The complete article can be found at http://www.williamsburgneighbors.com/issues/June2010-Speaker.pdf .

What is the primary focus of the organization?
To change the world one child and one community at a time, beginning right here in Williamsburg.
How many Kiwanis clubs are there in the Williamsburg area?
There are three clubs locally, Colonial Capital Kiwanis Club, Toano Kiwanis Club and our club, the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club.
How many total members are there?
340- 350 members for all three clubs. Our club has 180 members and is one of the largest in VA.
What is the difference between Kiwanis and similar civic groups such as Rotary
clubs?
We sponsor youth organizations. CKI in college, Key Clubs in high school and Builders Clubs in lower schools.
What are some of the most notable contributions the local Kiwanis has made to our community?
o Kiwanis Park was started by our club over 40 years ago so the kids would have a place to play baseball. Now it is a world class park operated by the City of Williamsburg. We like to think John Korczowski and Jimmy Fuller, who got out their garden tools and started chopping grass to make Kiwanis Park, was the beginning of all the recreational facilities the Williamsburg area is blessed with. That is one reason why we give the Korczowski-Fuller award each year to a Kiwanis member for exceptional service to the community.
o The Community Christmas Tree lighting each December 24 in Colonial Williamsburg
is another notable contribution. We have carol singing, a local high school band, the Mayor welcomes everyone, and a Colonial Williamsburg interpreter reads the story of the first Christmas Tree in Williamsburg.
o We also bought the first heart telemetry equipment for the City of Williamsburg's EMT vehicle and it saved a tourist's life the first week they had it. It also saved the life of Bob Dutro, one the most productive members of the Kiwanis Club for the last 40 years.
o We put a bronze plaque in the courthouse to honor all the area servicemen killed in Vietnam.
o 39 club members spent 57 work days building Kidsburg, a permanent playground for small children.
o With longtime member Jim Anthony leading, we established Kiwanis Day, later known as Band Day, which for 17 years brought up to 30 high school bands and 3,000 students to Williamsburg each year.
The bands were judged while parading down DOG Street with the top three performing
at halftime for William and Mary football games.
o Also with Anthony leading, we helped with the first few Occasion for the Arts
events that has become so popular.
o We sponsored Sabin oral polio vaccine clinics that served 20,000 residents over a four month period.
o Through Olde Towne Medical Center we provided small pox vaccinations for children starting school.
o For over 30 years we have read to children. This program, started by Kiwanis International, is known as Reading is Fundamental or RIF. We now read once a month in three different facilities. None of those facilities existed when we started the reading program.
o In the early 1990's, the Kiwanis Clubs of Hampton Roads collectively pledged $1,000,000 to help build a Pediatric Trauma Unit at Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters (CHKD). Because of our efforts the hospital named it Children's Kiwanis Emergency Center (CKEC). The CHKD doctors asked if we could raise $100,000 for an "Ouchless" program. This money enabled the hospital to put TV monitors and PlayStations® in each examining room along with special equipment that would help the kids be less frightened while they were being examined or treated. After that we raised another $300,000 for a transport vehicle which is really a mobile intensive care unit.
o During our 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2008, we built a 700 square foot storage facility for the Historic Triangle Building in one day. The Kiwanis International President worked on this project.
o We sponsored the Colonial Capital Club which has become one of the best Kiwanis Clubs in all of Kiwanis International, and more recently the Toano Club which is growing fast and doing wonderful things.
The Shrimp Feast is a popular fundraiser for Kiwanis. How many years has your organization been holding this event?
2010 was our 31st Shrimp Feast and maybe our best. It seems to get better each year.
The Shrimp Feast is also an important fundraiser for Kiwanis. How much money does it raise for the community?
Over the 30 years we have raised $500,000 to help the community. All of this money goes to charities.
What are some of the local organizations that Kiwanis has benefited over the years?
CDR, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Youth Athletics, Dream Catchers, Autistic Children, ARC, Olde Towne Medical Center, Rita Welsh Adult Program, Salvation Army, and many, many more.
How does someone become a member of Kiwanis?
Call Hugh Siggins at 757-564-8033, go online at www.williamsburgkiwanis.org or tell a Kiwanian you want to be a member.
What kind of commitment does it take to be a member of Kiwanis?
A willingness to be part of a team, to help others, and a desire to make your little spot on this earth as good as it can possibly be.