Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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16 UCW JANUARY 20-26, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Christian music station local your Gary 'Coop' Cooper — Kiwanis International Trustee by HAL W. BROADFOOT JR. AND JOHN F. HOLMES With more than 7,400 Kiwanis clubs comprised of hundreds of thousands of members in more than 80 countries worldwide, you would think that the chances of a single member of an individual local club reaching the upper echelon of leadership in Kiwanis International would be remote. Fayetteville Kiwanian Gary Cooper did not let those long odds deter him. Gary Cooper was elected to Kiwanis Interna- tional Trustee's venerated position at the orga- nization's international convention in Orlando, Florida, in the summer of 2019. "Coop," as his friends call him (and just about everyone is his friend), is now serving the second year of a three- year term in that office. One of only fifteen such trustees in the world, Gary Cooper, shares the responsibility of setting and implementing the organization's goals. is year, Kiwanis Inter- national has assigned him to counsel Key Club International. Given that Key Club is the most extensive sponsored youth program globally, and it is what many people think of when they hear the word "Kiwanis," this is perhaps the most essential assignment an International Trustee could take on. So, how did Cooper end up being the second International Trustee elected from the ranks of the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville in its first 100 years? Hard work, teamwork, and dedication to the organization he loves. Many of the Kiwanis members have a servant's heart — a deep-seated desire to help those less fortunate and work for the betterment of their communities. With some, their involvement with Kiwanis as adults can be traced back to their experience with Kiwanis or Kiwanians when they were children. For Gary Cooper, it's both. Coop has fond memories of playing baseball on a Kiwanis-sponsored Little League team as a boy growing up in Shelby, North Carolina. Maybe that is why he jumped at the chance to join Kiwanis when his neighbor, Fayetteville City Councilman Johnny Dawkins, asked him to a meeting in 1995. (Johnny, by the way, has his distinguished history with Kiwanis. He held several offices in the Key Club at Fayetteville Academy and the Carolinas District of Key Club International, culminating in his service as Governor during his senior year in high school. He is a long-time member of the Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, where he has served as a director and in many other roles.) Cooper quickly rose through the leadership ranks in the Fayetteville club due to his char- ismatic personality and tireless work on club projects. He served the club as a director for four years and was elected president in 2001-2002. Our club has awarded Coop three of our most prestigious awards in the fields of civic leader- ship, Kiwanis spirit, and committee involvement. He is also a member of the VanStory Endowment Society. Cooper served as Chairman of the Golf Committee that raised over $100,000 to benefit the local Child Advocacy Center for abused and neglected children. He'd say his best Kiwanis "moment" to date is establishing an Aktion Club in Fayetteville, a Kiwanis sponsored program for adults with disabilities. Coop enjoyed his local Kiwanis Club experi- ence so much that he felt the call to serve at the Division level. In 2006, he was elected Lt. Gov- ernor of Division 11, and he earned both Distin- guished and Lt. Governor of the Year honors in the Carolinas District. From 2008-2013, he was the Kiwanis One Day Chair to benefit the Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw, where he serves on the Board of Trustees. From 2009-2011 he served as Region Trustee and chairman of the District's Finance Committee from 2009-2013. On the International level, Coop and his wife Debbie (also a Fayetteville Kiwanian and a cur- rent club director) have attended thirteen inter- national conventions in San Antonio, Montreal, Nashville, Vancouver, Tokyo, Toronto, Las Vegas, and twice in Indianapolis, Orlando, and New Or- leans. He is a Life Member, Hixon Fellow, Zeller Fellow, and a Carl B. Hyatt Fellow. Gary Cooper is well known in Fayetteville and Fort Bragg for his civic leadership outside of Kiwanis. He has served as both President and Chairman of the Board for the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, board member of the Cumberland County Partnership for Children, and Chairman of the Military Affairs Council. e Army has named him an Honorary Mem- ber of the 82nd Airborne Division, and the Air Force has designated him Honorary Comman- dant for USAF Combat Control School. He at- tended the Air Force War College in 2009. e Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville is proud to have Gary "Coop" Cooper as a fellow member. e children of the world, and we are fortunate to have him represent the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina as a Kiwanis International Trustee. Local Kiwanian Gary Cooper serves as one of only 15 Kiwanis International Trustees. KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL Debbie and Gary Cooper team up to support local and global Kiwanis initiatives.