December 5 Meeting Summary
The Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club met at noon on December 5, 2023, at the Blue Hills Room. There were
11 members present and 4 guests from the Evening Kiwanis Club: Rod Kalivoda, Cindy Kalivoda, Vic Steiner and Kitty Pursley. Club President Karl Dean led the meeting. Doug Denning led the song, Warren Prawl led the pledge and Ron Williams gave the invocation.
We had two club members with a birthday before our next weekly meeting: Greg Doering (Dec. 6) and Tim Lindemuth (Dec. 7). We also had one club member with an anniversary before our next weekly meeting: Charlie Sargent and Shar (Dec. 11).
Announcements were led by President Dean. The Evening Kiwanis Club had their annual Pancake Feed on Saturday, December 9. We had several Evening Club members attend our meeting to tell us what our club can do to help them with their pancake feed. The Evening Kiwanis Club also invited our club to join them in a joint Christmas dinner on Wednesday, December 6, in the Meadowlark Hills Community Room starting at 6pm. The $10 price per person was used to offset the cost of purchased meat, potatoes, table settings, drinks and room rental. It was potluck for sides and desserts. Our club once again helped the Salvation Army collect donations in their Red Kettle bell ringing campaign. Our club rang the bells at the north (Flowers) and south (Pharmacy) entrances to the Dillons Westloop store on Saturday December 9 from 10am to 5pm in one-hour shifts. Our club donated $300 to Toys for Manhattan. Toys for Manhattan has new and experienced toys and gifts for distribution to underprivileged families as Christmas presents for their families. The Director of Toys for Manhattan is Judy Padgett, and she will visit our club on December 12 and update us on the happenings at Toys for Manhattan. The December Solar Kiwanis Board of Directors meeting was on Wednesday, December 13, at noon at the Bluestem Bistro. This is the second Wednesday in December instead of the third Wednesday due to the Christmas holiday.
Happy Dollar donations were given for various reasons: our guests from the Evening Kiwanis Club, Solarian Gaylon Kintner, brother-in-law, the speaker Betsy Barrett, Nick Haverkamp transferring to Augusta, Merry Christmas.
President Dean turned the meeting over to Solarian Steve Bartle to introduce our speaker, Betsy Barrett. Barrett is a volunteer at the Encore Shop that is associated with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church here in Manhattan and is located in the old rectory of the church. The Encore Shop sells good used clothing, shoes, toys, domestics, housewares, and books at low prices and offers items without charge to clients and staff members of social service agencies. Stock for the thrift shop is donated by the community; items in excess of the shop's space are given to charities to service both long term and emergency needs. Profits are shared with St. Paul's outreach programs and Manhattan agencies. Barrett said the shop opened in 1960 as a second wear shop. Tax issues closed the shop in 1970 and it reopened in 1973 and has been in business ever since. In the 3rd quarter of 2023, they sales of $5,996 and expenses of $869. Their annual summer $5 Fill A Bag sale is very popular.
Solar Kiwanis meets at noon on Tuesdays at the Blue Hills Room next to RC McGraw’s in the Blue Hills Shopping Center. Our next weekly meeting will be Tuesday, December 12, and President Karl Dean will introduce Judy Padgett who will tell us all about the Toys for Manhattan organization. Contact Secretary Doug Ackley (rda@ksu.edu, or, 785-539-4945) if you have any questions. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers (male and female) dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.