Albany, Dougherty Kiwanis clubs officially merge

ALBANY — Members of two iconic Albany civic organizations are going back in time — a little reverse engineering, if you will — when they officially join their memberships and become one club on Friday.

The Albany Kiwanis Club, chartered in April of 1920 — the 235th of the thousands of chartered Kiwanis Clubs worldwide — and the Dougherty County Kiwanis Club, “birthed” from the Albany club in 1952, officially become the Albany-Dougherty Kiwanis Club on Friday.

Some of the members in large part responsible for the merger said this week there is a new level of excitement surrounding the organizations as they prepare to work together in service to the community.

“There’s a lot of excitement among the club members,” Tommy Gay, the newly united club’s secretary, said. “Each club has a diverse membership made up of people from all walks of life, and now we have an opportunity to work together as one united club. Both clubs have some members with an awful lot of experience; there’s a substantial pedigree with this new club.

“I think, since we often worked on similar projects, we’ll have an opportunity to have a bigger impact on the community we serve by having more people involved in our projects.”

Members of both clubs held their first official joint meeting on Monday and selected Albany-Dougherty Kiwanis officers. Mike Beltram was selected to serve as the Albany-Dougherty Club’s president.

“We split the leadership positions and the executive board equally among both clubs at our installation banquet,” now immediate past president of the Dougherty Kiwanis Club Mel Almond said. “When this fiscal year ends, we’ll select new officers from the club as a whole.

“What we hope for — and the feeling I’m getting from members of both groups — is rejuvenation. I think club members are excited about the impact we can have on the community. I think we got the right leaders involved. Everyone’s excited.”

Reasons for merging the clubs, officials say, are simple: A downturn in membership due primarily to aging and a need to get more “doers” actively involved in civic projects led to the decision, which was overwhelmingly approved by both clubs’ memberships.

“It wasn’t just the boards of the two clubs making this decision,” Albany-Dougherty Kiwanis Board of Directors member Dewey Smith said. “We’ve been working on this for six to seven months, and when we thought we had things worked out, we took it tour memberships. It was approved with 100% votes in both clubs.

“I know you can’t please everyone, and there are probably some who would rather stay two small groups. But I’d say 99 point some number percent are excited and ready to work together.”

Kiwanis Clubs conduct projects that raise funds for student scholarships, sponsor school key clubs (Southwest Georgia Home School Association and Terrell Academy with the Dougherty Club; Deerfield-Windsor School with Albany Kiwanis), for community humanitarian projects and for programs that benefit young people in the community.

The Albany-Dougherty Kiwanis Club, which will remain registered under the former Albany club’s 101-year-old charter, already has its first big project scheduled, the Oct. 16 5K Pancake Run, which will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

“We’ve (the Albany club) had a very successful 5K run for last five years, and we’d usually serve breakfast after the run for runners and workers only,” Smith said. “The Dougherty club has had this huge pancake breakfast they put together every year. This year, we’re combining the two. You can do the (sanctioned) run and have a pancake breakfast afterward, or you can just buy a ticket and have a good, big old pancake breakfast for $8.”

Another project that the new club will start immediately is a drive to bring in the next generation of Kiwanis members.

“I think that always has to be a part of what an organization like this does,” Gay said. “People are going to pay more attention to a club with a larger membership; speakers are more likely to come and join us as well. And when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, it’s always good to have more people who are ready to volunteer to do the work that needs to be done.”

Special Photo: David Shivers