Bike Fitting at Colony Days
Contributed by Eva Cohnen-Brown
What were you doing in August of 1949? If you were around in those days not so long ago, you may remember the formation of organizations like the NBA and NATO. And if you were growing up in the Valley, you may also recall the chartering of Kiwanis Club of Palmer. Yes indeed, this coming year is the club’s 70th anniversary!
The Mat-Su Valley has been blessed by the steady, consistent volunteer efforts put forth by the Kiwanis Club of Palmer since its inception. It has been active in the community from the very beginning, starting with the establishment of a baseball park, Hermon Brothers Field, which is still used by the Mat-Su Miners and Little League teams. Lucas-Kiwanis City Park was also established in the early days of the club, and is still a haven with playgrounds for families to enjoy time together.
Projects undertaken by Kiwanis have varied over the years, depending on the needs of the community, club membership and availability of skills. One highlight from years past was the annual snowmachine race from Palmer up to Hatcher Pass… back when there wasn’t quite as much traffic on the road between these locales.
Fast-forward to the present, and there are numerous projects sponsored by the club:
Awards & Projects:
• Eighth grade awards have been offered since the club’s beginning. These awards are given to the outstanding boy and girl in each middle school’s 8th grade, based on scholarship and citizenship.
• Scholarships awarded to high school seniors in the following categories:
o Music: based on scholarship, music activities and the candidate’s intention of making music a career.
o Key Club: based on leadership, community service and scholastic standing.
• Key Club: teenage service clubs at Colony High School and Palmer High School
• K-Kids: youth service club at Sherrod Elementary School
• Dictionaries for all 3rd grade students in the school district: About 1,500 dictionaries are distributed annually, depending on school enrollment. This program has been active since 2012, and a total of 15,480 have been distributed since then.
Anne Benson, K-Kids Faculty Advisor, at Fleece Fandango
• Community support for the annual Palmer Clean Up Day
• Voting assistance with Alaska State Fair Board at its annual meeting
• Bike Helmets for youth: purchased for children and fitted during Colony Days. On average, 220 helmets are donated each year.
• Donations to vital community groups, including MY House (a homeless youth drop-in center), Little League and Arctic Paws for Service (service dogs for autistic children).
• Fleece Fandango: assemble and donate fleece blankets to The Children’s Place, a child advocacy center.
Kiwanis has enjoyed helping the community in all these ways and more for these many decades, and looks forward to helping out for many more.
Happy Anniversary, Kiwanis Club of Palmer!
Interested in visiting and/or joining the club? Kiwanis meetings are held weekly on Tuesdays at Turkey Red Restaurant in the Event Room, at 550 S. Alaska Street, Palmer. We have a variety of interesting speakers, representing local volunteer and business groups. The first few Tuesdays of each month are lunch meetings, held from 12:00pm-1:00pm. The last two Tuesdays of each month are evening meetings, held from 6:00pm-7:00 pm. Meetings are open to everyone, and you don’t have to be a member to attend. For more information, please check out our Facebook site - Kiwanis Club of Palmer Alaska - and the Kiwanis homepage at www.kiwanis.org.
Note: The author wishes to share a special thank you to Kiwanians Ann Goodman and Sandra Garley for their invaluable assistance in providing information for this article.
