My Kiwanis Moment

When Kiwanis calls

Katrina came and went, leaving behind destruction and despair. Then Kiwanis arrived, Inspiring another 'Kiwanis Moment'

By Dennis Oliver, governor-elect, Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District

On Saturday, the 27th of August 2005, the Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District’s new board of directors wrapped up its first official meeting of the year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We all knew there was a pretty significant storm out in the Gulf of Mexico, but where it would land was still undetermined. There was guarded concern until a call came to the office that the storm had made a turn toward the Mississippi-Louisiana border. Right toward us. Needless to say, we finished quickly, wished all good luck, and I began the two-hour trip home.

My fellow travelers—Richard Wood (Pascagoula, Mississippi, club), Julia Carter (Biloxi, Mississippi, club), my wife, Ame (Stone County, Mississippi, club)—and I were certainly concerned, but having gone through so many hurricanes, we didn’t envision what was to come.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent boarding up windows, checking storm supplies, and checking updates on the TV. My fellow Gulfport, Mississippi, Kiwanian Ed Jones, and his wife, Usa, evacuated from their home near the beach and came to spend Sunday night with us.

Monday morning, we awakened to above-normal winds, which increased almost immediately. From 7 am until 4:30 pm we experienced the fiercest winds any of us could remember with 30-foot storm surges and 150 miles-per-hour winds. We soon lost power, and our contact with the outside was a five-inch-square battery-powered television. Amazingly, the local television station never went off the air.

Tuesday morning we learned that 70 miles of our state’s beachfront was virtually blown away. Sixty-five thousand homes were destroyed, and thousands upon thousands of residents were homeless. The next eight to 10 days, until power and water was restored, we spent digging out, accessing damage, and finding out how friends and family survived.

Shortly after communication was restored, our Kiwanis family began contacting us to offer assistance. Clubs from around the country sent volunteers and money to be used for storm relief. The Kiwanis International Foundation and district foundations collected thousands of dollars to be used for grant requests for Kiwanis clubs to help rebuild our communities.

“Kiwanis in action” is the only way to describe Lake Weir, Florida, Kiwanian George J. Albright Jr. and two friends from the Florida District who pulled into Biloxi, on September 14 with 5,000 stuffed animals to take to the shelters. David A. Waskom, a member of the Natchitoches, Louisiana, Kiwanis club, brought six fellow volunteers to clear yards, remove trees, and cover roofs. Through the following weeks, we housed Kiwanians from Louisiana, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio who came willing to tackle any job anywhere.

In all of this, the Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District was looking at 35 clubs and 1,500 members affected to different degrees by the storm. Naturally, the first steps were to find those members and determine what Kiwanis could do for them.

On September 25, International President Steve Siemens came to Baton Rouge to meet with the district board and plan a course of action for International’s assistance.

Steve listened and made a list of the district board’s requests:

• Postpone all the affected clubs’ dues billing to May.

• Waive the $50 new-member fee.

• Pay for a person to work in the district office to receive storm relief requests, and pay for a phone line for this purpose.

Steve promised to get back to us as soon as he could pass these requests through the International Board. On the following Thursday, the district was notified that all had been approved.

In the past few months, more than US$500,000 has been disbursed through the International and district foundations. Getting schools open was a number-one priority. Books, school supplies, shelving, file cabinets, and instructional aids were in urgent demand. Storm-canceled club fundraisers were funded. Some Kiwanis clubs used foundation grants to sustain important projects until the members could get their clubs up and running again. Each school with a Key Club or Builders Club was awarded $2,000.

The lives of those in Katrina’s path have been changed forever. In the years ahead, a new “normal” will be born. One constant in all of this is this:

Kiwanis is the greatest, most caring, and ready-to-help service club in the world.

Kiwanis has touched the lives of its members in a time of need. Above all, it has touched every community in Katrina’s path.