Kiwanis celebrates 100th birthday
MARQUETTE — The first Kiwanis club in the world was founded 100 years ago today in Detroit, and members of the Kiwanis Club of Marquette got together to mark the occasion.
The Marquette club was founded in 1936, so it’s been around for most of Kiwanis’s history. It meets every Monday at noon at the Ramada Inn in Marquette.
Kiwanis does a great deal of public service, like eliminating goiter in much of the world by adding iodine to salt.
“Currently, we’re working on eliminating maternal neonatal tetanus,” president Steve Halsey said. “This year, we’re wrapping up a $110 million campaign. What this will do is help children and mothers survive in third–world countries after birth.”
The Marquette club donates about $20,000 a year to many different kinds of nonprofit organizations. Members also donate their time in a variety of ways.
“Coming up in another couple of weeks will be the Kiddie Mutt races down at the Marquette Commons during the (U.P. 200) dogsled weekend race, plus various other functions that we have throughout the year, including the Marquette 4th of July parade,” Halsey said. ”
Kiwanis members perform several service projects in the Marquette area throughout the year.