Kiwanis

I joined the Kiwanis Club of South Edmonton back in 2001, then became Club Secretary in 2002 and continued in that position until 2011.

After serving in a number of positions over the subsequent years, including Club President, Division Six Lt Governor and Kiwanis Western Canada District Governor, as of 01 October 2023 I was back as Club Secretary.

The different positions I’ve held over the years have helped me learn more about the Secretary position, so when asked to once more come back on the Club Board, I thought that I could do the most good as Secretary.

So, on 01 October, the start of the Kiwanis year, after being off the Board for several years, I received the files and started to work.

Holy Dingle, there was much to do and review. Unfortunately, due to various events, Covid being one, there were a few hiccups in the paperwork that needed attention, and some Board actions needed to be tracked down and clarified.

As many of my readers know, leadership positions in any volunteer organization can be difficult when balancing work and life’s events. Then add a two year pandemic to the mix. Kudos to all those who persevered, with the organization only suffering a few hiccups or minor confusions.

However minor confusions, on occasion, can lead to more serious situations if not addressed. Fortunately we were not at the serious situation level, though the minor confusions did have to be dealt with.

Previously, while Secretary, I also served as Club Webmaster. They must of liked what I did, seeing as how in early October, I was asked if I would also take that position once more. In reality, Secretary and Webmaster blend well together, so I said I would.

Interestingly enough, I started this blog post in November, about a month after resuming the secretary position, as I thought that the main rush of catch-up had passed. However, it seems that I was wrong. It is now into the first week of December and I think I can finally get back into blog creation.

Skip forward once again, to the end of December and it seems I was wrong again as a few things got in the way, a good number of them Kiwanis related as it turned out.

So why, you might ask, do I not just pack it in for this blog post and start something new, probably on a different subject. Well if that were the regular modus operendi, then a great many of us would not achieve much in our lives. I think that the term which comes to the fore most often is “life gets in the way”.

Any the who, back to being club secretary. Over the years many people have indicated that the club secretary is the most important person in the club, the one who keeps the wheels turning so to speak.

I agree that the club secretary is an integral part of the club, however I feel that not only every board member, but every individual club member is extremely important to the organization.

Kiwanis is basically all about kids. Our primary focus is young people from birth through their teenage years. Each club has a number of projects to help and/or benefit kids. These projects need people. The most perfectly planned project in the world will be ineffective without the people to actually do the work, to “get their hands dirty” so to speak.

To me, the secretary has two essential tasks. To be the primary point person for the Club President, and to ensure that the club administrative functions are completed in an accurate and timely fashion. I consider myself to be a kind of “gatekeeper” for my president, to support her, provide her with information she may be seeking, and to act as a buffer or a sounding board when needed.

As well, the secretary is usually the “Keeper of the Stuff”. The description of “the stuff” can vary greatly from organization to organization. It will, of course, include the files, which used to be myriads of paper, but now for many organizations, including Kiwanis clubs, are maintained electronically, often in the cloud for easy access by others on the board, or even club members as well. As the age demographics of Kiwanis clubs leans towards Baby Boomers, and some of The Silent Generation, provision and administration of electronic storage of files in the cloud continues to be a work in progress.

Other aspects of “the stuff” can vary greatly depending on the individual club. Perhaps it is the meeting equipment, gong, flags and so on, or awards, received by the club or to be presented to members. Maybe the paraphernalia used when out working on a club project. Or any number of other things. Regardless, storing, tracking, or arranging for, these things, often falls to the secretary.

Reactions to the secretary’s efforts are also varied, ranging from “how wonderful that was”, to “haven’t you got that done yet”, and often quite the arrangement of comments in between.

As every Kiwanis Club Secretary knows, all of the above aspects are part of the job that we volunteered for. And generally, we take it all in stride, because we’re good at what we do!

So there you go, a blog post that took longer than expected to complete. However one of the positive aspects is that that my secretary work was not delayed to compose this blog post, rather it was the other way round.

Do take care and be well. Until next time.