The recently initiated Satellite Club is attracting new members wanting to support Kiwanis International.
by Kathy Foster
Former Chipley Kiwanis Club member Brian Rivere was welcomed as one of the founding members of the new Chipley Kiwanis Satellite Club this week during the club’s monthly meeting at Skins & Bubba’s Restaurant in Chipley.
The Satellite Club meets at Skins & Bubba’s at 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Persons interested in the Kiwanis program are invited to attend.
The local Kiwanis clubs offer members the company of friends who share their passion for service – while exploring opportunities for leadership, networking and more.
Kiwanis club members get together to improve lives and serve communities. As a Kiwanian, you can expect:
- Fun and fellowship
- Education and networking
- Service projects and activities
- Leadership opportunities
- Recognition and personal growth
- Visibility in your community.
Guest speaker at the March Kiwanis Satellite Club meeting was Washington County School Superintendent Joe Taylor who gave those attending an overview of the operations of the local school district.
Taylor stressed the following:
- There is a student enrollment of 3,150 for the current school year and that number is down from previous years.
- 500 employees are on staff in the Washington County School District, with 258 of those being teachers.
- There are 44 bus routes serving the students.
- There is a $30 million operations budget for the Washington County School District.
- There are 140 homeschooled students in the county and they can participate in some of the activities in the public school system.
Taylor, who is a member of the Chipley Kiwanis Club, praised Kiwanians overall for their commitment to education and added that more community involvement is needed in the school system and placed an emphasis on the need for mentors.
Asked about the old Kate Smith Elementary School campus, Taylor said he expects the old cafeteria will be the new school district board room before the beginning of the 2018-19 school year and in 2019 he expects to move the district office to theat campus. He said new parking spaces will be added at the site and eventually the data processing center will also be headquarted on the old campus.