The Kiwanis Club of Acadiana is pleased to present their newest members: Kourtney Pitre, John Claude Arceneaux, Don Perron and Anne Catherine Artigue.

Kourtney Pitre of Lafayette is a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  John Claude Arceneaux, also of Lafayette, is the Assistant Director of the UL Alumni Association. Don Perron of Opelousas is the Broker/Owner of Perron Real Estate in Lafayette. Anne Catherine Artigue, MSW, GSW, Lafayette, is a Social Worker with the Extra Mile.

Standing, from left: Mike Olivier, President-Elect; Janean Wood; Christina Harper, President; Don Perron; John Claude Arceneaux; Maria Pitre, sponsor; Susan Holiday, VP Membership. Sitting: Anne Catherine Artigue; Kourtney Pitre

Christina Burton Harper, Kiwanis Club of Acadiana President, says “Kiwanis is something so good that each of us should want to share it.  Surely there is no better evidence of our willingness to share Kiwanis than to sponsor a new member into our club and I am very pleased to recognize Maria L. Pitre, Esq., Janean Wood, and Patricia Parks for wanting to share their ‘K’ sprit by bringing in these new members.”

Susan Holiday, Kiwanis Club of Acadiana Vice President of Membership says “the next step for these members is a thorough orientation, and new member training to understand and demonstrate the six Objects of Kiwanis.” 

These six objects, which serve as the guiding principles of the organization and offer members a framework within which to fulfill their obligations, are to:
• give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life.
• encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
• promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards.
• develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship.
• provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.
• cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and goodwill.
Kiwanis International now comprises 600,000 members — men, women, boys and girls — and is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 in Detroit. For those interested in learning more about Kiwanis or are interested in joining Kiwanis of Acadiana, please contact Walter Campbell at 337-251-6500.

The 9^th annual Zydeco Pancake Breakfast fundraising event is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 7:00-11:00 a.m., at Acadian Village.

Our Kiwanis Club is reaching out right now for help to support our biggest fundraiser “the Zydeco Pancake Breakfast.”  Beyond sponsorships, event tickets are also sold throughout the community for $5.00 each and a ticket entitles the bearer to receive “All You Can Eat” pancakes, sausage, coffee, milk, juice, soft drinks.  Funds raised will be given to MedCamps of LA and Stuller Place* (now known as Hearts of Hope, which houses the Children’s Advocacy Center, Sexual Abuse Response Center and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs.  During breakfast, Terry & the Zydeco Bad Boys will play, so people can dance to great Zydeco music.  At the edge of the dance floor will be a children’s area with games, face painting and more, providing entertainment for the entire family.      

 It’s easy to Sponsor the Kiwanis of Acadiana’s 2009 Zydeco Pancake Breakfast.  We would appreciate your support of these worthy causes in any amount you deem appropriate. 

Please click the PayPal link to support us through your credit card payment (tickets can also be purchased through this PayPal link and will be available to you at the tickets table near the event entry place).

 https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=KLSpzyXPE_s10hUPI_JA0TOWXW0Lz6co74z_n7s0gGIgLLDACrBZACd4lWG&dispatch=50a222a57771920b6a3d7b606239e4d529b525e0b7e69bf0224adecfb0124e9bed5d628c85727479b1b92b132a6281aab8c2c6f2ee34f0a1 

Click the above PayPal link below to pay by credit card.  A 2.9% fee will apply to all credit card charges.

This year, together with MedCamps of LA and Stuller Place, we in the Kiwanis Club of Acadiana are making a difference in the lives of young children and their families. 

Downtown Alive Kicking off
Downtown Alive kicks off the Fall 2009 series on Sept 11. We will be beertenders Oct 16 & Nov 20

Give of Yourself, Annual Banquet

The annual Installation and Awards banquet will be at A La Carte on Sept 30, and following club tradition, we will be doing the “Give of Yourself” Auction that night. Please think of what you can
give– carwashes, cooking suppers, babysitting, fishing trips, home made jewelry… Let Incoming Pres Elect Mike know what you can give, the money raised goes into to our “internal club expenses fund”.

Pancake Plans Underway
October 10th is the date, and Project Chair Mike Olivier needs your help! Sign up on his list at this week’s meeting, and come to the planning meeting Sept 9th to help us get the event rolling.
Did you send off any sponsor request letters to your contacts or employers yet?
If not, please get started!

Kiwanis Club of Acadiana members and guests will celebrate their quarter-century of service to the Acadiana community with a reception Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Don’s Seafood, 301 E. Vermilion St., in downtown Lafayette. Past and present Kiwanis members are invited to attend as honored guests at no charge.

The club will recognize past club leaders, district leaders and will recognize outstanding service during a brief presentation.

The Kiwanis Club of Acadiana, with more than 40 members, completes hundreds of hours of service each year.

The club’s largest single project is its Zydeco Pancake Breakfast, an annual fundraiser held in October generating about $10,000 to donate to the community. Kiwanis of Acadiana donated a third of last year’s proceeds to Camp Bon Coeur, a summer camp for children with congenial heart defects (www.heartcamp.com), and also purchased Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for the campuses of Ossun Elementary School and Plantation Elementary School.

Kiwanis Club of Acadiana is the sponsor club of the K-Kids Club at Ossun Elementary. K-Kids is a branch of the Kiwanis International family.

Kiwanis Club of Acadiana, its charter originally adopted Nov. 17, 1983, is in the Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District of Kiwanis International. The club has been recognized multiple times over as a Kiwanis International “Distinguished Club.”

All members join us for the Guitar Hero party tomorrow. You can dress like a rock star if you wish! Feel free to bring a friend or spouse, but adults only, please. The Club provides snacks.

Friday, June 20, 7 p.m.
102 Abaco Ln.

Reminder to members: our next Zydeco Pancake Breakfast planning meeting will be Thursday, June 10th at 11am at Don’s Downtown, immediately prior to our regular lunch meeting next week. Hope to see you all there! We need everyone’s assistance with this event- it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year!

Reminder to members: our next Zydeco Pancake Breakfast planning meeting will be Thursday, June 5th at 11am at Don’s Downtown, immediately prior to our regular lunch meeting next week. Hope to see you all there! We need everyone’s assistance with this event- it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year!

KOA members: Remember our commitment as a club to Festival International is to manage and conduct sales of all of the Official Festival Pins. We staff a booth at each stage for the duration.

Thanks to those member who have already signed up. Please note and honor your commitments.

To date, we have 17 critical shifts left to fill (Friday and Saturday).  We have an additional 20 shifts allotted for Sunday, though we traditionally sell out of pins on Saturday.

TRIPLE POINTS! The board has authorized triple event points for members working three or more shifts over the weekend!

Please see your email and the club meetings for sign-up!

At our meeting this week, Melanie Martin announced that the annual March for Babies in Lafayette is Saturday, May 3, and proposed that we begin collecting at each meeting to donate on that day.

Members at the meeting Thursday contributed about $15. We’ll continue to pass the basket at each meeting until  Thursday, April 24. Melanie will let us know if we have enough money raised to establish a walking team.