KIWANIS CLUB OF SPANISH TOWN
THE PINNACLE OF
SERVICE TO THE SPANISH TOWN COMMUNITY
The Kiwanis Club of Spanish Town
began and has remained a group of distinguished gentlemen since 1974,
giving altruistic service to Spanish Town and its environs. It began with a complement of 24
members led by noted banker, Mr. Aubrey Massias, and eventually was
incorporated as a company under the Companies Act of Jamaica, limited by the guarantee of
its members. It remains so to this day.
The club prides itself on
the wide scope of its membership, including bankers, lawyers, accountants,
teachers, building and haulage contractors, businessmen, pharmacists,
managers… you name it. The club likes to boast that for any project or
undertaking, the full range of necessary expertise exists within the club.
As result, the club has achieved
many things in the 33 years of its existence. Many basic schools have been
constructed
or refurbished, homes built for the indigent, and so on. The scope and
complexity of these projects are too numerous
to mention in a comprehensive way.
The club has had many meeting
places, but has stayed true to its Spanish Town roots. The members of the club
first met at The Caymans Golf and Country Club. Subsequent meeting places were:
Herbie’s Restaurant, St. Catherine High School, the Ferry Inn, Spanish Town
Shopping Centre, St. Jago Health Centre, and our current meeting place, Arian’s
Restaurant.
Members of the club are leaders
in the community. Dr. Raymoth Notice, a past president of the club and a former
Mayor of Spanish Town and chairman of the St. Catherine Parish Council,
continues to provide free medical healthcare to members of the community. Other
less prominent but equally dedicated members of our club served or continue to
serve on the Parish Development Committee; other civic organisations e.g.
citizens associations; church outreach groups; church councils; school boards;
etc.
A cursory tour Spanish Town will
reveal the effect and impact that the club has had. Identifiable signs show the
several renovation projects that have been done to many basic schools, the
renovation work done to the Emancipation square, and the pharmacy at the Spanish
Town Hospital that was originally built as an operating theatre. Enquiries at
various communities will reveal non-structural benefits derived by community
members e.g. medical assistance, feeding programs, educational assistance,
mentorship programs, scholarship grants, etc.
The traditions of the club are
legendary. It has often been said the members of the club would still be
friends, even if they did not meet as Kiwanians, simply because of a natural
synergy that bonds. Older members of the club would remember the Saturday
tradition of soup and dominoes at different members’ homes, the fishing trips.
More recently, we have regular domino sessions that are arranged on a regular
basis with results published online to the dismay of some. The club prides
itself on creating at every project, meeting, or other event, an opportunity for
its members to socialize. The adage “good fun while we work” therefore takes on
a real meaning.
The Kiwanis Club of Spanish Town
is the pride of Divison 23 West when it comes to camaraderie, and the fostering
of social, business and professional relationships.
Like any other organisation, the
club has had to weather the vicissitudes of the changing political, social and
economic environment in Jamaica over the years. Not long after its inception,
the club had to deal with the migration of several of its members during the
late 1970s. In later years, we grappled with the handicaps of fundraising with
the decline in business in Spanish Town and its environs and an increasing
social need that was created by the establishment of formal and informal
communities. The club has had to deal with violence and actually lost one of
our senior members, past president Clovis Walters under tragic circumstances.
However, despite the challenges,
the Kiwanis Club of Spanish Town has managed to do exceptional work and
completed many projects for the betterment of the communities in and around
Spanish Town, benefiting the elderly, the indigent and our children.
The Kiwanis Club of Spanish Town
views our past with pride. We are looking to the future with a profound sense
of hope and purposeful interventions, meeting the many challenges steadfastly
and fearlessly.
Earlier
News Release:
OUR YEARS
OF SERVICE
In 1974, a
group of distinguished gentlemen, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today,
chartered the Kiwanis Club of Spanish Town. They were the members of the
Kiwanis Clubs of Kingston and Portmore.
This
momentous event came as a light of hope to the poor and less fortunate citizens
in and around the environs of Spanish Town as we sought to take them from the
quicksand of poverty to a place on the rock of survivorship.
Membership
is cultivated on the high plains of dignity and discipline. We started with 26
devoted members and with the common objective of making a positive difference in
our “home town”.
In addition
to community service, we aim to bring fulfilment in our membership by promoting
fellowship into a symphony of brotherhood.
Like any
other group, we have had our difficulties. Despite these however, our heights
of loyalty and commitment have enabled us to make significant contributions to
the development of the Spanish Town community. This is highlighted by our
contribution in areas such as: Education, Youth Development, assistance to the
elderly and indigent, assistance to the providers of health care such as the
Spanish Town Hospital and Health Clinics, as well as numerous other community
service projects.
Our
contribution to the extension of the Kiwanis family is identified through our
sponsorship of the Kiwanis Clubs of Linstead and The
First City, as well as nine sponsored Youth Clubs at the Primary and High School
levels.
Our projects
are achieved through numerous fund-raising activities. These are complemented by
sponsorship from the business community as well as contributions from club
members and their families. The club’s true potential is maximized through our
method of identifying the interest and special skills of our members after which
they are assigned to the related committees and projects in accordance to the
club’s objectives.
Our wish is
to convince the more fortunate citizens of this country that through Community
Service, we can reverse the social inequality which now exists and assist in
developing a better nation. We believe that “true community development is not
simply the process of rebuilding the physical infrastructure of our
neighbourhoods. It is, fundamentally, about the vision, energy and aspirations
of people who live and work in our neighbourhoods”.
The Kiwanis’
objective is to assist these people to achieve their aspirations. We feel a
sense of pride and satisfaction in our accomplishments. However, we are
cognizant of the challenges ahead and are resolute in our commitment to continue
to serve our fellow citizens.