Kiwanis Club of Sandusky

Congratulations and Thank You!!!

2011-10-17T14:31:00.002-04:00

A heartfelt thank you to Heather Gilchrist for a great Kiwanis Year and continued service to the community as our outgoing president, and congratulations to Lenore Kure our incoming president for 2011-2012. If you see Lenore around, please thank her ahead of time for all that she does for Kiwanis and our community. Our club is looking forward to the new challenges and great things we will accomplish this year!

No cost to you Fundraiser

2011-01-18T16:50:00.002-05:00

Do you have old electronic equipment, cell phones or other unwanted used electronics? Why not donate them to our club. Proceeds will help benefit area children!!!! Please visit http://sanduskykiwanis.gazelle.com/ for more details. The company will ship you a prepaid envelope to send the old phones, mp3 players or other items and any money recieved will be donated to our club!!!

New meeting time and place!

2010-10-18T20:58:00.003-04:00

Our merger with the Sandusky Bay Club is complete. Our joined club is now meeting at the VFW 604 W Perkins Ave Sandusky, Oh 44870 every Wednesday!!!

Kiwanis Club of Sandusky News

2010-08-26T21:39:00.003-04:00

Its been way to long between posts. Our club has been pretty busy and will have some exciting news to announce very soon. For some clues please read the newsletters available one our site at www.sanduskykiwanis.org. If you wish to join our newsletter email please send us a note.

Sandusky Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast

2010-08-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

Our annual pancake breakfast is Sunday October 3rd at Sandusky High School 7:30 am to 1PM. Tickets are $5 each and each ticket admits 1 adult and 1 child under 10. A family of 4 can eat for $10. Please visit our regular site at www.sanduskykiwanis.org for more details.

8th annual Sandusky Kiwanis Golf Outing

2010-04-13T15:20:00.002-04:00

Our golf Outing is Wed May 19th at Sleepy Hollow. Start 8am, 4 person scramble hot dog at turn with drinks steak lunch/dinner after outing, for $240 per team. Prizes include $300 for 1st, $240 for second and $100 for third, $10,000 hole in one prize and many many door prizes. Last year every golfer got something to take home. Flyer is available on the homepage as well as download section of our site at www.sanduskykiwanis.org If you dont play and want to sponsor, $100 for a hole sponsor along, $50 door prize sponsor, or any door prizes welcome. Hope to see you there!

Has it really been this Long? 2010 Sandusky Kiwanis Golf Outing update

2010-03-04T13:28:00.002-05:00

Wow! No updates since November. Guess that's whats I get for having now mobile twin boys!!! :) I am glad I have some time to make a quick update concerning our upcoming Golf Outing. Our 8th Annual event will be on Wed May 19th, 2010 at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Clyde. I hope everyone can attend that attended last year. It is never to early to think about spring or golfing without snow!!! If you can help, donate or participate in any way please contact us or go to our website and download the flyer. Once again the costs of the event are the same at $240 per team. Hole Sponsors are $100 and door prize sponsors are $50. Once again thank you to all of our partners last year and we look forward to your help again!

Lost Luggage

2009-11-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

(From Mary Baughman) Because of Adventures in Friendship, I was able to participate in doing something very nice for someone else half way around the world.

The history ... in 2008 at the end of the summer working season, a young woman from Romania left her luggage on the loading dock at the train station. We surmise that she assumed that the luggage would be loaded for her. She was only 17 years old.

Miracle #1: It was turned over to the Sandusky Police Department. During that year, Evidence Officer Sylvan Wahl tried to locate the young woman. She had worked at Cedar Point for the summer. After repeated attempts, a year had passed and he had not been able to contact the young woman and arrange to return her luggage to her. All his attempts ended with a language barrier he was unable to penetrate.

Miracle #2: Officer Wahl is good friends with Jeanne Schrader of Main Streets Association. After a frustrating year with the result that the luggage would be given to Goodwill or destroyed, he confided to his good friend, Jeanne. Now, Jeanne is aware that my annual Kiwanis project is Adventures in Friendship. Thinking that I might be able to help, she called me and asked.

Miracle #3: Adventures in Friendship only had one Romanian who had ever been an active participant. This was in 2005. I remembered her specifically because she was a dental student and I was so pleased to have paired her with the family of Dr. Steven Miely, a local dentist. I looked up her e-mail address from 2005, and SHE STILL USED THE SAME EMAIL! Dr. Madalina Cremene is now a practicing dentist in Romania, and it took her exactly one day to make contact with Giorgiana Murdu and tell her to contact me about her luggage. She did, and sounded very appreciative, and I will forward you her letter from that time.

Miracle #4: Kiwanis Club was excited to hear about this event, and they offered to pay a part of the cost of sending the luggage back to Georgiana. Several police officers offered to contribute. Jeanne Schrader and Joe Baughman also offered to contribute. So did the owner of Package Central, who handled the packaging and sending of the items. All were hopeful that she would have the items by Christmas, since it appeared that may of the items inside had been purchased as presents for someone back home.

Miracle #5: The luggage contents reached their destination by the US Thanksgiving holiday, adding joy to the holidays of several local families. Georgiana was delighted and has sent us a thank you letter and pictures.

Hi,Thank you so much for your prompt answers. I don't find the words to tell you how grateful i am for all you are doing. Please send my regards to everybody and tell them that you really made me happy. Although it may seem that i don't have a lot of thing in the luggage, it is very important for me...i have there pieces from all my life.All those little stuff that are there mean a world to me, and you are bringing a big joy into my life. I am really very grateful that you send my luggage but i am more grateful that people like you exist, people who are making this sort of kindness. I left USA with such great memories and with the regret that i might never return...and now you make me have more regrets, when i see what great people i left there. You are making me the best birthday present (on November 2nd is my birthday). I will surely send you a lot of pictures but unfortunately the picture will not be able to express all the joy, the happiness that you brought to me. I will make sure that everybody from here will find about your great act of kindness you've done for me. You've made happy not only me, but all my friends who cannot believe that you are really sending me the luggage. Once again thank you so so much to all of you and keep doing such nice things, you will bring so much happiness. I'll keep on writing to you in order to tell you about me, my life and I am looking forward to find more about you. I have another big favor to ask:can you please send me the e-mails of all the people who made this possible. I would like to send them some good thoughts. Kind regards,the most happiest girl from Romania

Hi,I just got home and opened the luggage you were so kind to send. I cannot describe how happy you made me..seeing all my staff in my home, i almost couldn't believe it. Thank you so very much, thousands of thanks to all of you who made this possible...my nephews will be so happy that their toys from USA are in Romania now and Santa will be able to put them under the Christmas Tree. All my summer clothes were there, a lots of gifts for my friends, my pictures, presents for my family, so many memories...as i told you before I am extraordinary happy that my luggage is home but i am happier that you made this act of kindness and such people of value exist..i may reconsider going back to USA. I cannot stop watching all the things lying in my living room while my dog is smelling everything. I attached some pictures while i was opening the boxes but they cannot express the joy, happiness and gratitude that i feel. I tried to call Detective Wahl but he wasn't there so i left him a message. I hope he gets it. It was so nice of you to send me things from your Police Department. I will proudly attached them to my back pack and I will tell the story of my luggage and your kindness to everybody. Thank you also for the books with Ohio...it's such a nice memory to have from you, guys. Once again, thank you for everything. In my language we say "multumesc" for thank you so Multumesc din suflet,Georgiana

Festival of Lights 2009

2009-11-24T11:32:00.001-05:00

Join us and see our display at this years festival of lights:

10th Annual Festival of Lights & Silent Auction

Fri, Nov 27-Thu, Dec 31, 5-10 pm, Sawmill Creek Resort
Santa will be there 6-9 pm
This annual event showcases area non-profit agencies, schools and businesses with festive lighting displays. The Festival starts with the Ringing Swinging Silent Auction held on Fri, Nov 27, 6-9 pm in the Lodge at Sawmill Creek, Wilderness Hall.

The Festival of Lights is sponsored by Sawmill Creek Resort, Barnes Nursery and other area businesses. It is a wonderful holiday event for the whole family. Come join us!

Festival of Lights

2009-11-13T09:16:00.002-05:00

This weekend we will be testing our Christmas lights for the annual festival of lights at Sawmill Creek. For some photos of the display visit our website and festival of lights page at http://www.sanduskykiwanis.org/lights.html. We will be setting up the display The weekend of Nov 20th.

Sandusky Kiwanis 90th Anniversary

2009-11-11T13:16:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday November 4th our club celebrated its 90th Anniversary of service to the Sandusky Ohio Community. We had a very special guest for our event. Former Sandusky High and Ohio State University Head Coach Earle Bruce was our keynote speaker. Thank you to the several division clubs who were able to join us in our celebration. Each of you should be commended on your work you do for your communities too! Thank you Heather, Ed and Pat for putting together our history slide show that ran during the meeting. Coach Bruce had some wonderful stories about local kids as well as stories about his coaching days. At the end of the evening our club presented Coach Bruce with a donation to the Earle and Jean Bruce Alzheimer's Foundation at OSU. All members and guests enjoyed a wonderful program and he motivated us all to go another 90+...and of course had most of us ready to beat Penn St ourselves (Other than our very own Penn St alum Ed S). THANK YOU COACH BRUCE!!!! Enjoy the photos. There are more available on our facebook site! Please join us there as well!

Updates

2009-11-11T10:43:00.002-05:00

On Oct 28th we handed out candy for the annual Cedar Point Trick or Treat. This year over 5000 kids came through the community booths. What a great event!!!! We also had a fantastic dinner meeting for our clubs 90th anniversary with a very special guest speaker. Photos will be up on the blog shortly. If you want to see the photos before they migrate here please join our facebook page to view them!!!

Wendy Kromer Specialty Confections

2009-11-11T10:32:00.002-05:00

Our speaker on Tuesday November 10th was Wendy Kromer. What a fantastic journey she has made from runway model in Paris to working with Marth Stewart and baking wedding cakes! She currently resides in Sandusky and runs her wedding cake business and city bake shop on 137 E Water St Sandusky Ohio 44870. For more information please visit www.wendykromer.com 419-609-0450. Thank you Wendy for sharing your stories with our club!

Volunteers of America Northwest Ohio

2009-10-06T20:34:00.003-04:00

Sondra Anderson, the homeless services director from Volunteers of America of Northwest Ohio was our speaker on Tuesday October 6th. She discussed the increase in homelessness and the different organization that help homeless families. The Crossroads Emergency Shelter in Sandusky offers sleeping accommodations for 30 days or less to help transition families to more stable homes. To reach the shelter call 419-626-6505. Volunteers of America of Northwest Ohio offers many more projects too numerous to list here. The Sandusky office is located at 1843 Superior Street. The local website is http://voanwo.org Please contact Sondra or the VOA office for volunteer opportunities.

Kiwanis Year

2009-10-01T11:15:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Jody Meisler for completing her year as president of our club. For our first meeting in October our new president Anne McGookey will be presenting her ideas for the future of our club not only for her upcoming year but also the near future. Jody, our club appreciates all of your hard work and effort!!!!

Sandusky Main Street Association

2009-10-01T11:11:00.002-04:00

On September 22nd John Lippus from the Sandusky Main Street Association was our speaker. He discussed the top 10 myths of downtown planning. He also spoke about things happening in our downtown and ideas for the future. For more information please visit http://www.sanduskymainstreet.com/ or contact the Sandusky Main Street Association at 419-627-5942 or 279 E Market St Sandusky, Oh 44870.

Kiwanis Club of Sandusky Pancake Breakfast

2009-09-18T14:40:00.003-04:00

Just another reminder our breakfast is to be held on Sunday October 4th from 7:30 am to 1pm at the Sandusky High School Cafeteria. Tickets are available now or at the door for $5 each with each paid ticket admitting an adult and one child under 12. Please contact us if you have not been contacted already! Look forward to seeing the community there. You can also get additional information at our main site at www.sanduskykiwanis.org as well as our page on facebook.

Salvation Army, Family Health Services of Erie County, Serving Our Seniors, Firelands Regional Medical Center, Firelands Symphony Orchestra

2009-09-18T14:16:00.007-04:00

Unfortunately work and family life has taken time away from updating the blog on a more regular basis. (I usually updated at night, with newborn twins I sleep when I can!!!) I hope to be able to update more frequently once things settle down on both fronts. I apologize to our speakers who I normally write about after their visit to our club. At the very least I can get a quick mention out to support their causes. On August 4th Capt Mark Larrick from the Salvation Army discussed the Salvation Army Learning Zone. On August 11th , Wilson Forney CEO of the Family Health services of Erie County discussed their programs. On August 18th, Sue Daugherty from Serving our Seniors and Joe Bores from Perkins High School discussed the intergenerational program our club supported recently. On September 1st Mary Stacy from the Firelands Regional Medical Center discussed Sleep Apnea, its dangers and how it can be treated. On September 8th, our very own Pat Scheid was our speaker and discussed bible translations and the ongoing effort to convert the bible into as many written languages as possible. Our most recent speaker, Jamie Steinemann was our guest on September 15th to discuss the upcoming season of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra. The list is much longer than I anticipated. Once again I hope to be able to update more frequently in the near future. Next week John Lippus from the Sandusky Main Street Association will be our speaker. Feel free to contact us and our club would be happy to direct you to one of the above organizations or speakers for more information.

Pancake Breakfast 2009

2009-08-24T16:24:00.005-04:00

Updates have been few and far between. I will be hopefully posting updates on a more regular basis with our upcoming meetings. Just a few quick notes in the mean time. Our annual Pancake breakfast is at Sandusky High on Sunday October 4th. If you need tickets please contact us. Our members will be out selling tickets and you can also purchase them at the door. Tickets are $5 each this year. Each ticket will also admit 1 child under 12 for free. For a family of 5 with 3 kids under 12 the meal would be $15. I hope everyone can make it for a great meal!!!!

Lake Erie Crushers

2009-07-21T14:17:00.002-04:00

Zach Krantz and Randy Newell were our speakers today from the Lake Erie Crushers baseball team in Avon Ohio. The Lake Erie Crushers are members of the Frontier Baseball league an independent league of 12 teams. The league has an age limit of 27 unlike other independent leagues. Many of the players have minor league experience and are trying to get back with affiliated minor league team. The tickets prices are inexpensive and the team offers a fan friendly environment. Not to mention the team is doing well unlike the Major league team to the East :). Many of our members had great questions for Zach and Randy and I think I can safely say we would invite them back anytime to be our guests. For more information on game times and days visit http://lakeeriecrushers.com/.

Sandusky National Guard Armory

2009-07-21T14:10:00.002-04:00

Sgt Murray from the Sandusky Armory was our speaker on July 14th. He talked about the duties of our local unit. They just came back from Iraq this past year and will be going to Afghanistan next. Prior to that the unit was assisting in Kosovo and also at Fort Knox. The history of the unit was interesting. For more information about the Ohio National guard visit http://www.nationalguard.com/OH/ You can also get more information about the 148th Infantry Regiments history at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-148in.htm.

Leadership Erie County

2009-07-21T14:06:00.002-04:00

Amy Roldan from Leadership Erie County was our speaker on Tuesday July, 7th. She spoke about the program and its benefits to community minded individuals within the community. Information about next years class and curriculum of the program are available at http://www.leadershiperiecounty.com/.

Human Society of Erie County

2009-07-02T08:52:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday June 16th Amy Porter from Humane Society of Erie County. The Humane Society is located at 1911 Superior St., Sandusky. Adoption hours are 1-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Normal adoption fees are: Cats/kittens $60, but fees are waived for cats 3 years old or older. Dogs/puppies adoption fees vary. The fees include spaying/neutering and first shots if the kitten is at least 3 months old. The phone number is 419-626-6220. For more information visit www.humanesocietyoferiecounty.org or for some fun join twitter and follow @thesheltercat and hear from the twittering cat.

Sandusky Merry Go Round Museum

2009-06-19T08:23:00.001-04:00

Vicki, Director of the Merry Go Round Museum was our guest on Tuesday, June 16, 2009. The Merry Go Round Museum has been in operation for 19 years and they have an active carousel carving and restoration program. The museum has a staff of four employees and operates with many volunteers. The museum creates one carousel animal every year and raffles it off for fundraising dollars. Next year the Merry Go Round Museum will be celebrating their 20th anniversary and they are in the process of planning many great events for that day. Currently the museum is raffling off a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, tickets are $20 and the winner can elect to take the bike or $10,000. The museum is open year round, (Hours M-S 10-5/Sunday 12-5) and the facility is available to rent for celebration events. For more information please visit their website at http://www.merrygoroundmuseum.org/ or 419 626-6111.

St Stephens Kiddie College

2009-06-15T10:27:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday June 9th Mike Roth from St Stephens Kiddie College was our speaker. The Kiddie College is a preschool for 3 and 4 year olds. It provides early education to prepare kids for the requirements of Kindergarten and improve language, social and motor skills. For more info you can contact St Stephens at:

St. Stephen United Church of Christ 905 East Perkins Avenue Sandusky, Ohio 44870
Phone 419.626.1612 Fax 419.626.1617 or visit their website at http://www.ststephenucc.org.

Firelands Chapter of American Red Cross

2009-06-15T10:22:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday June 2nd Ron Rude the director of Firelands American Red Cross was our speaker. They recently auctioned off the first rides of the 2oth anniversary of the Magnum at Cedar Point. We also watched a few videos of local disaster events that the Red Cross has helped with. To get more info or be a volunteer visit http://www.firelandsredcross.org/ Or you can contact them at : American Red Cross Firelands Chapter 300 Central Ave.Sandusky, OH 44870 or (419) 626 -1641 or 1-800-589-228.

Firelands Regional Medical Center

2009-06-15T10:19:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday May 19th our club had Connie Lamb from the Firelands Regional Medical Center as our speaker. She spoke about all the improvements and changes to our local hospital. Our club in the past has been a big supporter of programs and the pediatric ward at our hospital. It was nice to see the continuing improvements to care our residents can receive. For more information visit www.firelands.com.

Golf Outing Sleepy Hollow May 20, 2009

2009-06-15T10:02:00.006-04:00

Lots of updates to make and limited time. Our golf outing on May 20th was a success. The weather was perfect. Several photos from this years event:

SMCC Key Club

2009-05-15T09:49:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday May 12th our club meeting was run by our Key Club. They did a FANTASTIC job. I cannot say enough about how proud our club is to be associated with kids who will be successful in the future because of their hard work and I hope some of their experiences in Key Club. They brought along with them as their speaker John May a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Marine Corps. He spoke of his experiences in Tibet and China as well as some of his experiences in the Pentagon. His speech was very motivational and solidified why we are members of Kiwanis as well. Once again a job well done by our Key Club and I am looking forward to next years officers running a meeting as well.

DON'T FORGET our golf outing is next Wednesday at Sleepy Hollow in Clyde.

The Culinary Vegetable Institute

2009-05-06T13:44:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday may 5th our club toured the Culinary Vegetable Institute. The Culinary Vegetable Institute was started by the Jones family after being approached about growing specialty produce for top chefs all over the country. The CVI has designed their facility to provide a retreat atmosphere for their executive chefs and teams by providing them an escape from their busy lifestyles. The sleeping areas are without tv’s and overlook the fantastic wooded scenery. The facility has great craftsmanship of maple woodwork throughout the facility for a lodge like décor. The CVI has a greenhouse on their property that allows chef’s to pick herbs and vegetables for food to table preparation. The CVI provides a wide variety of events that are open to the public including their well known Food and Wine show that is approaching in July. This event typically features a well known celebrity chef and in the past years Paula Dean was the celebrity chef.

The CVI is company that is also affiliated with Veggie U, a youth educational program and Chefs garden that is known for their produce.

For more information visit http://www.culinaryvegetableinstitute.com/cvi_cms/

JM/TC

Adventures in Friendship

2009-05-01T22:40:00.002-04:00

Here is the promised video for our Adventures in Friendship program. Thanks to everyone who was a part of this.!!!! The file will also be available for download on our main site www.sanduskykiwanis.org sometime in the next few days. Its a rather large file so be patient if you do wish to download it.

Committee Day April 2009

2009-04-29T20:57:00.003-04:00

Our club had over 200 hours of community service among the members that attended. We donated $50 to Care and Share and $50 to the Salvation Army. Most of the meeting was reviewing Mary Baughmans fantastic video to promote our Adventures in friendship program. The ten minute video will be available soon on this page, our main page, our facebook page as well as the adventures in friendship site at www.adventuresinfriendship.org and the adventures in friendship facebook page and youtube. Stay tuned.

Erie County Department of Job and Family Services

2009-04-29T20:53:00.002-04:00

On April 21st our speakers were Jennifer Rogers from the Foster Care Unit and Julie Kyer from the Adoption unit. They spoke about the various things involved in the process and who the kids are and the various aspects of their lives. They were both very knowledgeable about the topic and both cared about the kids they help get into homes. For more information you can call the JFS office on 221 West Parish St Sandusky Oh 44870 at 419-626-6781 or visit the adopt OHIO web page at www.state.oh.us/odjfs/oapl.

Papermoon Winery

2009-04-29T20:49:00.002-04:00

On April 14th our speaker was Sheryl Cawrse of Papermoon Vineyards. She talked about how her family ended up in the wine business and about her family business history. The following is from their website: With the opening of Paper Moon Vineyards, the Cawrse family marks four generations of owning and operating a family business. After returning home from the war in 1946, Richard Sr. collaborated with his father, Walter, to buy a dairy business in Lorain, Ohio. Eastside Dairy, later known as Cloverdale Creamery, operated for 36 years with extensive home delivery and four neighborhood stores.

She was a very entertaining speaker and many of our members look forward to visiting and tasting the various wines.

Visit http://www.papermoonvineyards.com/ for more information.

Seving Our Seniors

2009-04-29T20:43:00.002-04:00

Sue Daugherty was our speaker on April 7th. She is the director of Serving Our Seniors.

Serving Our Seniors offers many services to the Seniors of Erie County. Visit http://www.servingourseniors.org/services.htm for more information.

Serving Our Seniors is located in Erie County, Ohio.
Address: 310 E Boalt Street
Sandusky OH 44870
Phone: 419-624-1856 or 1-800-564-1856
Fax: 419-624-8176
Email: Mail@ServingOurSeniors.org

Office hours are from 8:00am to 5:00pm, weekdays
The answering machine is on 24 hours/day

Committee Day

2009-04-21T10:24:00.001-04:00

On March 31st we met at our monthly committee day and donated $100 to Habitat for Humanity, $150 to Serving Our Seniors, $250 the the Smith Scholarship Fund, and $250 to the Asthma Walk.

Woman of Excellence

2009-04-21T10:17:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to our very own Mary Baughman who was recognized at the 2009 Women of Excellence Celebration!!!

Applebees Dining to Donate

2009-03-25T10:44:00.001-04:00

Kiwanis's Applebees Dining to donate is today. Please take the time to download the flyer on our website at www.sanduskykiwanis.org in the download section. Take it with you to Lunch and Dinner today and our club will receive a donation of 15% of your bill for our clubs projects. Donations like these enable us to do projects such as our $15,000 donation to the Firelands Pediatric Ward and the $10,000 donation to the Sandusky Library renovation a few years ago.

Thanks for taking the time to support us and our community.

Firelands Habitat for Humanity

2009-03-25T10:39:00.002-04:00

Barb Miller from the Firelands Habitat for Humanity was our speaker on March 24th.

The following information was taken from Firelands Habitat For Humanities website at http://www.firelandshabitat.org/ (FHFH) works in partnership with God and people of all faiths and races to develop communities for people in need by building and renovating houses, creating homeownership opportunities. Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit, financed with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are recycled into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses.

The Firelands Habitat For Humanity ReStore needs your donations...of almost any items you take out of your home. Especially needed are doors, windows, cabinets (kitchen or other) and working appliances ( 10 years or less). But any building or remodeling material that's in good shape can be recycled through the ReStore, saving you dumping costs and providing a tax deduction as well. Equally important, your donations will go back into the community to help people who are upgrading their homes. The ReStore resells your new or used items (as well as corporate donations) for 50% to 70% off retail prices. All operating profits from ReStore sales go into Habitat's building program, helping provide adequate housing for Huron and Erie County families.

Hours:10:00 AM to 4:00 PMThursday, Friday, SaturdayPhone:(419) 602-1205
Location: [ mapquest ]North Coast Marketplace 11001 U.S. Route 250

Tre Sorelle Cioccolato

2009-03-25T10:08:00.003-04:00

Jan Beck from Tre Sorelle Cioccolato was our speaker on March 17th. The name means "three sisters chocolates" in Italian. Tre Sorelle features premium chocolates with a variety of tantalizing fillings. To ensure freshness and customer satisfaction, the candy is made to order using high-quality ingredients. The candy is hand-made, locally produced. She brought many samples of the fine chocolate candies they make. The tray stayed in front of Pat Scheid a very LONG time. The history of chocolate and the health benefits by how light or dark the chocolate was interesting as well. The store is located at 634 Columbus Avenue in Sandusky. Stop by try out some of the fantastic chocolates! They can be reached by phone at 419-502-2462 or via their website at www.tresorelleonline.com.

Erie County CASA program

2009-03-25T10:01:00.004-04:00

Patty James the Program Coordinator from CASA Erie County was our speaker on March 10th. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteers are ordinary people doing extraordinary things for abused and neglected children. They are trained community volunteers appointed by a judge to represent the best interest of children. You can make a difference in the life of a child by becoming a CASA volunteer. A volunteer application will be available on our main site at http://www.sanduskykiwanis.org/ in the download section shortly. For more information please call Terri Stephan at 419-621-0324.

Lakeside Heart and Lung Center

2009-03-25T09:54:00.002-04:00

Dr. Anthony DeRiso and Dr. Vanessa Gibson were our speakers on March 3rd. They came to talk about their practice the Lakeside Heart and Lung Center. Heart Disease is the number one health problem in our country. Cardiothoracic surgery involves the heart and other areas within the chest. A cardiothoracic or thoracic surgeon provides care for patients with diseases within the chest area. This encompasses treating heart disease and abnormalities of the heart’s vessels and valves, lung cancer, tumors within the chest area, diseases of the diaphragm, chest injuries, and trachea and airway problems. Thoracic surgeons have exceptional knowledge of diagnostic and surgical techniques and physiology of the heart, lungs and respiratory system. For more information please call : (419) 609-8000

Eagle Scout Project

2009-03-06T10:01:00.002-05:00

We recently donated money to help a local Eagle Scout complete his project. Click on the photo below to see the Thank You letter and photos of his project.

Adventures in Friendship 2009

2009-02-26T09:58:00.002-05:00

Its the time of year again when many foreign students come to the area to work at Cedar Point and other area business's which means the Adventures in friendship program is kicking off. This year the program has its own website visit http://www.adventuresinfriendship.org/. Information will still be available on this website as well and you can also find adventures in friendship on Facebook!

Monthly committee meeting for February

2009-02-26T09:54:00.002-05:00

Here is the report for our monthly committee day. We had roughly 177 hours of community service hours and our committees donated $100 to the Firelands Symphony & $450 to the Sandusky Library for the Big Read Erie County Reads programs. Here is info directly from the Sandusky library website www.sandusky.lib.oh.us :

THE BIG READ: ERIE COUNTY READS To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeMarch 14, 2009 - April 22, 2009"read it - watch it - experience it"

Sandusky Library was one of 208 to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to host The Big Read in Erie County. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big Read is an initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Sandusky Library, along with its Castalia and Kelleys Island branches, will join with the other four libraries in Erie County - Bellevue, Huron, Vermilion (Ritter), and Milan-Berlin - to present a second county-wide reading project. The Big Read: Erie County Reads To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee will kick-off on March 14, at 1:00 p.m. at the Sandusky Mall (near Borders). For more information about The Big Read go to www.neabigread.org. For more information about Erie County Reads and programs being held at each of the five Erie County libraries, go to www.eriecountyreads.org.

BIG READ EVENTS
The Big Read: Erie County Reads Kick-Off will be held in Sandusky Mall (near Borders) on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Receive a FREE copy of To Kill a Mockingbird when you join us for our Kick-Off event! Mona Rutger of Back to the Wild will be on hand with local wildlife to awe and inspire. Find out what your Erie County libraries have in store for you and your family during this special county-wide reading project!

We bowled in the Divison 12 outing and all we got was a T-Shirt.

2009-02-25T18:15:00.004-05:00

On Saturday the 21st our club attended the annual Division 12 bowling tournament to defend our 2008 title. We came, we saw and we were conquered! The Tiffin club took home this years title. Thanks to Larry Windau with games of 132, 151, and 130 ,Jim Sennish with games of 149,142, and 148, Marty Hippler with games of 104,192, 148 and myself with games of 161,161, 202, and our capable alternate who happened to be waiting for a team that was short handed Bill, with games of 171, 145 and 138, our team finished with 2274 pins beating the Port Clinton team with a team score of 2106 on the opposite lane. Larry Windau left with a fine Kiwanis T-shirt for being left handed. (No kidding) And our team won the most serious bowling team award. As always the bowling brought many of our clubs from the area together for a fun day. Thanks to Tiffin for hosting this years event.

Website malfunctions

2009-02-25T11:41:00.003-05:00

For some unknown reason the pdfs on our main site are not working. So if you need a copy of anything in our download section let me know and I will email it to you ASAP.

Thanks

Thank You from the Sandusky Library

2009-02-24T20:21:00.003-05:00

Just want to share a recent letter from the Sandusky Library.

February 24, 2009

Ms. Jody Meisler
Kiwanis Club of Sandusky
Sandusky, OH 44870

Dear Ms. Meisler and Kiwanis Members:

On behalf of the five libraries in Erie County (Bellevue, Huron, Milan-Berlin, Sandusky, and Vermilion) that are joining together for The Big Read: Erie County Reads 2009 project, we would like to thank the Kiwanis Club of Sandusky for its generous financial support of $450.00.

Our hope is that this first-ever The Big Read: Erie County Reads event (but our second community read), will promote widespread reading and intergenerational book-centered discussions. Our first-ever community-wide event was held in 2007 (with Marley & Me) and was very successful!

This year’s event kicks-off on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at the Sandusky Mall. We have a variety of programs planned to enhance The Big Read. You can view all of the events (both county-wide events and ones being offered at each library) at www.eriecountyreads.org.

Generous people, organizations and foundations such as yours allow all of us to bring this project to Erie County. Again, thank you for your generous contribution to this project and your support of Erie County’s libraries. We hope you are proud to be a part of this county-wide reading project.

Sincerely,

Lori Esposito, Public Relations Specialist
SANDUSKY LIBRARY

lae

Enclosures

7th Annual Sandusky Kiwanis Golf Outing

2009-02-24T20:15:00.004-05:00

A flyer is available on our main site www.sanduskykiwanis.org on the golf page as well as the download tab. (If it does not work now it will shortly as I exorcise the gremlins from my pdf creator this evening or first thing in the morning) The outing is being held at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Clyde. Please visit http://www.sleepyhollowclyde.com/ for more info on the course and directions. If you are interested in being a sponsor, donating a door prize, playing or being involved let us know!!! More details on the event will follow.

Applebee's Dining to Donate

2009-02-23T11:20:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday March 25th our club will recieve a 15% donation of your bill if you dine at the Sandusky Applebee's from 11am to 9pm. Please print the flyer below and bring it with you when you eat. Our club will not receive the donation without this flyer. Please eat an appetizer or three with your meal, invite your friends, take a business lunch or eat lunch and dinner. You can even get a to go order! Our next fundraiser will be a donation on your Gym membership. Flyers will also be available and our weekly meetings at Noon on Tuesday's at Castaway Bay.

Erie County Save Our Homes Task Force

2009-02-20T10:46:00.006-05:00

The Erie County Save Our Homes Task force has asked us to post the 2 hour WBGU video on Foreclosure Intervention. As foreclosures effect everyone in the community its important to get as much information out to the public as possible. Below are the 12 parts that are also available on YouTube.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Junior Achievement

2009-02-17T14:02:00.002-05:00

Today, Tuesday February 17th, our guest speakers were Jeffrey D Bosch and Shawn Armstrong from Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio. The program is dedicated to educating students in local k-12 classrooms financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and work readiness.

Volunteers go into the classroom and teach 5-7 presentations on the topics. If you want to be a volunteer or want more information please contact Shawn Armstrong at 419-621-1794 or visit http://toledo.ja.org. A flyer will also be available on our main site www.sanduskykiwanis.org

A very appropriate topic considering money is the most discussed current event. Personally I have always felt the need for more of what Junior Achievement does. I may be a little biased since I work in the financial industry but too many of our kids enter the workforce with little or no financial background. Financial education is the most important thing no matter what field the student enters. Money is always involved both professionally and personally. Junior Achievement can help create the solid financial foundation for students to build a successful career and family.

Membership, Membership, Membership

2009-02-17T10:31:00.002-05:00

At Tuesdays (Feb 10th) meeting our club discussed various options for club membership, fundraising and general club ideas. It was a great way for members of our club an non board members to discuss things that they would like see change and things that are working for the club and need to be expanded. The discussion brought up many topics that carried over to our clubs Board meeting on Feb 11th.

Division 12 & 13 Ohio District Governor Kip Crain and Becky

2009-02-09T10:47:00.002-05:00

On Thursday February 5th our club hosted Governor Kip Crain and First Lady Becky's visit to our division and 13. Members from Clubs in Bellevue, Berlin Heights, Clyde, Fremont, Norwalk, Port Clinton, Sandusky, Tiffin, Willard, Wellington, Avon Lake, Lorain, Elyria, and East Elyria attended. Many members were honored for their service to Kiwanis and their communities including two of our own. Pat Scheid and Ed Shelly received their Legion of Honor certificates for 45 and 30 years respectively. Please take the time to congratulate them!

Committee Day

2009-01-30T20:15:00.005-05:00

The last Tuesday of every month our club reviews different areas of need and requests within the community and internationally and disburses money. Due to the weather limiting members from attending the meeting it was a light month. This month our club donated $200 to Buckeye Boys State for the American Legion, $50 to Back to the Wild in Castalia, and $30 to St Stephens Church for some soccer balls for the Darfur Region of the Sudan. The members that attended totaled 103 hours of community service for the month as well.

Sandusky Orthopedics

2009-01-30T20:14:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday January 20th Dr Michael Felter from Sandusky Orthopedics & Rheumatology spoke about his practice which also includes Jim Berry, Kam Wong and Thomas Olexa

Showing a slide show of the evolution of knee replacements, and how their practice was one of the first to perform knee surgery in this area, and still are the top knee practices to date.

For more information please visit their website at http://www.sanduskyortho.com/.

Sandusky Maritime Museum

2009-01-30T20:05:00.002-05:00

A few years ago we tried taking our club outside of the normal lunch meetings and take tours of different organizations and areas of our community. On Tuesday January 13th we toured the Sandusky Maritime Museum. The director of the maritime museum Neil Allen gave us a tour and talked to us about its expansion plans. The museum is a great place to visit to learn more about our nautical history. Visit http://www.sanduskymaritime.org/ for more information.

Induction of New Members 2009

2009-01-30T20:02:00.002-05:00

After having a two week hiatus for the holidays inducting new members into our club was a wonderful start to the new year. Please welcome Heather Gilchrist and Sara Warner to our club. During our current economic conditions more help is much appreciated in the community as the needs of its members grow. Our club continues to strive towards adding new members and coming up with creative ideas to include more of the community in our efforts.

Annual Club Christmas Party

2009-01-30T19:59:00.002-05:00

Our annual Christmas party was held on Tuesday December 16th. Many clubs from the surrounding area joined us for a nice meal and a program from the Edison High Show Choir. As always the show was fantastic. To learn more about Edison High School and its Choir visit http://www.berlin-milan.org/schools/EHS/.

Thanks to all the neighboring clubs for joining us again!

Better Business Bureau

2009-01-30T19:56:00.002-05:00

James Gilchrist from the Better Business Bureau was our speaker on Tuesday Dec. 9th. He spoke to us about the different functions of the BBB and also of the most common areas of fraud and how the BBB is trying to educate the public about the more sophisticated crimes being committed. The crimes are becoming more prevalent in our current economic times. To learn more about our local NW Ohio BBB visit www.bbb.org. Feel free to contact James as well at 419-578-6000. Our club learned new ways to protect ourselves from identity and financial crimes.

Where have I been?

2009-01-30T10:03:00.001-05:00

Its has been way to long since the last update on here. There will be plenty of updates over the weekend since I have allocated some late night time with my computer at home. Stay tuned for updates from the last couple of months.

Festival of Lights

2008-12-08T09:14:00.006-05:00

On Wed December 3rd several of our members braved the cold weather and handed out candy canes to families who drove through the light display at Sawmill Creek in Huron. Here are a few of the photos from the event. Some are a little blurry. Thanks to everyone who participated again this year. More photos are available on our main site. http://www.sanduskykiwanis.org/.

Veggie U

2008-12-08T09:02:00.004-05:00

Lauren Berlekamp was our speaker on Tuesday December 2nd. She spoke about VeggieU. Veggie U is a non profit located at the Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, Oh. The program is designed to teach 4th graders the importance of diet and nutrition by showing them how to plant, grow, harvesting plants then eating what they have grown. It is currently being used in over 1400 classrooms and 24 states. Veggie U wants to promote the well being of children by helping them make wise food choices by teaching them hands on about agriculture. More information is available at http://www.veggieu.org/. You can also volunteer to help. Contact Lauren Berlekamp 419-499-7500 ext 119 for more information.

Kelleys Island 4-H Camp

2008-11-24T09:41:00.003-05:00

Bev Huston from 4H was our speaker at our meeting on Tuesday November 18. It was a very informative and brought up some ideas for our club to sponsor a possible retreat for the Area Boys and Girls club. Here is a quick recap from the 4h website "For over 60 years The Kelleys Island 4-H Camp has provided thousands of children, teens and adults a unique camping experience on one of Lake Erie’s most beautiful islands.The Kelleys Island 4-H Camp provides a combination of traditional camping activities with innovative outdoor programming. In addition to such main stay camping activities as hiking, swimming, archery and canoeing, a variety of educational and social development programs are offered as well. These include nature study, art and photography, astronomy, geology and history. Programming has been expanded from the original 4-H camping base to include day camps for younger children, and activities for families and adult groups."

One of the groups I am familiar with is the annual Perkins High Band Camp. Although I was not a member of the band in High School several of my friends were and the annual trip was something many of them looked forward to.

For more information please visit http://www.ki4hcamp.org/pages/intro.html

Kiwanis in the news!

2008-11-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

As I was going through my normal routing of reading the newspaper at breakfast I was shocked to see myself staring back at me! The blurb can be found on the Local C5 section of today's Sandusky Register!

Firelands Regional Medical Center Pediatric Ward

2008-11-10T19:10:00.009-05:00

Just back from the tour of the new pediatric ward. I can say our club should be proud to be associated with the project and that we were able to contribute $15,000 to purchase medical equipment, furniture and toys for the unit. The unit expands the current hospital pediatric ability from 4 half rooms to 10 individual patient rooms. The donation from our club will benefit many children in the Sandusky area for years to come. I look forward to seeing the unit completed and being used this December! Below are a few of the photos from the tour.

From left to right (Past President Tony Cummings, Current President Jody Meisler, and Chuck Stark President and CEO of Firelands Regional Medical Center)

A fantastic mural located at the entrance named the unit was named by the Wightman-Wieber Foundation.

Murals located throughout the unit and in the individual rooms

The nurses station with lower walls for siblings to get assistance, with a wave design.

The sibling and patient play room that will be a frog theme with toys and tables donated by our club.

100TH POST!!!!

2008-11-10T16:50:00.003-05:00

It doesn't seem so long ago that the idea of a blog for our club started and now we are at our 100th post. Today is our tour of the pediatric unit and our presentation of our $15,000 donation to the unit. I am proud that our club was able and willing to participate and contribute. Photos of the tour will be up tonight.

Sandusky Schools Jackson Junior High Gentlemens Club

2008-11-04T22:31:00.002-05:00

Today's speaker was the principle of Jackson Junior High Scott Matheny. He brought three students from the Sandusky Schools Gentlemen's Club. The club has 12 members chosen from students at the school. These 12 young men perform many community service projects throughout the year. The club is involved in community service projects, members helped out at various events throughout the school year and even stopped by the Ohio Veterans Home to play bingo, balloon volleyball and share stories. In the process these students learn to respect themselves, other students, teachers, and parents. This is the second year of the club. Initially the group had 12 young men. This year they had applications from 30+ students. They have held the group to 12. In addition to projects the students are able to take various trips throughout the year, including a Cleveland Cavaliers game. More students teachers and groups like this are needed throughout our education system. The program has been a huge success and has been featured in articles in the Sandusky Register. Here is a link to one of the articles http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2008/06/23/front/801197.txt

Keep up the good work with the youth of our area!!!!!

Cedar Point Trick or Treat

2008-10-29T21:22:00.003-04:00

Its that time of year again! Tonight was the annual Cedar Point Trick or Treat night for area kids. Several organizations get together at Cedar Point to give kids a safe alternative to the normal neighborhood trick or treat. Every year this event gets bigger and bigger. Over 3000 attended this years event! We had a wonderful time with several of our Key Clubbers and members joining us. Once again thanks to all of the volunteers.

Saint Marys Central Catholic Christian Concert

2008-10-28T15:07:00.004-04:00

Just a reminder to anyone interested there is a christian rock concert this Sunday November 2nd at 7pm at the Sandusky State Theatre. Tickets are $15. The bands playing are Superchick, Stellar Kart, Article One, & Starlit Platoon. Tickets can be purchased at Saint Mary's Central Catholic, Captains Quarters 5500 Milan Rd Sandusky and Holy Family Books & Gifts, 1148 Cleveland Rd Sandusky.

Firelands Symphony

2008-10-28T11:23:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday October 21st Carl Topilow was our speaker. He is the new conductor at Firelands Symphony. He was a very entertaining speaker and got several of our members singing. Firelands Symphony is a hidden gem our area has. Here is a list of the upcoming events http://www.firelandssymphony.com/concert_schedule.html

If you have never been to a show it is worth it.

Pancake Breakfast

2008-10-28T11:01:00.003-04:00

Our annual pancake breakfast went without a hitch. We served less meals last year than in the past but our profits should be approximately the same due to some minor changes in how we conducted the event. The lower turnout was more than likely caused by the economy and also by the weather be abnormally nice for this time of year. Once again we served eggs, pancakes, Bob Evans sausage, and Tofts Milk and Orange Juice. The Key Club did a wonderful job helping. And we also had a nice helping from the local Boys and Girls Club and Gil Vaughn. Thanks to all of our helpers. The help was much appreciated and the money raised will go to many of our projects through out the year.

Saint Marys Central Catholic

2008-10-28T10:52:00.002-04:00

Dr. Judy Monaghan was our speaker on Tuesday October 14th. After our lengthy club discussion regarding our contribution to the Firelands Hospital she spoke about Key Club which is the High School equivalent to Kiwanis and the possibility of a Builders Club which is the Junior High equivalent. More information for both of these programs is available at www.kkids.org. She also talked about the importance of the Saint Mary's education and the amount of scholarships the excellent students there receive. The website for Saint Mary's is http://www.sanduskycentralcatholic.com/. The key club had their first meeting of the year and their meeting will be the last Wed of every month. The participation and enthusiasm of this years group will spill over to our club. The have already spent time with our club in one of our major fundraisers. We hope to do the same for them. Even though Judy was cut short she was very informative of the things they are trying to accomplish at St Mary's.

El Sembrador

2008-10-28T10:49:00.002-04:00

On October 7th Ted Gasteir visited us with photos and updates from his missionary experience at El Sembrador. The following is from their website at http://www.escuelaelsembrador.org/ El Sembrador (The School of the Sower) was founded in 1954 by Don and Twana Hawk, a farmer and his wife from the state of Ohio. They sold all their belongings and sailed to Honduras in a banana boat in 1948. They did not speak Spanish, and after a most interesting cruise, they found themselves on the distant docks of Puerto Cortes, Honduras, with their little boys, Ted and Tim. Don's vision was to reach the underprivileged boys of Honduras through primary education and practical training in farming. In 1981, Don went to be with the Lord, but his vision is still carried on today through the missionaries of World Gospel Mission and the Honduran staff.

It was amazing to hear the experiences of Mr Gastier and his wife and also that some members of our club have been there to help as well. The mission has many needs and volunteers are encouraged. Please take the time to visit their website and view how you may be able to help their cause.

Many Many Updates

2008-10-28T10:43:00.003-04:00

It has been a LONG LONG time since the last update. A month of meetings have gone by, A new president (for our club) has been sworn in. I want to thank everyone for a great year as president. We accomplished many things together. We just finalized a fantastic project with the Firelands Regional Medical Center Pediatric Unit and donated $15,000 for medical equipment that helps the areas kids stay locally rather than having to go out of town for treatment. A portion of our money will also be used to purchase play tables, and toys for the sibling area while their brothers and sisters are in the unit. As always Kiwanis is changing the world one community and one child at a time! There have been some press releases that I hope to have in our download section soon as I update our website for my presentation to the club about the uses of this site, navigation, and also the fundraising portion. I wish Jody well in her upcoming year and look forward to contributing as the Past President.

K Kids

2008-09-23T20:55:00.003-04:00

Today's program was Bob Williams and JoAnn King concerning the Kiwanis Kids programs. We were also visited by our new Division 12 Lt Gov Jim Ludban. The program was very interesting and gave our club plenty of ideas on how to strengthen our current Key Club and our own club in the upcoming year. You can get more information about these programs at http://www.kiwaniskids.org/.

Stein Hospice

2008-09-19T13:22:00.006-04:00

Rachel Berry from Stein Hospice was our speaker on September 16th. Rachel gave us some wonderful stories of families that have benefited from the services provided.

From their website: www.steinhospice.org :

Stein Hospice is a community based not-for-profit hospice serving Erie, Huron and Ottawa counties and surrounding areas. We have a unique knowledge and understanding of the communities we serve and have relationships with many service agencies that are available to assist you.

The Stein Hospice Board of Directors is made up of members of the communities in which we serve and not by out-of-town executives.

We concentrate all of our efforts and expertise strictly on hospice and palliative care and do not dilute the quality of our services by expanding into other endeavors. Our patients and families always come first. We consider end-of-life care too personal and too important to be driven primarily by business decisions. We do what is best for our patients while acting as good stewards of our resources.

Stein hospice has been serving the community for over 25 years and has a family of professionals who live within the communities that we serve and who are passionate believers in the hospice concept.

Stein Hospice utilizes numerous disciplines, including physicians specially trained in hospice and palliative care. With such diversity we are better able to ensure our patients get the very best in palliative care and symptom management.

Stein Hospice strives to provide levels of personal care that exceed industry standards. By exceeding these standards Stein Hospice can give more attention and better care that result in a higher quality of life.

We are responsive, adaptive and creative in meeting each patient’s unique needs 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

For more information you can call or email :Stein Hospice 1200 Sycamore Line Sandusky, Ohio 44870 Phone: 800-625-5269 (24 hours a day) Fax: 419-625-5761 General e-mail: steinhospice@steinhospice.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters

2008-09-19T13:22:00.002-04:00

Amy Roldan from the Erie County Big Brothers Big Sisters organization was our speaker on September 9th. Just a few of the points Amy made during the presentation are as follows:

Researchers found that after 18 months of spending time with their Bigs, the Little Brothers and Little Sisters were:
46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
27% less likely to begin using alcohol
52% less likely to skip school
37% less likely to skip a class
more confident of their performance in schoolwork
one-third less likely to hit someone
getting along better with their families

Mentoring our youth has a high impact on the community as a whole.

To get involved or help the organzation you can visit http://www.bbbs.org

Or you can call or email the BBBS of Erie County, Inc. 904 West Washington Street Sandusky, OH 44870 ErieBBBS@aol.com (419) 626-8694

Igive

2008-09-04T15:25:00.001-04:00

Thanks to your support our club will be receiving our first check from our online fundraiser. The check is for $33.95. Thanks to everyone for your continued support of our clubs easiest fundraiser.

Adventures in friendship

2008-09-04T14:14:00.002-04:00

Here is the most recent updates on Adventures in friendship from Mary Baughman. A recent thank you letter should also be up shortly on the thanks section of our website.

Dear American and International Friends:

Planning ahead for 2009, we would like to eliminate some of the variation in our presentation to both Americans and Internationals. To that end, we’ve decided to make a short film to explain what Adventures in Friendship is and what it can do for both the Americans and the Internationals who participate. When complete, this film will be made available on Facebook.Com as well as at service clubs and other venues, to aid in publicity and also to make sure the explanation is clear. Avoiding misunderstandings is difficult enough when everyone speaks the same native language, and it’s been a real challenge!

Don Gregory (SHS 96) of PinkCat ProductionsLLC will assist us.

I will do some of the filming personally, but it will all be subject to Don’s approval.

Filming the internationals this year is impossible, because 100% of them went home at the beginning of August. For all international former AIF participants, here is what I would like: I would like you to send us a short video of yourself answering these questions: “What did you get out of participating in Adventures in Friendship? Why was it worthwhile for you? Did you learn anything you wouldn’t have learned otherwise? Did you do anything you wouldn’t have done otherwise? Did it change the way you visualized life in the United States?” We will contact you if we decide to use your clip in the film we make. At the very least, we will use your clip on the Facebook.Com site.

For the Americans, you may make your own film clip and send it to us at friendadventure@aol.com, or we can come and film it, which we really would like to do if we can. We would like as many immediate family members present as possible (Mom-Dad-kids), and we would like to film somewhere that typifies you, your job, your life, and the Erie County area. We intend to include Toft’s Dairy, Mulberry Creek, Firelands Campus, the Route 250 area, and we need more bright ideas including businesses and local scenes that we come up with. The questions we would like you to answer are: “What did you get out of participating in Adventures in Friendship? Why was it worthwhile for you? Did you learn anything you wouldn’t have learned otherwise? Did you do anything you wouldn’t have done otherwise? Did it change the way you visualized life in other countries?” At the very least, we will use your clip on the Facebook.Com site. Don Gregory would like to personally do your film for you, if at all possible, and he will be in Sandusky on either Wednesday or Thursday (I don’t know which) September 3rd or 4th, and we should try to make arrangements. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Sincerely, Mary Baughman

United Way Sandusky Schools Uniform Drive.

2008-09-04T13:57:00.002-04:00

The United Way and the Salvation army are currently collecting clothes for students of Sandusky schools that are unable to afford school uniforms. A flyer describing the details will be posted on our website in the download section. Drop off sites are at the Sandusky Mall customer service court, the Salvation Army on Columbus Ave., and the Volunteer Center on E Market St. The Salvation Army needs some volunteers for the handout of the clothes to students in need on Wed September 24th, at 5pm.

North Coast Young Professionals

2008-09-04T13:50:00.002-04:00

Our speakers for our regular Tuesday meeting on Spetember 2nd were Andy Gundlach and Joshua Mesenberg from North Coast Young Professionals. The group was established to provide opportunities for young professionals in our surrounding 4 county area, Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky. The organization members range in age from 28-45 and the group allows younger members of our community to network and meet people with similar interests, professions and ideas to bring more young professionals to the area. The information provided was very informative. For more information about them visit their website at www.northcoastyp.org.

Business Meeting

2008-08-26T19:21:00.002-04:00

Today's meeting was our normal end of the month business meeting. We cleared up some loose ends regarding our upcoming pancake breakfast & bike week, talked about our membership and had some good discussions on things we can do to improve our club. I believe our website has been instrumental in improving not only communication between our members but also with the community we serve. We also now have a facebook page that has linked us with students involved in the Adventures in Friendship program as well as potential younger members. Please visit our page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kiwanis-Club-of-Sandusky/19277079498. You can also visit the Adventures in Friendship page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9521149978, or learn more about the program on our main site.

We are also planning an anniversary dinner for our club. 2009 marks our 90th anniversary as a club and to commemorate that we will be having a special dinner for members, family and other clubs that wish to attend. The preliminary date has been set for Friday November 6th, 2009. More details will follow as they are determined. I'm looking forward to helping organize this event in my duties as immediate past president.

Its amazing to think that my year is almost done. Its been a great year for our club and I can not be more proud of what we have accomplished in the 11 months I have been president. I'm looking forward to the leadership of our upcoming president Jody, and look forward to the continued success of our club.

Division 12 Picnic

2008-08-22T13:35:00.002-04:00

Last night was the Division 12 picnic. Thanks to Norwalk for hosting it! Pat Scheid , Gigi Scheid, Ed Shelly, and myself made the trip. The food was fantastic!! It was also nice to see the projects and ideas other clubs have. I think our club is on the right track with the projects, ideas and enthusiasm each of us has shown this year! Keep up the good work. And see you Saturday for our third Highway Cleanup.

New Members

2008-08-21T14:37:00.003-04:00

I have had some photos sitting around for a while and havent posted them of our inductions of our four new members. Below are the photos of Beth McGookey, Joe Clime, Jane Windisch, and Ken Schmiesing and yours truly in the first photo and the four new members by themselves in the second photo.

Providence Commons

2008-08-21T14:30:00.003-04:00

Our last meeting on August 19th was a tour of Providence Commons. Thanks the staff for the wonderful food and tour of your facility! The building and atmosphere were very nice with many amenities including a greenhouse, lake trail, exercise room, barber and very nice dining area. One of our own members has a place there and gave us a wonderful tour of his home. For more information please feel free to visit their website at http://www.providencecenters.org/AssistedLiving.asp

You can also talk to Jane in our club and she would be happy to give you more information as well.

Kiwanis Annual Pancake Breakfast

2008-08-21T14:26:00.003-04:00

Our annual pancake breakfast preparations are underway. Sunday October 19th, 2008 from 7;30 AM to 1Pm at the Sandusky High School Cafeteria. Most members have tickets in hand to sell and they can soon be ordered online. Its one of our larger fundraisers for the year and gets us off to a good start for our upcoming projects. So I hope everyone takes the time to participate in this event.

Hope to see you there!

Erie Metroparks

2008-08-21T14:16:00.003-04:00

Lois Trevine was our speaker at our meeting on August 12th. She spoke about all the new improvements and opportunities at our MetroParks. The third annual Firelands Area Runners Scholarship 5k Run/Walk is coming up on October 12th. Visit http://www.firelandsarearunners.org/ for more information. Erie MetroBark Park is opening On September 8th where you can take your dog off leash entrances to the park are on 3910 Perkins Ave and 3109 Hull Rd. A small registration fee of $15 for residents will help support phase II of the project. visit http://www.eriemetroparks.org/ for more information. In all we have 13 MetroParks available in our county. There are lots of programs for all ages available. One of my personal favorites is Harvest Happenings on Sat October 11th and Sunday October 12th from 11am to 5 pm.

Knute Rockne visit to Sandusky

2008-08-11T16:29:00.006-04:00

I am currently digging into a little of our club history; only to find that On March 5th 1925 Knute Rockne the football coach at Notre Dame visited and was the speaker at our clubs then annual football banquet. Click on the photo to view the larger version.

Adventures in Friendship Photos

2008-08-11T08:51:00.004-04:00

Wow, its been a long time since I last posted. Things have been pretty hectic recently. I hope things will calm down and I can spend more time posting here. Once again thanks to all of our American sponsors who take the time out during the summer to volunteer for the Adventures in Friendship program. Without you this program wouldn't exist! I also want to personally thank Mary & Paul for all of their hard work on this program. Please look the program and our club up on Facebook as well. Here are some additional photos from some of our sponsors:

Thanks Darlene for being a sponsor. Chao Shi and Ye Du, both from Hong Kong University

Alex and Ivory at the Marblehead Lighthouse. Thanks Harry and Kathlyn!

Buckeye State Paranormal and Haunting Investigators

2008-07-23T09:04:00.003-04:00

Our meeting yesterday July 22nd we have Gene Lafferty of Buckeye State Paranormal and Haunting Investigators join us as our speaker. First I want to thank Gene for making the 2 hour drive from Bellefountaine. He spoke about a recent trip to the Mansfield Prison and other investigations he has been on. The sound bites and photos he showed and and personal stories were interesting. BSPHI is the first and only paranormal group that has been accepted as a member of the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums. (OAHSM)

What I found the most interesting is the detail and historical information that goes into each investigation. The organization also donates money to the Children's Miracle Network or to the Historical location they investigate and never turns down an investigation if kids are involved. They cover the entire state of Ohio and do several investigations a month.

Once the first question was asked many of our members opened up about personal experiences. Watch out for Edna! And if you see Chris Palmer running from the golf course you know why!The presentation and topic was a nice break from the norm and seemed to be enjoyed by all in attendance.

Gene also handed out a list of possible places near us! In case you missed it here is the list:

Sandusky Area Alleged Haunts

Cedar Point: a young woman walking past CJ's Provisions in the Frontier Trail. Anyone working in that stand has reportedly felt someone there or has apparently seen someone walking by the doors when they are closed before the season begins. Legend has it that a young woman walks up and down frontier trail looking for her boyfriend / husband in that area. Strange things have happened in CJ's. If you leave a sponge on the sink in the fudge area and leave to go and do something, like take your break or go outside to get something and you come back and your sponge is gone. No one else has taken it or even seen where it went to. Then when you go back, sometimes the sponge reappears in the same place that you last left and there are only 2 of you in the stand.

Hotel Breakers: There are two known reoccurring instances of haunting in Hotel Breakers. Hotel Breakers has now four sections all of which were built at different places in time, the oldest and still central being of the hotel is "The Rotunda" which is named so for its circular five floored circular structure of which live it's majority of rooms. "The Lobby" is a two story structure in which contains offices and old meeting rooms on the first floor; second floor has rooms that were once guest rooms, now employee dwellings. This is that which we are most interested in for in one of the two second floor hallways is room #169. The very room in which during the early 1900's when the park was still just a beach resort, a guest by the name of Mary hung herself in dismay (supposed to that of a lover), hung herself in her room. Since then, Employee and guest alike have had odd occurrences, disturbances, violent unseen actions, noises, problems with electronics occur. The third oldest portion of the hotel "Breakers East" Which in itself wasn't built until the mid 90's and is portioned into three and four floors. The occurrences in this section were sightings of "Faceless apparitions" in a small combination of number. All other sightings and instances are not known as re-occurring and random. The whole park is rumored to be haunted, and also rumored to have been built on a native burial ground.

River Well House: In the 1800's, the McGreen was given money as a gift. They argued among each other what they should do with it. They left the money in their wagon until the morning so they would have time to decide. When the family awoke, the money was gone. Mr. McGreen was so mad that he killed everyone and hung himself in the well. Strange things happened in the house for almost 200 years later. Doors would open by themselves. Pets refuse to go into the dining room nor would plants ever live in it. Small fires would start in the fireplace on their own. Door handles would be witnessed as wiggled when no one was on the other side. Shadows are seen and images are seen outside a huge picture window that looks over a river. The well is still there and nothing will grow with in a 10 feet radius of it. In 1979, the house mysteriously burned down without any indication of a cause.

Sleep Inn: When employees walk the halls of the third floor at night, there is an uncanny feeling that they are not alone. The television in 317 will turn on and flip channels all by itself. A laundry attendant was trapped in 315 (the locks are on the inside, and the door opens to the inside, but the door would not open from the inside.) Housekeepers cleaning room 324 have seen the curtains in 312 fluttering/opening, but when the room was checked, the AC unit was off and the room was vacant. Doors slamming and footsteps can be heard when employees are up there alone, but when they call out or go to see who's there, the halls are empty.

Johnson's Island: In the frigid waters of Lake Erie lies a 300 acre dot of land called Johnson's Island. Designed as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, the place was especially brutal in the winter months to men who hailed from a much more temperate climate. The compound here was designed to hold 1000 men... but actually confined up to 15,000 at one time. Here, these prisoners lived and died in barracks with only single pine walls to hold back the chilling winds. There was no escape from this place and during its years of operation only twelve men ever made it to freedom and their fate is unknown. They vanished across the winter ice towards the Ohio shoreline and were never seen again. Today, the island is a lonely place with worn stones marking the graves of the soldiers who died in captivity here. It is here, and among the trees, that apparitions of Confederates have been seen for many years. Strangely, their voices have been heard also. Many years ago, Italian workers who were hired to dig at the stone quarry, began singing a song that many of them had never heard before. In fact, according to the superintendent, many of the men did not even speak English.It was not a song that reminded them of home... but it may have reminded previous occupants of the island. The song was "Dixie". Johnson's Island is located on Lake Erie, about three miles north of Sandusky, Ohio and a half-mile south of the Marblehead Peninsula.

Green Hills Golf Course: The haunting here has to do with the railroad tracks which run beside Green Hills. In the 1960s, according to legend, a car full of teenagers stalled at the crossing and was destroyed by a train, killing all four passengers. If you make a trip to the crossing alone at midnight, and stop your car similarly on the tracks, you will be able to see the twisted metal of their car scattered along the rail bed--and four severed heads.

Tindle Bridge: Tindle Bridge in Fremont is haunted by the ghost of a murder victim from the 1950s. She roams the area under the bridge, sobbing and asking for help. Another murder victim was found in the field across from the bridge several years ago.

Gibsonburg High School: Mysterious occurrences abound at Gibsonburg's high school. Janitors who chain doors return to find their chains dangling with the locks unhasped. Footstep sounds echo through the gym when no one is there, and the lights go on and off of their own accord.Green Springs Elementary School: The spirits in the elementary school are leftovers from the high school which once occupied this spot. It burned down sometime in the late 1800s with a handful of kids still inside. Now their spirits open and close doors and pester people, but seem to be confined to the second floor.

The Headless Motorcyclist: One of the most talked-about ghost stories is the Elmore Ghost Rider, whose story is related in an old issue of the Journal of the Ohio Folklore Society. Apparently once a year (or maybe more often) a headless motorcyclist repeats his final trip across a bridge near the town of Elmore. His origin story, although almost certainly legend, goes like this: when the guy got back from World War One, he discovered that his girlfriend had shacked up with another man. In a rage he hopped on his motorcycle and drove off down the winding road. Maybe it was raining. Maybe he killed them first. It all depends on who you ask. But ultimately he wrecked and died, either on the bridge or shortly thereafter. Today it's said that if you stand on the bridge at the right time the motorcycle will really mess you up. If you stand to the side it'll pass you by. Police used to park at this bridge on certain nights making sure no one would stop and get out investigating, because it had gotten to be such a nuisance. As of late no one seems to know exactly which bridge it is--something the local police are probably happy about. But according reports, the bridge is located just across the county line in Sandusky County, near the town of Lindsey, at the place where Fought Road crosses Mud Creek.

Please visit their website: http://www.bsphi.com/

4 New Members!!!!

2008-07-23T08:58:00.002-04:00

At our weekly meeting on July 15th our club with the help of distinguished member Pat Scheid inducted 4 new members into our club. I personally want to thank you...Joe Clime, Jane Windisch, Beth McGookey, & Ken Schmiesing, for taking the leap into this organization and getting more involved in our community. We are a better club having you as members with your input, energy and leadership. As our club continues to grow I hope we can add to the many projects we have going to make them even more effective and relevant. I hope each of our members is our asking others to come to our meetings see what we are about and taking the time be actively involved to grow our club.

Ford Gum & Machine Co.

2008-07-23T08:51:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update regarding the gumball machines our club has stationed in our the community. We currently have 76 machines. Since we started the program (If any club members know the date? A long long time ago in a galaxy....) we have earned $45,255.38 for the community. I have requested more information to see if we can add to the collection. At the beginning of our year we started with 86 machines. The economy is mostly to blame for the loss in machines as business's have closed or relocated. There are several locations that may be interested in adding a machine.

Student Leaders

2008-07-23T08:41:00.002-04:00

Since it has been nearly if not exactly two weeks since I have had the opportunity to post here, there will be several updates today. The first of which involves getting younger people involved not only with Kiwanis but community service in general. Our club now has if somewhat limited a myspace page and also a facebook page. While setting up the facebook page I came across a college student who has been involved with our Adventures in Friendship program and has posted a facebook page for the program. After getting in contact with him he asked to come to one of our meetings to discuss a new program called student leaders. Although our club has yet to fully participate in the program I hope we can support it in some way. Here is a general review of the program.

Student Leaders

A Youth Led Progressive Action Team

STATEMENT OF NEED

Area schools do not connect with one another unless it’s on a playing field. Competition is the primary form of exchange, not collaboration. Even Academic Challenge, built upon learning achievement, is competition-based.

Every student class within the regional school system has officers to provide leadership. However, these officers function primarily within their own classes and are sometimes not directed as much as they should be. There is no network of existing student officers to provide them with leadership skills, interaction with other leaders, or visionary rewards.

Throughout the region, students are attending college and ultimately establishing lives outside the region. There is little loyalty or sense of responsibility.

VISION

Student Leaders will lead to a better regional community by enhancing individual student growth, connecting student leaders with community leaders, and developing new programs to meet the leadership and services needs within our communities.

PROGRAM

Student Leaders will be an electronic and physical network of student officers from Perkins, Huron, Sandusky, SCCS, EHOVE, Margaretta, Clyde, Oak Harbor, Port Clinton, Edison, Bellevue, and BGSU Firelands. It will connect student leaders with existing community leaders, such as those holding leadership positions in regional or community organizations or graduates of leadership programs.

KEY ACTIVITIES

Develop electronic network of student leaders elected in officer positions within their classes

Meetings among student officers

Presentations from community leaders/visionaries

Facilitated roundtable discussions centered around topics such as service
opportunities,regional education needs, and program ideas

BENEFITS

Increased community service through greater awareness of opportunities and collaboration of efforts

Enhanced communication skills and confidence among students through more frequent and quality interactions with adult leaders, leading to increased credibility of students.

Increased loyalty to the community by forging and fostering networks among students and adult leaders, resulting in increased commitment by these students in the future to live, work and play in the region

Enhanced programs to fulfill needs at area schools as a result of student leaders sharing challenges and solutions among one another

Enhanced spirit of community by linking normally competitive educational systems with common goals.

I want to thank each and every student that has taken the initiative to start this program and I hope it will be successful.

Adventures in friendship update

2008-07-08T14:09:00.002-04:00

This picture was taken at Cedar Point. The two Cedar Point Employees are Lirong Hu who is one of Mary & Joe Baughman's international friends, and Joe Lin, who is the 2008 friend of Karen & Mark Langan. Thank you American sponsors for making this program work!

New members and Officers

2008-07-08T14:07:00.003-04:00

We will be inducting 4 new members into our club next Tuesday. I hope all of you can be there to support them and encourage them to become active members. We also have found our VP and Jen Keefer has agreed to the very important position. I hope others will follow Jody and Jen to make the next few years beneficial and successful to our community and also support them as you have supported me throughout this year.

Ohio Kiwanis District Foundation

2008-07-08T14:02:00.003-04:00

John Millar, President of the Ohio Kiwanis District Foundation was our speaker today. www.odkf.com He gave us a recap of the different programs available to us for possible donors of to Kiwanis. Since Kiwanis is a 501(c)(4) it is not tax deductible. The foundation is a 501 (c)(3) which is. There are several options of donating to the foundation the Ambassadors program allows for donations as small as $50 a year. The Club advised program allows the money to stay within our community as our club would dictate how the money is used. Our board should be recieving more information concerning the programs to see if it is something our club can take advantage of.

Kiwanis International Convention Part 4

2008-07-08T13:40:00.003-04:00

In case you missed today's meeting here is a recap of my trip to the International Convention. We decided to drive I-75 on the way down and I-77 on the way back.

Here are several observations made of states we drove through:

In Kentucky: My son was looking for Blue Grass the whole time through

Tennessee is the home of next years convention in Nashville.

Georgia: General Shermans march through is still evident as the ENTIRE state is under construction

South Carolina: The home of Hootie and the Blowfish

North Carolina: The Blue Ridge Parkway is amazing!

Virgina: Very Scenic

West Virginia: The very first time I have ever won on that darn claw coin operated game only to have my son ask for a different stuffed animal.

Ohio: Motel six sign in Amish Country stating they will leave the lights on?

Florida: Hot and Humid

Recap of Events:

The hotel we stayed at was the Orlando Peabody. What a great hotel. Transportation was a little tricky but the rooms and staff other than the transportation company were friendly and very helpful. Everyday the hotel had a march of the ducks through the lobby to and from the duck fountain.

The hotel was a very short walk to the convention center where all of the Kiwanis events were located.

After registering for the convention and receiving my name badge with two ribbons one for being a delegate and one for my first trip to a convention my son asked me if I won a race to get those ribbons.

The opening ceremony featured Craig Karges who did several tricks and shows on mind reading. It was very funny and entertaining. During the House of Delegates meeting Kiwanis and the Boys and Girls Club signed a partnership. More details will follow as I get them. Our club has already contacted our local Boys and Girls club and we hope to be able to have a joint service project soon.

The delegates also passed several amendments to the bylaws (which can be found on the international website (http://www.kiwanis.org/) and elected the VP for international Sylvester Neal from the Pacific Northwest district. Walter Sellers a former Past International President from Xenia Ohio passed away a month ago and was honored.

Our very own Ohio member Alan Penn will be running for VP next year so we hope to get as many Ohioans to make the trip to next years convention in Nashville.

The convention schedule coming up is as follows: 2009 Nashville, 2010 Las Vegas, and 2011 Geneva........Switzerland.

The classes, meetings, elections and opening and closing ceremonies were fantastic and have given me a new sense of pride and purpose of what our clubs can do individually and together.

After the meetings I was able to make it to the lands of Disney. (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.) Of all the parks Epcot and Animal Kingdom were my favorites. I have never been to Disney before and I probably didn't give my son a very good role model since I was taken by the ankles shook and strong armed by a cartoon mouse named Mick. My pockets may take some time to mend. Although I'm beginning to think it was worth every penny. :)

I want to thank the club for giving me this opportunity.

Kiwanis International Convention Part 3

2008-07-03T23:54:00.006-04:00

More details of the trip to the convention: My wife and son joined me on the trip. We drove the 20 hours there and back. After the meetings and other Kiwanis functions I met both of them at the various Disney parks and hotel pool. The hotel we stayed at along with the other Ohioans was the Orlando Peabody. The hotel interestingly enough has live ducks that sit at the duck fountain during the day and everyday at 5 pm they take the walk down the red carpet to the elevator to go back to there room until the morning when the march back to the duck fountain. Below are several of my favorite pictures.

Kiwanis International Convention Part 2

2008-07-03T10:28:00.004-04:00

I will have more updates and a review of the convention after Tuesdays meeting. (I don't want to spoil the information I have to give to the members before that.

I just got my pictures back and unfortunately there was a problem with my disposable camera I used inside the convention and the lighting was not good enough. So I need to rely on photographers much more reliable and professional then me and use photos from International website. (http://www.kiwanis.org/) The photos are similar to the ones I attempted to take the only difference being is you can actually see them. :)