NORTH OGDEN KIWANIS CLUB
70TH Anniversary
When North Ogden Kiwanis Club was chartered in September of 1946, there were just over one thousand citizens in the city. J. Parley Spackman was its first president. He and other city fathers had worked for months to research and apply for club status in Kiwanis International. By 1947, there were 37 members and the club was well on its way to becoming a fixture in the community, and met regularly in the basement of Barkers’ Service Station where its charter was proudly displayed. Early projects were directed at helping the young city with infrastructure—planting trees, installing irrigation systems and building of parks and recreation facilities.
The club’s by-laws require that funds raised from the public must be used for community improvement, with emphasis on helping youth. The club has remained true to that commitment and has a history of assisting young people in many different forms. Soon, High School Key clubs were formed and were followed by Hope of America Awards, which recognized outstanding sixth graders–hundreds of students have received these awards. Recently, the Club added an Achievement Award for graduating seniors at Weber and Fremont High schools. One of the most successful programs has been in partnering with the Weber School Foundation for the past ten years to donate books to local elementary schools; this has resulted in tens of thousands of books going to school libraries. During the past three years, this program has expanded to include video Books, e-books and most recently classroom PA systems, which the teacher and student use for better classroom communication.
North Ogden Kiwanis assists the Youth City Council, and the NOYCC has returned the favor with help in Highway Clean up and Cherry Days Breakfast. Kiwanis have cooked and served a pancake breakfast on July 4th at Cherry Days for more than 40 years and typically serves 1000 or more hungry celebrators.
The Club has sponsored an Easter Egg Hunt at North Ogden Park for many years, where 300 to 400 children and parents participate. The Club made generous donations to the North Shore Swim Pool and the new Northview Senior Center, sponsored a room at the George Wahlen VA Home, and is currently working with Parks and Recreation to build new water fountains.
North Ogden Club membership hovers around the 30 mark and is a fine example of a “small and mighty” organization. They plan to celebrate their 70th anniversary on March 15, 2016, with an open house at the Senior Center. We are very fortunate to have people in the community who help us financially, as well as, with their hands and hearts.
The club’s impact on local communities is difficult to measure especially since it covers seven decades. Looking at the most recent decade 2005-2015 gives a good indication of the influence of North Ogden Kiwanis and its members. During this ten year period club members as well as many or our friends and supporters have contributed thousands of hours in bringing each project to successful completion. The club with support of sponsors and donors has donated over $70,000 directly with an additional $15,000 coming from matching funds.
Hundreds of sixth grade students have received the Hope of America Award which recognizes academic achievement as well as citizenship. Hundreds of children have participated in our annual Easter Egg Hunt in North Ogden Park. In the past four years we’ve given an Achievement Award to graduating students from Fremont and Weber High Schools.
Several dozen local youth have received monetary assistance to help them participate in various competitions from Jr. Olympic Fencing to Debate venues. The club sponsored a Freedom Essay Contest for Weber School District students from 4th to 12th grade and continues to support an American Spirit Essay Contest for the public.
In our Seventieth Year we plan to continue these kinds of community projects and are open to finding new avenues of involvement. We have a goal of adding ten or more new members and will be celebrating with an Open House on March 15 at the Northview Senior Center and invite guests from the community and other Kiwanis Clubs to attend. For information contact John W. Reynolds at 801 782 8077 or e-mail – wbarn28@aol.com.
