 - Lunch & Learn: Hoxworth Blood Center - Eric Langevin, Asst. Division Director, Donor Recruitment, and Alyson Yeats, both from the Hoxworth Blood Center spoke to our club about opportunities for volunteering and how to bring Blood Drives to our local area/community organization. Hoxworth Blood Center [Attendance: 6 members, 4 guests] 10/10 - St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen - This monthly service project was started and is run by Bill Swanson. This month, Ty Foster, his friend Patty, Jim Gerwe, and Bill Swanson served dinner at St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen. Here is a story from Bill (Thanks Bill!): "Ty and I did coffee duty. Interesting that like 50 people wanted cream and extra sugar, 3 wanted extra sugar no cream, 1 drank it black. I think they were all in it for the sugar!" [Attendance: 3 members, 1 guest] 10/13 - Kiwanis New Year Party at Henke Winery - To celebrate the Kiwanis New Year (which began October 1st) and to celebrate all that we accomplished this past year, we had our Kiwanis New Year Party at Henke Winery. There were awards, gifts, an officer transitioning ceremony, a rousing speech by our club president, a Year In Review video, great food and delicious wines. Sopheap and Monica turned in their membership applications! Awards: Service - Bill Swanson; Cook of the Year - JJ McHenry; Attendance - Linda Gramke; Social Butterfly - Lori Kaplan; The Golden Plunger (someone's gotta do it!) - Mary Shy Big Kiwanis Anniversaries: Ty Foster - 15 years of service! Kelly Flick - 5 years of service! [Attendance: 12 members, 7 guests] 10/20 - Lunch & Learn: Southern Gateway Chorus - David Beaudry and Paul Coleman (VP of Youth in Harmony) spoke with our club to introduce Southern Gateway Chorus, shared about their work with area youth (including work with high schools, Youth in Harmony, and Harmony Festival), and discussed opportunities for collaboration between SGC and Kiwanis Southern Gateway Chorus [Attendance: 7 members, 4 guests] 10/23 - GreenHills / Forest Park New Member Night - Green Hills Forest Park held a new member prospective night at Mill Race Lodge. We went to show support for them and to share our love of Kiwanis with their potential new members. [Attendance: 4 members] 10/25 - Harvest Fest Booth - Our club had a booth at the Greater Cincinnati Worship Center Harvest Fest to promote our club. Alyson Gerwe ran the booth and painted faces to help with the festivities. Jim Gerwe volunteered to as a jack-of-all-trades, helping out wherever it was needed. The church asked us to come back next year to do a face painting booth again because everyone loved it so much. [Attendance: 2 members] 10/25 - Cincinnati Museum Center Volunteering - Carmel, Amy and Amy's friend Randy volunteered at the Museum Center with their company, Hewlett-Packard, taking photos of the children and families at the museum's anniversary celebration. [Attendance: 2 members, 1 guest] 10/27 - Ronald McDonald House - Everyone had a great time preparing dinner this month, and it was delicious too! This month, we served about 60 residents chicken patties, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Lauren Harmon from the University of Cincinnati Circle K club came to help out! Here is a story from Mary and Laura (Thanks!): "We had so much fun peeling and mashing potatoes. I’ve never made so many mashed potatoes at once! I had fun teaching some of the younger members the fine art of making smooth mashed potatoes!" - Mary Shy "We also made desperate attempts to find mashing utensils and butter (we used *all* the butter in the community fridge), and [there were] nice, warm, chocolate chip cookies baked by our own Chef Bill" - Laura Reinhardt [Attendance: 13 members, 3 guests] 10/31 - Run Like Hell Benefit for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - Amy Zimmerman, Alex Hamling and Randy York "ran like hell" in costume to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Individual Service - JJ McHenry volunteered with the Tristate Medical Reserve Corps; Tim Gramke volunteered with the outreach ministries at Vineyard Church Northwest; Hubert Kirchgaessner volunteered with Adoption Bridges of Kentucky. More past events.....




New Membership Please join us in welcoming our newest members, Sopheap Sok and Monica Espinal (joined October 2008). Congratulations! Sopheap works in the development department at Cincinnati Museum Center and was a member of Miami University Circle K. She has already brought guests with her to club meetings! Monica is a 2nd/3rd grade teacher at Horizon Science Academy and was also a member of Miami University Circle K. Monica has started a coat and long-sleeved shirt drive and is hoping to start a K-Kids club at her school . 1,2,3 You Hold the Key More than 12,000 people have joined Kiwanis International since the beginning of the 1-2-3 You Hold the Key program. The reason: Nearly 7,000 members invited them—members who were justly rewarded. Recruit new members during the current administrative year and you’ll be rewarded, too. More about 1,2,3 You Hold the Key




An Interview with Tim Gramke (Club Member since January 2008) Each month we will feature one of our club members so our readers can get to know the people who make up our club. This month’s featured member is Tim Gramke who joined our club in January 2008, with his wife Linda. Tim has been married to Linda for over 30 years and they have lived in Groesbeck since 2001, after living in Harrison, OH for 22 years. They have one grown son, Mike, who has volunteered to assist with Kiwanis projects on occasion. Tim enjoys spending time doing home improvement and fix-it projects, since their son bought an older home a couple of years ago. By now, he must be on the preferred, be extra nice to, red carpet customer list at Lowe’s. It really pays to be loyal to such a store. He was able to secure an unbelievable discount on hardwood floors! The Gramkes have a dog-share program (similar to Laura Reinhardt and Amy Zimmerman). Tim and Linda have an old Beagle named Rosie and their son has Dusty, a Golden Retriever/Cocker mix. The two dogs are best friends and lived together for about 6 years before Mike moved out and took Dusty with him. Since that time, it has been necessary to have “play dates” and “sleepovers” arranged for them. Tim and his wife like to walk on a regular basis, with and without the dog(s), either in their neighborhood or the Farnbach Werner Nature Preserve about a mile away. Tim also enjoys working in the yard and has expanded the flower gardens around their home each year. It shouldn’t be too much longer and TruGreen will have to give them a discount for a lesser amount of lawn to be treated! Since becoming a member in January, Tim has had the opportunity to be involved with the Ronald McDonald House Dinners, Tom Geiger House renovations, St. Francis Soup Kitchen and Harvest Home Lemon Shake Ups. His favorite is the Ronald McDonald House Dinners. Tim and his family belong to the Vineyard Church Northwest. He works with the Mercy Ministries, which organizes the grocery donations brought in through the church, and bags the groceries (usually by a set list of contents) and distributes them one Saturday a month. It’s amazing how many people you can touch with just a simple random act of kindness. He is also part of the Connect Area of the church that welcomes visitors and assists in any questions and provides information in the form of a welcome packet. He is part of the Price Hill Church Plant Team. La Viña en Cincinnati is a Vineyard church plant, which is in the process of being developed in a Guatemalan community in Price Hill. After 30 years at the same company, Tim found himself having to look for work in these tough times. At the onset of his unexpected lack of a job this summer, he was asked to chair the Food Giveaway for the Hispanic Outreach at the Vineyard Church Northwest. Typically, this would have been a huge undertaking while working full time. Having the time to shop and organize almost 4000 grocery items for 158 bags of groceries, he was able to stay under budget even with renting a truck to deliver the bags to the outreach site. Now that the Outreach is over for 2008, Tim is ready to resume his job search, looking at any and all opportunities available. Something that few people know about Tim is his role in clog dancing! During his wife’s 12 year stint with clog dancing, he was the official “Bag Watcher” during the performances. No, not the women! He watched the tote bags, purses, shoes, coats, kids, grandkids, cameras, food, etc. You name it; he watched it! Then he became the MC with the Majestic Cloggers for about 3 years, telling really corny jokes at the pumpkin Festivals and fairs. He traveled to Washington DC on two occasions with the All Ohio Cloggers. On one of the trips, there were 700 dancers and 300 parade walkers and Tim was one of the state flag carriers. Another time with the All Ohio Cloggers, he donned George Washington apparel to walk in a parade in Dayton, Ohio, as our First President. More club stars...




Kiwanis International News New International President, Don Canaday Fulfilling a promise to his beloved wife, 2008-09 International President Don Canaday carries on, building clubs, recruiting members, and touching lives. A retired Brigadier General and 29 year member of Kiwanis, his story is truly touching. Read his story... Kiwanis has raised more than $41 Million for Children's Miracle Network Throughout the years, Kiwanis International has made children happier and healthier, and millions of kids have been able to enjoy better lives as a result. One of the ways Kiwanis helps is by being a contributor to Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals. Kiwanis joined Children's Miracle Network in 1982 and Key Club International (the high school Kiwanis program) joined in 1996. Together, Kiwanians have raised more than $41 million for CMN. Read more about CMN and Kiwanis Kiwanis International website




Did you know? The concept of soup kitchens hit the mainstream of U.S. consciousness during the Great Depression. One soup kitchen in Chicago was even sponsored by Italian mobster Al Capone in an effort to clean up his image. Inventor Benjamin Thompson, contemporary to the Founding Fathers of the United States, is said to have invented the soup kitchen.




A Word of Encouragement "Entering a very cold, dark room, you are presented with the choice of a fireplace, a wood stove and a lantern. What would you light first? The match, of course. When working with volunteers, people needing services and the community or businesses, first the spark must be lit in you. If it isn't, how can you pass it on to others?"...Are you lit up for service and Kiwanis? Submitted to Energize, Inc. by Debra Banks, Nonprofit Consultant More Parables at Engergize, Inc.

Membership Information

To become a member of Cincinnati Kiwanis, either contact a Cincinnati Kiwanis member or come to a meeting to fill out a membership application. Our membership is open to the public.

The public is invited and encouraged to join us for all our activities and events. New members means more volunteers working together to make a greater positive impact on our community...read more

Thanks everyone for all the hard work this past month in putting this newsletter together!