No Room At The Inn In Bethlehem

January 23, 2008 | Newsroom | Author: Dale Brackin

The Kiwanis Club of Bethlehem held its Charter Night Celebration Saturday January 19, 2008 at the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center, Bethlehem, PA. There were 90 seats and there were 90 guests. Even Kiwanis International Trustee, Don Sanker from Penn Hills, PA had to be turned away as he was late in making reservations. Tonight in Bethlehem, “there was no room at the inn.” The event was even attended by none other than Barbara Walters and Wayne Newton – local Kiwanis celebrities, not the TV celebrities named after them!

Arriving Kiwanis members and guests were entertained by local guitar and vocal talent Jeff Rose -- himself a Kiwanian for many years and announcer for the local Miracle League Baseball field. Kiwanis officials attending were officials from the far ends of the PA District. Governor Mary Edwards - Corry, PA; Past PA District Governor Mike Frailey - Stroudsburg, PA; Governor-Elect John Burke - Perkasie, PA; PA District Executive Director Kevin Thomas - Harrisburg, PA; Immediate Past Region 6 Trustee Charles Chase - Bethlehem, PA; Current Region 6 Trustee Tom Cometa - Wilkes Barre, PA; Lt Governor Division 15 Tom Keiper - Mountaintop, PA; Lt Governor Division 17 Walter Howell – Easton, PA; Past Lt Governor Division 18 Mel Leaver – Slatington, PA; Lt Governor Div 18 Jeff Rose – Bethlehem, PA.

Charles Chase was the “MC” for the evening. For “Chas” this was the culmination of a labor-of-love he held during his 2004-2007 term in office. As the first Trustee for Region 6 he embarked on a new-club-building campaign which has produced 5 new Kiwanis Clubs in the Region 6 which encompasses the counties of Lehigh, Northampton, Upper Bucks, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Upper Luzerne, Wyoming, and Lackawanna.

Mel Leaver, Immediate Past Lt Governor, installed the officers and directors of the new Kiwanis Club of Bethlehem. Serving officers are: James Semler – President; Shannon Kline – President-Elect; Cara Butz – Secretary; Todd Pritchard – Treasurer; Board of Directors installed were Stephen Jennings, Anna Marie Newton, Keri Zarnas, Andrew Starr, Robert J. Weaver.

One of the evening’s awards was the presentation of “Kiwanis Keys” when 14 Kiwanians, including some of the new Bethlehem Club members received “Kiwanis Keys” representing 24 new members. A “Kiwanis Key” is presented for bringing in new members. As new members join Kiwanis, more “hands of service” are made available to the community following our motto “…dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”

Throughout the evening there was fun and fellowship among the members and guests along with Kiwanis officials explaining about the importance of this new Kiwanis club on the community. Other presentations to the new club were its’ Kiwanis bell and gavel, wall banner and metal road signs which will be placed on highways leading into Bethlehem identifying their club.

During Chas’ last three years of new club charter nights he has begun a project whereby no one has to “be wary of Kiwanians bearing gifts.” Kiwanis Clubs and Divisions brought financial gifts to help the new club get started providing help for the community. Over $1100 was presented to the Bethlehem Club along with a gift-basket-raffle which provided an additional $500 to the club. The club has been approved by the Bethlehem Area School District to provide the Kiwanis B.U.G. Program for the Regional Academic Standards Academy in Bethlehem. “BUG” is a signature Kiwanis project and stands for “Bring Up Grades.” It provides young students the resources to help set academic goals and work to exceed them. During the evening they received their first “BUG” kit from their sponsoring club, the Kiwanis Club of the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park. Their president Keith Brown has committed LVIP club members to providing all the support that Bethlehem Kiwanis needs as it grows in the community.

With this great beginning the new Kiwanis Club of Bethlehem is sure to provide all the “BUGs” that local schools can handle with the many “hands of service” it will provide to the community.

Click on the photos for a larger view.
Photo credit: Bill Walters, Kiwanis Club of Easton

Master of Ceremonies Charles 'Chas' Chase	Governor Mary 'pinning' new club president James Semler	Past Lt. Gov. Mel Leaver explains about duties of club officers during their installation
Officers and Directors (L to R) Keri Zarnas, Anna Marie Newton, Todd Pritchard, Treasurer, Governor Mary Edwards, Jim Semler, President, Past Governor Mike Frailey, Shannon Kline, President Elect, Cara Butz, Secretary	Kiwanis Celebrities Wayne Newton and Barbara Walters	BUG Program