Audio clip
Jim Ware
In October 1918, world attention followed the Allied Forces’ final push to the German border, a World War I campaign that ultimately caused the collapse of the Central Powers, resulting in the war’s end by Nov. 11.
That same month in Chattanooga, a Kiwanian named Dr. Harold Major began promoting the idea of erecting a memorial to area men who had given their lives for their country.
Supported in this proposal by his fellow Kiwanians — their first major civic endeavor since the club had formed in March of that year — the memorial took shape in the form of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.
The cornerstone of the auditorium was laid on Nov. 11, 1922, the facility opened to the public two years later, and Memorial Auditorium remains one of the city’s prominent cultural venues 84 years later.
The club’s contributions to the community were celebrated March 11 when the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga observed its 90th anniversary during a luncheon at the Sheraton Read House. Among celebrants was 90-year-old past president A.O. Morton, who was recognized with all former presidents.
“While we celebrate and want to build on the past, we see this as an opportunity to renew our commitment to serve the needs of children in Chattanooga,” said Joyce Owens, club president.
Kiwanian Gordon Smith, a past president, is one of three generations of Kiwanians.
“My father was a Kiwanian for 55 years. I’ve been a member 55 years, and my son (Gordon L. Smith III) is a member and past president, too,” Mr. Smith said. “I joined because Kiwanis membership was a way to serve my community.”
The first Kiwanis Distinguished Service Award was presented in 1923, and has been awarded annually since with the exception of seven years. The award remains one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on a Chattanoogan.
Mr. Smith Jr. is one of the few Kiwanians to have also been an award recipient.
In 1951 the club began Kiwanis Travelogues, a popular travel series that continued 55 years. Dr. Jim Ware was the host for those fundraisers in Memorial Auditorium.
“Our primary fundraiser was the travelogues. We helped support 20 to 25 charities. There were seven travelogues a year with a speaker showing film he or she had shot,” said Dr. Ware, a Kiwanian for 35 years.
The Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga has set precedents in many areas. It was the first club to raise funds with collections from gumball machines, among the first to televise auctions. Yet, it took the club’s membership 82 years before electing its first female president, Gail Coulter, in 2000. That milestone was marked by the attendance of (then) international president Bo Shafer, who returned this week to help the club celebrate its 90th birthday.
“We started the new millennium with a female president,” Ms. Coulter said, laughing. “My first thought was ‘Is the club ready for a female just yet?’ Females had only joined the club a few years prior to that (1987). I had total cooperation and it was an incredibly wonderful year for me.”
During her presidency, the club was named among Kiwanis International’s top chapters for donations to the worldwide Kiwanis effort to eliminate iodine deficiency in children.
Ms. Owens said the club’s newest project is Bring Up Grades. BUG promotes self-esteem in children and rewards academic improvement when a child brings his marks up at least one grade improvement during a grading period.
Ms. Owens said the pilot program has been established at Rivermont Elementary. She said Dr. Jim Scales, school superintendent, has endorsed the project. It will be expanded into all Hamilton County Elementary Schools through the cooperative efforts of all Kiwanis Clubs in the city.
She said new Key Clubs (Kiwanis’ outreach in high schools that promotes community service and leadership) have been established at Girls Preparatory School and McCallie School.
“Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga donates no less than $25,000 each year to local organizations,” she said, “but we want to go out into the community and participate with youth because that’s most enjoyable.”
KIWANIS CLUB OF CHATTANOOGA
History: Founded March 9, 1918, by Dr. Raymond Wallace, Raleigh Crumbliss and Ollie P. Darwin with 100 charter members. Kiwanis was an all-male club until Kiwanis International removed gender requirements in 1987.
First fundraiser: Club members presented a musical in 1921 at the former Bijou Theater raising $5,000.
More fundraisers: Kiwanis Travelogue, 1951-2005; Kiwanis TV Auction, 1979-2006; currently the Great Duck Race.
Club leaders: International officers from the club include one international vice president, seven Kentucky/Tennessee District governors, 12 lieutenant governors, three district secretaries and two district treasurers.
Civic contributions: Kiwanian John Lovell urged the club to support development of an airport, which was later named in his honor.
Kiwanians established a fundraising campaign for a stadium at the University of Chattanooga’s Chamberlain Field in 1927. One year later the stadium was dedicated before 8,000 fans attending the UC-Vanderbilt game.
Kiwanians Floyd Delaney and George Forman are credited with bringing Boys Clubs to Chattanooga. Boys and Girls Clubs are today led by Kiwanian Mike Cranford.
The downtown club has sponsored 10 new Kiwanis clubs in the city, Key Clubs at eight high schools and a Circle K Club at UTC.
Source: Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga
Kiwanis Membership
Club president Joyce Owens said the Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga meets every Tuesday at noon in the Sheraton Read House. Dues are $185 per quarter, which includes weekly meals.
For membership information, call 267-6568 or check the club’s Web site at kiwanischatt.net.
Susan Palmer Pierce is a reporter and columnist in the Life department. She began her journalism career as a summer employee 1972 for the News Free Press, typing bridal announcements and photo captions. She became a full-time employee in 1980, working her way up to feature writer, then special sections editor, then Lifestyle editor in 1995 until the merge of the NFP and Times in 1999. She was honored with the 2007 Chattanooga Woman of ...
