FRANKLIN COUNTY’S chapter of the Kiwanis Club, an international organization rooted in community service, was established in 1999 when a couple relocated here for work. The husband, according to charter member Brenda Long, had been active in Kiwanis in his previous town and hoped to find one here. Long said the man was so dedicated to community service that he would drive all the way to Tullahoma for the Kiwanis Club meetings there, and the Tullahoma chapter was so impressed that it decided to become the founding sponsor of a new chapter in Franklin County.
“They got the bright idea to get us an organization over here,” Long said.
Twenty-six years later, the Kiwanis organization is still going strong, with more than 30 local members and a mission to empower families in Franklin County through compassion and generosity.
“Kids are priority one with the Kiwanis club,” Long said.
The club helps local children with basic needs and financial support, and also offers creative educational programs that give students a solid foundation.
One of these programs is the Reality Store, an event Kiwanis runs for eighth graders who are deciding which educational path they want to take during their high school years.
“The Reality Store targets eighth graders to help them decide what they want to do in the future for a career,” said Jeannie Bates, another Kiwanis charter member. “They decide what they want to do for a living, and we assign them one month’s salary. Then, they come into the libraries where we have all these stations set up like housing, rentals, car purchases, anything they’re going to need to live.”
Bates said they often want to include pets, so they have to calculate the costs of caring for their animals as well.
“After they pick out what they want, we add it all up, and they usually find out they don’t make enough money,” Bates said. “They have to get a different job or make different choices.”
It’s a wake-up call that eighth graders need, Long said, because parents don’t always talk to their kids about finances at that age.
“We’ve had kids say, ‘Well, now I understand when my parents say we don’t have any money,'” Long said.
The club also awards six scholarships each year to seniors at Franklin County High School and Huntland High School.
“We try to give these to students who are not getting a full ride anywhere,” Long said.
Some of those scholarships go to students heading to technical schools, because Kiwanis supports all secondary education pursuits.
The organization meets needs across generations as well. One way it supports local senior citizens is by helping with holiday meals. When the Senior Citizen Center’s Meals on Wheels program shuts down for Thanksgiving and Christmas, homebound seniors can go days without food delivery.
“They have a few days where they don’t have food delivered, like on certain holidays, so we make up meal bags for them,” Bates said.
The club supports several organizations, including Horse Play in Tullahoma, Life Choices, Grace Center of Hope, and Blue Monarch, a program for women.
One of the most cherished events Kiwanis hosts is the annual Santa Comes to Town event, held mid-December. The club spent $8,000 on toys for local children this past Christmas. Children and their families were invited to visit Santa, get photos, and pick out a toy. Each child is encouraged to look through the toys without their parents, Long said.
“The parents often try to persuade their kids to pick something else, and we want the child to pick out what he or she really wants,” Long said.
After presents are chosen, the Kiwanis club serves chili, hot dogs, and soft drinks. The club relies on its High on the Hog fundraising festival, celebrating its 39th year.
“High on the Hog is our big fundraiser where we derive our funds for all these other projects,” Long said.
The nine-day event in May features a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned competition, a five-day carnival, a motorcycle ride, a cruise-in, and a disc golf tournament. This huge festival draws upwards of 10,000 people.
The club also partners with other organizations for this event.
“We have a member who helps run a large cornhole tournament the weekend prior to High on the Hog, and she does lots of fun activities. We have entertainment that weekend as well. All the proceeds are split between us and Tessa Hill’s Sober Living,” Long said. “A lot of times, we’ll partner with an organization and share the funds. So we both benefit from it.”
Bates added that the reason she joined Kiwanis 26 years ago is the same reason she’s still there today.
“All the money that we raised stays here,” she said. “We know it stays here, and the only thing that goes to the international organization is the $7.95 that we pay in dues. There’s no corporate salary.”
Long agreed. The charter members, along with the current president, Chris Wiseman, care about seeing the club’s funds assist Franklin County, and they say the only way to make that happen is to get involved.
“Our community has to have people in organizations like ours, and not just assume that someone else is doing it,” Long said. “You’ve got to jump in and help.” GN
The Franklin County Kiwanis Club meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. at their clubhouse behind the theater in Winchester. They’re always looking for new members and volunteers, especially with High on the Hog coming up in May. Anyone interested is invited to attend a meeting
