The Town Crier: Club House part two – The Daily Citizen

Last week we started looking at some of the service clubs that have a local presence here. Each club has a unique history and special focus on how to pitch in and help. I believe the more we help others the better off we'll be ourselves, so as we continue to look at some more of these clubs, let's remember it's the people that make the difference.

Lions Club: The Lions Club emblem for a time included a lion with a wooden club in his mouth and the word "international" on it, providing a visual interpretation of the club's name. I always associate the the Lions Club with eyeglasses since my earliest memories of the club is of them collecting used spectacles for distribution to those in need.

I had to start wearing glasses in the third grade, so that really meant something to me. When they were doing a drive to collect eyewear at times that I was outgrowing mine I would contribute.

While looking up the history of the Lions Club I discovered where their interest in fighting blindness and visual impairment stems from. In 1925 Helen Keller addressed the Lions' national convention and challenged this service organization to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." The Lions Club took up this challenge as part of their service work.

The club was formed in 1917 by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. Within three years the Lions had gone international, first with a club in Canada and then in Mexico. Since then they have built a presence in over 200 international areas and enlisted over 1.3 million members in more than 46,000 clubs. Their focus is on people using their talents to improve their communities. In 1990 they started "SightFirst" as part of their eyesight initiative to take on the top causes of blindness in the world, including cataracts, trachoma and glaucoma, among others, and have raised $346 million for "SightFirst." Vision isn't their only work as they also do service work in the areas of general health, youth, the elderly, the environment and disaster relief. Even when their members only do a small service you could say it's a "lion's share."

Sertoma: Sertoma is the club name that I can always remember what it means since it stands for "Service to Man." For me the name is kind of like a clever, personalized car license plate that let's you know something about the driver. And of course the "man" part in the name is short for "mankind," meaning everybody.

The original name was the Co-Operative Club and it was started in 1912 in Kansas City, Mo., by three businessmen. The Sertoma's first convention was in 1921 and by 1923 women were involved in an auxiliary group. The Co-Operative Club name continued in use until 1950 when the Sertoma name was adopted. Just as the Lions have focused on eyesight, Sertoma works these days on hearing health, including dealing with hearing loss and even speech problems related to hearing loss.

Over the years they have been been involved with several astronauts, including Gus Grissom and John Glenn, as well as other well-known public figures. In a series of shows Sertoma sponsored in the 1950s to raise funds, stars such as Andy Griffith, Ferlin Husky and newcomer Elvis Presley helped bring in up to $5,000 per show.

Kiwanis: You know how if CNN is doing a story on their parent company, Time Warner, they always make sure to state in the name of full disclosure that they are owned by that company well, in full disclosure, I'm not a Kiwanis member but I sure am crazy about Pancake Day every year! Usually held the first Saturday of November, it's been a community fundraising tradition since 1960.

The name Kiwanis comes from a Native American language (Otchipwe, if you're following along) and means "having a good time" and "trading and talking," as best as I can figure it. The Kiwanis Club was started in January of 1915 in Detroit, Mich. Within two years there was a club in Canada. There are now Kiwanis International Clubs on six continents. The headquarters has moved several times and is now in Indianapolis, Ind. The Dalton Kiwanis club was started in 1953, and I saw where Dr. McGhee was the first vice president, so not only did he help give birth to the local Kiwanis organization, turns out years later he helped with my birth!

The Kiwanis Club lists 19 charitable organizations that they help provide support for, including Big Brother/Big Sister, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Creative Arts Guild, Friendship House, Junior Achievement, the Dalton-Whitfield County Library, the Northwest Georgia Marriage Initiative and others. The primary focus of the club is helping children. And the money raised from me stuffing myself with pancakes stays in the community, which puts a smile on my syrup-stained mouth.

The American Legion: Dalton Post No. 112 was chartered Sept. 12, 1932. The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919, just after the end of the first World War, as a patriotic veterans organization. The focus was on veterans, current service members and the communities they lived in. There are around 2.4 million members today with 14,000 posts worldwide.

The Legion clubs are organized into districts, one for each state and also Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines. At the first convention in 1919 they made two notable decisions: to have their headquarters in Indianapolis and to support the Boy Scouts of America. At this time the Legion sponsors 1,700 scout troops with about 64,000 members.

In the 1920s the Legion worked to establish the U.S. Veterans Bureau, which is today's Veterans Affairs. In 1943 former National Commander Harry W. Colmery started work on what would become the "G.I. Bill of Rights" that contributed to the G.I. Bill. The Legion supports Little League baseball, child welfare, helps families hurt by floods, advocates (and even sues) for veterans health programs dealing with the results of exposure to Agent Orange, Desert Storm sicknesses and PTSD. The list of programs includes baseball, Boys State, Legion Riders (motorcycle riders), National Emergency Fund, Operation Comfort Warriors and their annual Oratorical Contest. With this kind of service record maybe the old epitaph "your mother wears Army boots" might just be a compliment if she's part of the American Legion.

VFW (The Veterans of Foreign Wars): The VFW, another service organization comprised of men and women who were in the service, is made up of veterans who have served overseas, the three primary membership requirements being: 1) citizenship, 2) honorable service in the armed forces of the USA, and 3) service in a war, campaign or expedition on foreign soil or hostile waters. They started when vets from the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection starting in 1899 formed local groups on their return home. Many were sick or wounded and at that time there were no veterans services available from the federal government.

The separate groups joined up in 1914 to start the VFW and then became a congressionally chartered organization in 1936. Membership now is at around 1.7 million. The VFW helped with the establishment of the VA and the national cemetery system and fights for women veterans' health rights. They have also been major funders for the Vietnam, Korean, World War II and Women in Military Service memorials in the nation's capital. The VFW has affiliate organizations it works closely with, like the VFW Auxiliary and the VFW Foundation. My favorite is the Military Order of the Cootie, an organization born in 1920 of VFW officers and leadership that strives to further the good works of the VFW but with their own added sense of humor.

Plenty of opportunity

Dalton is home to many service organizations, and these articles have only covered a few. I didn't even get into the Masons and Shriners, the Knights of Columbus, sports clubs that help youth, the historical La Leche club, the Civil War Round Table, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, and all types of auxiliary organizations and foundations that are set up to support, well, each other when it comes down to it.

Most of the service clubs we've looked at here are pretty much open to all, the exceptions being the American Legion and the VFW, which have perhaps the most stringent membership requirements: service in the armed forces. But whether you've served the country overseas in the military or served in the yard next door mowing the neighbors' lawn, there is probably a service organization here in our area where you would fit right in. I've only touched on some of the more well known. Almost every church and place of worship is a location where people reach out to the community to help others. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities with local schools and even government organizations. Do you love sports? The Recreation Center is always looking for coaches and team supporters, and the school systems have openings (and the need for) community coaches who don't have to work for the school to actually help with teams.

Part of what makes a community is the service-oriented help neighbors give neighbors. By organizing in numbers to focus on specific issues and needs, the jobs too big for individual-sized resources can be accomplished by the group. And as part of a group it's always nice to share the warmth of a job well done. You know, like the warmth of a pancake on a cool November morning when you know the ticket you bought is going to the good of the community.

Mark Hannah, a Dalton native, works in video and film production.

The rest is here:
The Town Crier: Club House part two - The Daily Citizen