LAURINBURG – It was by accident that the members of the Laurinburg Kiwanis club marked their recent 70th anniversary.
“It was a regular meeting where we elected officers, and the current president mentioned it when he looked at the president’s cup,” said Phillip McRae. “He happened to look at the cup and see that the first president was CW Lassiter in 1947.”
Looking at the lists of former members is a “smorgasbord” of notables from Laurinburg history, according to McRae.
The first Kiwanis Club was founded in 1915 in Detroit, and 32 years later the Laurinburg chapter of the civic organization was formed on July 30, 1947, according to member Bob McNeill.
One of the first events the club held was a soapbox derby, but there was a hitch in the plan.
“They decided they wanted to have the derby; people built the racers, and they got ready to have it and realized there was no hill in Laurinburg,” McNeill said. “They built a ramp and held it on Atkinson Street.”
McNeill joined the club in 1970 because of the altruistic mindset of the club and as a way to cultivate friendships.
“Sydney Smith invited me to a meeting that was a cookout at Lindo Harvell’s house, and I joined after that,” McNeill said. “The friends you make, they’re all civic minded people.”
Kiwanis members don’t just spend their time socializing; they organize fund raisers and then distribute that money to “do good” in the community.
One of the early charitable programs the local Kiwanis Club held was the toy train.
“We would collect used toys and fix them up, but it got to be hard because it got to the point they were made of plastic and hard to fix,” McNeill said.
The group let the project go in the 1970s.
The nature of Kiwanis charitable support has changed over the years to a largely financial effort.
“We give out $6,000 in scholarships a year and book scholarships to Richmond [Community College] and we support a cottage at the boys’ home at Lake Waccamaw, McNeill said.
Scholarships recipients do not have to be involved in Kiwanis, according to McRae.
The club also supports the Key Club at Scotland High School with approximately $1,000 a year and the Terrific Kids Club in all local schools.
Kiwanis’ biggest fundraiser is the much-anticipated Pancake Supper that the group puts on. The event is well attended. Currently the club is scrambling to find a venue for this fall’s supper due to lead contamination at the National Guard Armory. McNeill is hopeful that the group will find a temporary home for the benefit.
The club is looking to add new members because their membership numbers are down to less than 20.
A typical meeting consists of a meal, opening prayer, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a group song and some sort of program like a speaker or performer before the club begins to handle regular business, according to McNeill.
A fun activity that the group participates in is the Happy Dollar. Members pay $1 to stand up and share a happy event or thought that they’ve experienced since the last meeting. The money is kept by the club and added to the coffers to support funding for projects.
Members can also buy into a 50/50 raffle. Tickets are $1 and the winner splits the proceeds with the club.
Kiwanis meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month.
The organization is open to men and women.
“Anybody that’s interested is welcome as long as they’re civic minded; we could certainly use them,” McNeill said. “I feel like everybody that lives in the county needs to be involved with some civic club.”
For information on how to join, call Phillip McRae at 910-277-6597.
The newly elected officers for the 2017-18 year are John McRae, vice-president; Ralph Bolger, president; Jimmy Bennett, secretary/co-treasurer; and Jim Blackwell, co-treasurer.
At the July meeting the club also handed out a $1,000 scholarship to Anna Capps. The scholarship is sponsored by the Blackwell family and goes to a student who is related to a Kiwanis Club member.
Capps will be a freshman at UNC Wilmington in the fall and is the granddaughter of granddaughter of John and Celeste McRae of Laurinburg.
