Big Day for Kiwanis Club of OP-OC

by David Landis

At the weekly meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines - Ocean City at the Ocean Pines Community Center plenty of good things happened. The goal of Kiwanis is "Serving the Children of the World' and the events celebrated the goal. The fundraisers held by the club all year long benefit local students with scholarships and support of their schools and related Kiwanis student clubs.


Pictured above is one of the seven 2010 Kiwanis Scholarship recipients, Bonnie Eisenman, who just graduated from the "National Blue Ribbon High School" Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, Maryland, and will be attending Princeton University in the School of Engineering majoring in computer science. Bonnie thanked Kiwanis for the award. She was also the Key Club (Kiwanis at the high school level) Treasurer at SDHS for her senior year and was one of the Key Club members who worked at various Kiwanis Club functions, like the Pancake Breakfasts and ethnic dinners. In addition, she wanted Kiwanians to know that the SDHS Annual Academic Invitational, which local Kiwanis Club members moderated, was the start for the SDHS team's final appearance in the Nationals for the past year's event.


Kiwanis also presented donations to local schools for the 2009-2010 academic year. Pictured above are (L to R) co-leaders Debi Wooten and Terry Smith from Buckingham Elementary School in Berlin accepting a $500 check from Kiwanis Club President Dan Peletier in support of the elementary school level Kiwanis student club known as K-Kids. Earlier in the year $1500 was also donated to the school in support of students programs. The Buckingham K-Kids have raised $5500 for 2010 with their projects, like the Valentines Candy-Gram sales and the Dog Candy Biscuit sales, in support of the Relay for Life, a national fundraiser benefitting the fight against cancer. Supper Accomplishment!


And last but not least, pictured above is newly appointed principal from Berlin Intermediate School, Tom Zimmer, accepting $500 from Dan Peletier in support of the Builders Club, the student Kiwanis Club equivalent at BIS. Berlin Intermediate School also received an additional $1500 in support of the schools programs. Mr. Zimmer had been a teacher at Ocean City Elementary School for 10 years before becoming the assistant principal at Stephen Decatur Middle School for 5 years and then the assistant principal at Stephen Decatur High School for the past 6 years. After only 5 days on the new job, he's involved with the Builders Club.

What a great day in celebration of the realization of the goal of Kiwanis International: "Serving the Children of the World".