SEPTEMBER,  2015  OUR  OFFICERS  

Jill  Beets,  President  Jack  Ferguson,  Immediate  Past  President;  Mary  Jo  Dawson,  Treasurer;  Michael  Vigil,  Secretary  

William  A  Lawrence,  Jr.,  President  Elect;  Mark  Haley,  Vice  President  Board  Members:    Susan  Jennings,  Fran  DiMarco,  Phyllis  Cooper,  Ellen  Guest,  Steve  Bass,  Bob  Cain.  Michael  Shepherd,  

Jeff  Andersen    

 

 

 Kiwanis  Speaker  Chair  2014/15  Bill  Archibeck       September  Speaker  Chair                       Bill  Archibeck  and  Bob  Ferguson                    September  14  -­‐  Matthew  Gonzales,  NM  Oil  and  Gas  Assoc.           Invocator  –  Kay  Ballinger                                                          He  will  discuss  pending  regulations  and  

   the  effect  on  gas  prices  and  drilling  in  NM  September  21  –  Zizi  Fritz,  What’s  New  at  the  YMCA         Invocator  –  Homer  Dale  September  28  –  Mike  Smith,  Friedman  Recycling                Invocator  –  Paulette  Reed  

He  is  currently  a  Sourcing  Representative  for  Friedman  Recycling  and  also  Vice  President  of                    the  Board  of  Directors  for  the  NM  Recycling  Coalition.  Bobby  Sisneros,  Marketing  Mgr.  Solid  Waste  Mgmt.  Dept.,  City  of  Albuquerque  and  is  on  the  Board  for  the  NM  Recycling  Coalition  and  is  the  coordinator  of  Keep  Albuquerque  Beautiful.  

           Special  thanks  to  the  MICHAEL  VIGIL  INSURANCE  AGENCY,  sponsor  of  this  publication  

505  –  379  –  2724            michael.ac.vigil@gmail.com  

 

Wow.  I’m  entering  my  final  month  as  president  and  I  can  truly  say  the  year  has  flown  by.  It’s  been  a  busy  year  for  me  professionally  as  well  as  with  the  club,  and  the  only  reason  things  have  gone  as  smoothly  as  they  have  has  been  thanks  to  so  many  of  you  who  make  this  Kiwanis  club  what  it  is.  I’ll  be  extending  more  “thank  you’s”  this  month  at  meetings  and  at  the  installation  banquet,  but  I  want  each  of  you  to  know  that  I  appreciate  all  the  ways  you  give  back  through  Kiwanis  and  all  the  ways  you  help  make  our  community  a  better  place.  From  our  board  members  who  have  had  to  tackle  a  lot  of  tough  issues  this  year  to  Phyllis  and  Fred  and  the  crew  who  set  up  our  meetings,  I  greatly  appreciate  your  support  this  year.      As  the  year  comes  to  a  close,  folks  have  been  asking  about  my  presidential  project,  so  I  want  to  tell  you  a  bit  about  it.    I  had  initially  planned  to  build  a  playground,  but  that  fell  through  when  the  two                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

organizations  who  would  be  sharing  it  had  a  major  grant  fall  through.    Then,  focused  on  the  international  motto  of  “improving  the  world  one  child  and  one  community  at  a  time.”  I  looked  at  a  variety  of  ideas  that  could  help  local  kids  and  discovered  a  baby  box  from  Finland,  the  country  with  the  lowest  infant  mortality  rate  in  the  world.                                                                                                                                      For  75  years,  Finland's  expectant  mothers  have  been  given  a  Baby  Box  by  the  state  that  serves  as  a  starter  kit  for  their  new  baby.  It  contains  clothes,  blankets,  and  other  newborn  necessities,  and  the  Baby  Box  itself-­‐-­‐which  is  lined  with  a  mattress-­‐-­‐can  even  be  used  as  the  child's  first  bed.  The  tradition  dates  back  to  1938.  In  the  1930s,  Finland  was  a  poor  country  and  infant  mortality  was  high,  but  the  figures  improved  rapidly  in  the  decades  that  followed.  The  contents  of  the  Baby  Box  have  changed  a  good  deal  over  the  years,  reflecting  changing  times.  During  the  '30s  and  '40s,  it  contained  fabric  because  mothers  were  accustomed  to  making  the  baby's  clothes,  but  the  fabric  was  replaced  by  ready-­‐made  clothes  in  the  '50s.  The  Baby  Box  is  credited  with  helping  to  decrease  Finland's  infant  mortality  rate  from  65  deaths  for  each  1,000  children  born  in  1938  to  3  deaths  per  1,000  births  in  2013.  It  has  become  an  established  part  of  the  Finnish  rite  of  passage  towards  motherhood,  uniting  generations  of  women  and  contributing  to  Finland's  ranking  as  one  of  the  best  countries  in  the  world  for  mothers  to  live.  It’s  believed  that  having  the  little  bed  for  the  infant,  having  the  key  supplies  needed  to  care  for  a  baby,  and  knowing  that  the  community  cared  enough  to  support  emerging  families  have  combined  to  make  these  improvements.  Cont’d.  page  4    

HAPPENINGS

SOUTHWEST DISTRICT CONVENTION  

Kiwanis  Club  of  Albuquerque  2015-­‐2016  Installation  and  Banquet  Our  incoming  President,  Bill  Lawrence,  and  his  Officers  and  Board  Members  will  be  installed  on  Saturday,  September  19th  at  3:00  pm  (Installation  begins  at  3:30;  dinner  served  at  5:00).    The  event  will  take  place  at  the  Sandia  Resort  &  Casino  and  the  cost  is  $30.00/person.    Dress  for  the  event  is  formal/business.                                                                        To  make  your  reservation,  please  call  Bill  Lawrence  at  918-­‐9024  (H)  or  884-­‐9847  (W)  or  by  email:  william_lawrence@ml.com,  no  later  than  Monday,  September  14.  

Kiwanis Membership Mixer was held at John and Cookie Emerson’s beautiful home in Corrales. The food and the company were fabulous.  

Thanks to our hosts, Cookie and John, and also to our wonderful organizer, Susan Jennings.

From  Cookie  Emerson  –    Jim and Jeff were chosen at random to be in a quiz show Friday evening. There were 4 teams of 2 each. Jim and Jeff were neck and neck, but Jim missed a question that put him down a point. Jeff got off to a good start answering a question that had Atlanta for an answer. Go figure!! Jim knew who flew with Neal Armstrong on the first manned flight to the moon (must have been an Air Force question), and question after question they left the other 2 teams in the dust (Arizona style). Jim had 2 fingers above Jeff’s head in the photo, but due to style and finesse, it was eliminated. (The Editor, lacking in style and finesse, decided to put the other photo in anyway.)  

The  Chef  in  Charge,  Jeff  Rowe,  did  a  fabulous  job.    Looks  like  his  sous  chef,  Bill  Lock,  was  a  great  help  with  keeping  up  Jeff’s  enthusiasm.    

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Kiwanis  Learning  Garden  Monthly  Work  Day  will  take  place  on  Sunday,  September  27,  2015;  from  3  to  6  pm.    The  location  is  1801  Mountain  Rd,  NW,  on  the  east  side  of  18th  St.    (Across  the  street  form  the  Natural  History  Museum.)  Join  Family  Stewardship  Collaborative  (new  name  voted  on  to  replace  Caretaker  Families)  in  many  harvest  jobs.  Please  join  us  at  the  potluck  following!  RSVP  to  Cirrelda  at  948-­‐1615.  

From Bart Regelbrugge YCPO Parenting Classes Only 15% to 25 % of the children entering Kindergarten are ready for schooling. These percentages have a correlation to the high school graduation rates of 60 % to 70%. Incidentally, the national graduation rate for the 2012-13 school year was 81%. The primary reason for our low percentages for school readiness can be attributed to parenting practices. This is why parenting classes are being taught at the NM Men Recovery Academy and the Nm Women Recovery Academy. The session contents cover many subjects essential for raising children so they reach their full potential! Also, there are handouts that point out the benefits of positive thinking, actions and verbal responses to what they will encounter from now on. Two hundred and eleven men and one hundred and one women have received certificates of completion. Most of the attendees were very thankful for the information; and some of them will “pay forward” to others in need.

POTPOURRI

The  Corrales  Kiwanis  Club  has  two  major  events  during  the  year.    In  June  there  is  a  Kid's  Kamp  Kiwanis  where  25  -­‐  30  under  privileged  children  are  offered  5  days  of  camp  free  of  charge,  and  to  do  this  we  sponsor  and  create  the  Corrales  Harvest  Festival  September  26  and  27.    Lots  of  volunteers  are  need  for  this  2-­‐day  event,  and  wish  to  invite  the  Kiwanis  Club  of  Albuquerque  to  come  and  be  a  part.    The  web  site  for  volunteering  is  www.corralesharvestfestival.com.    Simple  and  easy.    Just  like  balloon  fiesta  (same  program  designer).    Come  give  us  a  few  hours  of  your  time.    You  will  have  fun.    Thanks,  Cookie  Emerson,  Volunteer  Chair,  Corrales  Harvest  Festival.  

 

UNM  CKI  is  a  very  busy  organization.    Last  spring  they  were  busy  with  Read  to  Me  Book  Sorting,  helping  with  Habitat  for  Humanity,  Animal  Humane  Society,  Relay  for  Life,  Shots  for  Tots,  Run  for  the  Zoo,  and  our  very  own  Kiwanis  Pancake  Breakfast.    Some  of  their  upcoming  activities  include  Habitat  for  Humanity  Group  Build  on  September  12,  ABQ  BioPark  ZooBoo  on  the  18th,  Carhopping  for  Tips  on  the  26t,  and  Project  Share  on  the  28th.    The  group  meets  every  Tuesday  at  6:00  pm  in  the  SUB  Acoma  A&B  Room.  For  more  info  about  this  very  active  group  check  out:  www.unmcki.org.  

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Many  thanks  to  UNM  CKI  President    Eliana  OteroBell  and  Bulletin  Editor  Valarie  Sheffey  for  sharing  UNMCKI  photos.  

Continued from page 1 A  link  to  a  great  article  on  the  topic,  covered  by  BBC:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-­‐22751415                                  

Here  in  New  Mexico,  we  have  too  many  children  living  in  poverty  and  an  abundance  of  single  moms,  so  I  felt  this  was  a  good  fit  for  the  Baby  Box  concept.  With  presidential  project  dollars,  as  well  as  money  kicked  in  from  the  YCPO  committee,  we  have  been  able  to  purchase  60  of  these  boxes  to  give  away  through  a  local  high  school  that  provides  education  to  teen  moms  as  well  as  several  other  nonprofit  organizations.  People  who’d  like  to  support  this  effort  are  invited  to  purchase  extra  socks,  onesies,  books,  and  hand  crank  baby  food  mills  to  add  to  the  purchased  boxes.  We  will  also  need  people  to  shop  with  the  donations,  pack  items  into  the  purchased  boxes,  a  few  delivery  drivers  to  get  these  around.  If  you’d  like  to  help,  let  me  know.  I  realize  that  this  is  not  the  usual  “building”  or  volunteer  intensive  project  many  presidents  have  chosen  to  undertake.  However,  with  the  construction  and  opening  of  Adelante’s  thrift  store  in  Belen  in  July,  which  I  supervised,  August  and  September  were  the  months  I  had  available  and  I  don’t  wish  to  take  volunteers  away  from  the  Balloon  Fiesta  or  Haunted  House  fundraisers  following  quickly  after  this.  Plus,  I  believe  it’s  important  to  help  the  most  vulnerable  people  in  our  community  and  I  could  think  of  no  one  more  at  risk  than  a  newborn  coming  into  the  world  in  a  challenging  situation,  so  I  felt  compelled  to  help.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Thank  you  again  for  all  you’ve  done  to  make  this  year  a  success  for  Kiwanis  and  for  the  support  each  of  you  have  given  me  as  president.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Sincerely,  

Jill  Beets  

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CONGRATULATIONS  TO  OUR  LEGION  OF  HONOR  PARTICIPANTS  We  thank  you  for  your  twenty-­‐five  years  (plus)  of  service  to  Kiwanis.  

   

   

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2        The  Albuquerque  Kiwanian  is  the  official  voice  of  the  Kiwanis  Club  of  Albuquerque  and  the  Kiwanis  Club  of  Albuquerque  Foundation.  It  is  our  desire  to  publish  at  least  one  issue  per  month.    Please  address  all  official  correspondence  to  PO  Box  21517,  Albuquerque,  NM  87154.    Weekly  speaker  luncheon  meetings  feature  community  leaders  every  Monday  at  Noon  (except  Memorial  Day  and  Labor  Day)  at  the  MCM  Elegante  Hotel,  2020  Menaul  Blvd  NE,  just  east  of  University  Blvd.    Visitors  are  welcome.    Please  visit  our  website:  http//www.kiwanis_albuqierqie-­‐org.