Everyone can be great.

Because anybody can serve.

You don't have to have a college degree to serve…

You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve…

You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve…

You only need a heart full of grace.

A soul generated by love.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is almost day one for a new challenge to serve the Kiwanians of the Captial District. I hope to be able to share some ideas with you each month.

I have been looking at the end of the year activities of many clubs and they are in a hurry to make sure their member list is correct. For many this means making sure that everyone pays their bills on time. What I find interesting as many send bills to their members on or after September 15 with a due date of September 30. If the mail is late in either direction, the member is out of the club.

It just occurs to me that this may be a time for some concern to see if the member is having a hard time with the dates or what is the reason. A friend of mine is changing jobs temporarily and found that the payroll department where he is going pays at the end of the month rather than the beginning. Therefore, for the month of October he will not have the check he expected on the first. This is a classic example of someone who needs some help from a club concerned about its members and not numbers.

Now to some more news for club secretaries. First, make sure you get your September monthly reports done. Second, make sure you have completed the end of the year report parts. In addition, if you are changing secretary, help you successor learn the ropes. Remember they will be able to access the Kiwanis One System on or after October 15, 2011.

The new Capital District Secretary/Treasurer contact information is as follows:

Thomas A. Varner, Secretary/Treasurer

Captial District, Kiwanis International

P. O. Box 2192

Ashland VA 23005

P (804) 798-5243

F-(804) 798-5271

capdistst@comcast.net