CityView Magazine

8 Januar y 2021 Y ou won't find them gathered around the luncheon table each Friday aernoon for some idle chit-chat or to catch up on this and that, and then be on their way. ey are members of the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, with a pledge to carry on the mission of Kiwanis International, circa 1915, of "improving the world one child and one community at a time." Chartered on Dec. 1, 1920, the club remains faithful to the mission of making a difference in young lives and making the community better. "e club is a great asset to this community," Bruce Brown said, "and I am super proud to be a member." As a former presiding officer of the club, Brown finds himself in distinguished company with former presidents, including community leaders from Danny Highsmith, John Malzone, Lee Warren and Talmadge Baggett to the late Charlie Rose III, Stacy Weaver, Brownie Schaefer and J.O. Tally, who became the Kiwanis International president. Other longtime members include Glenn Jernigan, Bob Ervin, Norwood Bryan, Jim Ammons, Johnny Dawkins, Diane Parfitt and Diane and Gary Cooper, who currently serves as a trustee with Kiwanis International. e club's history is rich. e club's history is time-honored. e club, today and yesterday, is rewarding for members. "I joined the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville in 1996," said current president George Turner. "is club maintains a commitment to serving the children of Cumberland County by the many programs we have. We are 175 members strong, and everyone works toward our common goal. Best of all, we all have a lot of fun. Our Friday meetings are well-attended, we have a caterer that cooks like your and my mama did, and this time we have together creates a lot of friends." 'Service Brings Its Own Reward' On Nov.10, 1920, some 20 local businessmen gathered to hear about Kiwanis International and what a local club could mean to a community. ree months later, the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville celebrated its Dec. 1, 1920, charter with more than 180 members in what a Fayetteville Observer headline described as "Kiwanis Club's Charter Night Most Elaborate in Entire History of City." John A. Davis was elected president, and the board of directors of D.M. Varnedoe, Ben R. Huske Jr., C.B. Taylor, Dr. M.L. Smooth, J.S. Schenk, D.W. Currie and Claude Rankin, with a meeting staged in the American Red Cross tearoom downtown. ey adopted a club charter that mattered then and matters now. "Kiwanis endeavors to inculcate and BILL KIRBY JR. Kiwanians of Fayetteville Faithful To Origins 100 Years With a Who's Who of community leaders past and present, the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville recently celebrated its 100th anniversar y of making a difference in this community, and in the lives of young people. Turner Smith Broadfoot Parfitt Brown Cooper

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