By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Father Marc Bentley spoke at the Grayson Chamber of Commerce meeting on March 11, and shared some of the things the Kiwanis Club does for the community.
“The Kiwanis Club was founded in 1915,” Bentley said. “It was founded with the goal to serve children and communities around the world. Our motto is ‘Serving the children of the world.’ That really is our focus,” he told the Chamber. “We have over 445,000 members around the world dedicated to that motto.”
Bentley broke those numbers down a little further, telling the chamber that the Kiwanis membership is made up of not only 178,000 adults but also 167,000 youth organizations, proving that the Kiwanis members include a broad range of ages.
“Kiwanis organizations and family clubs are around the world, with many different groups all the way down to Key Club.”
“They devote around 7.7 million hours of community service per year. And they have 1.3 million service projects they dedicate themselves to each year. That’s a huge impact around the world,” Bentley said. “The average Kiwanian impacts the life of 106 children. Can you imagine the impact our club can have,” Bentley asked, “in this county if one Kiwanian impacts 106 children?”
The Kiwanis Club of Carter County was founded in 2017, Bentley told the chamber. Unfortunately, it was not long after that the COVID19 pandemic hit, which unfortunately shuttered the doors of many businesses. The goal now, Bentley said, is to revitalize the Carter County Kiwanis Club.
“Our club is new,” Bentley said. “But in many ways, I consider that a blessing. We aren’t set in our ways, and we are still open to new ideas. We can determine the kind of club we want to be and decide which projects we want to pursue. The things that we support determine how we want to serve the children and their families.”
“We want to be the group, the people, where if our young people and their families need something, they turn to us first,” he added.
“Our key objectives are serving the youth, strengthening communities, and fostering leadership. Not just for young people, but for adults as well,” Bentley said. “And we do that in three key ways; donating to local youth programs, direct service projects, and service learning programs.” Educational programs focusing on youth and community service help the Kiwanis to assist the youth and their communities to move forward, Bentley said, by being responsible and engaged in their communities.
“I think all of you want young people who are active, responsible, and engaged citizens,” Bentley told chamber members.
The Chamber of Commerce also discussed the upcoming Memory Days event. McClain Dyer told the chamber that there would be some updates and changes to the annual event.
“We want to refocus it around the honor and memory of our veterans,” Dyer told the chamber. “It is going to be more about the meaning of the holiday and less about the glitz and glamour – though there will be that too.”
Chamber of Commerce Coordinator Mike Nelson said that he and all the chamber were excited to see what 2025 Memory Days has to offer.
“This is year 54 for Memory Days,” Nelson told the chamber. “It’s May 22-25 this year, and our theme is ‘A Walk Down Memory Lane’. That opens up a lot of interpretation for Memory Days from years past, and I would really like for people to show up and dress the part.”
Nelson said that sponsorships are also still available for the upcoming event.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
