HISTORY OF THE KIWANIS CLUB OF WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA
RICHARD E. LOPEZ, PAST LT. GOVERNOR, JANUARY 17, 2006
The Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach, Florida was chartered on August 21, 1921 with
40 members. The membership of the club consisted primarily of downtown West Palm
Beach business owners and executives.
Long before the 83nd year the Club had grown to approximately 225members and had
broken the gender barrier and admitted female members, including, but not limited to, its
first female president, Cathleen Burk, daughter of Past President and former Circuit
Judge Richard B. Burk. Cathleen Burk went on to win distinction as Lieutenant Governor
of Division Twenty.
The mission of Kiwanis has been through the years, to advance various civic programs.
In order to do this it has been necessary to carry on a number of
fund-raising activities, which have not only provided funds for worthy purposes, but have
united members in organized undertakings which have brought them together in an
atmosphere which increased familiarity and friendship.
The first such fundraiser had its origin with the establishment in 1922 of a program to
care for underprivileged children through a free medical and dental clinic. By 1926 a
broader fund program was decided upon, and a local talent show, the Orange Blossom
Review, was staged. Then in 1960 through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur
Hammerstein a Producers Committee was organized, and it was expanded to include
entertainment celebrities who donated their talents. The series of benefit programs was
presented at then the Paramount Theatre in Palm Beach. Stars of stage and screen
donated their time and talent under the direction of such dignitaries as Oscar
Hammerstein. The roster of performers included pianists Roger Williams, Victor Borge,
Liberace and Trumpeter Al Hurt.
Kiwanis member professionals provided dental care for seven years and led to
construction of a dental clinic building on the grounds of Palm Beach High School, later
known as Twin Lakes High School and, still later Dreyfoss School of the Arts.
A full time dentist and dental assistant, were hired, and the clinic continued to operate
under the supervision of Dr. R.L. Ward, a charter member. The clinic was later absorbed
by the Florida State Health and Welfare agencies.
Member Dr. Jay Powell operated the medical clinic. He performed more than 10,000
tonsillectomies before his death, which signaled the end of the medical clinic.
Since then other notable fundraisers have supplanted the entertainment series.
Twenty-Seven years ago Malcolm McCampbell, aided by Alfred L. (Rappy) Perez organized the
annual Kiwanis Fishing Tournament now known as the West Palm Beach Kiwanis
Offshore Tournament operating out of the Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. The
first Tournament benefited the Boys Club, and several of the boys were taken on charter
boats to fish. It was a day of rough water, and those present remember unsteady limbs
and greenish faces of the benefited boys as seasickness overcame most of them.
The tournament has grown in participation and fund production until it is in the Kiwanis
83nd year, and is the premier fishing tournament in a fishing state, Florida, with Malcolm,
and others still making it grow. It had acquired a valuable co-sponsor in the late Chuck
Muir, owner of a chain of Charlie’s Crab and Chuck and Harold’s restaurants in Palm
Beach and up and down the coast. The restaurants were sold three years ago we are now
partnering with the Sailfish Marina.
The fishing tournament has offered up to $50,000 in prizes in a variety of piscatorial
categories and features a raffle, a new car, sometimes a trip abroad or $10,000 in cash. It
has attracted in the neighborhood of 200 boats each year and has raised in excess of 1
million dollars. The funds now benefit the West Palm Beach Kiwanis Club Scholarship
Foundation and The Arc (formerly The Association for Retarted Citizens of Palm Beach
County).
In the process, up to half the club members have participated, selling sponsorships,
soliciting prizes, instructing fishermen at the pre-tournament captain’s meeting, checking
out boats at the Palm Beach Inlet, selling T-shirts, weighing in tournament fish and
cleaning same for distribution to charitable organizations.
Another fundraiser with a long history is the spring pancake breakfast. The first held at
the American Legion Hall on Okeechobee Boulevard, later razed to prepare for the
development of City Place.
The pancake breakfast moved next to the Methodist Church at Florida and Hibiscus
Street in downtown West Palm Beach later restored to become the Harriet Theatre At
City Place and from there to the First Baptist Church on South Flagler Drive and for two
years at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Trinity Place. We have not held the
pancake breakfast for the last seven years but there has been discussion about reviving
the breakfast.
Herbert (Herb) Gibson, The Elder (as distinguished from son Herbert (Bert) Gibson, later
club president) developed the pancake recipe which has been followed through the years
and remains popular with pancake eaters.
During 1977 Past Presidents Harry Massey and Jim Gallagher wanted to develop a
program that would tie Kiwanis to High School Athletics, in particular Football which
funds all the other Athletic programs at the local High Schools, except Basketball, which
pays for itself. All the other Athletic programs rely on Football for subsidy.
Jim suggested inviting the local High School coaches to attend one of our meetings and
discuss their up coming season and present a City Championship Trophy to the school
with the best record since they all don’t play each other.
Thus the West Palm Beach City Football Championship Trophy was born. It is now
called the West Palm Beach Kiwanis Club City Football Championship.
There is a permanent trophy, which is on display during the school year at the winning
school.
There is a sepeprate trophy, which is the schools to keep in their trophy case.
The presentation is made at the August Roast/Luncheon in front of our club. The forum
asks each coach to address our members and discuss and predict the outcome for the
coming season.
We have also donated to the participating schools for their athletic department. During
2004 we increased the donation to $500.00 for each school. The schools currently
participating are Cardinal Newman High School, Forest Hill High School, Palm Beach
Lakes High School, Central Palm Beach County High School and Kings Academy.
This program has provided a means for our club to interact with the high schools in our
community, their coaches and principals. We have received television and print media
coverage for our club and the schools.
We have on occasion been ask to make the presentation in front of the student body of
the winning school. This year Jim Gallagher and Kathy Burk made the presentation to the King’s
Academy football coach Rob Kirk during halftime at their championship playoff game.
In more recent years Pro Football Great Ken Stone has organized a golf tournament, also
a major money maker in which members participate in sponsorships and hole contest and
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in conducting the dinner/prize ceremonies. The past four years the tournament chairman
has been our current Past President Steve McDermott. The past two years the tournament
has been held at the Miacoo C.C. and Bear Lakes C.C. with over one hundred
participants each year.
Possibly the feature of Kiwanis operations with the most enduring value is the
scholarship program operated by the Kiwanis Foundation which administers most of the
major fund projects.
By year 84 the Kiwanis Foundation has accumulated more than $2 million. The earnings
have been devoted primarily to the scholarship program, which in Year 82 had
paid over $1 million in scholarships to deserving Palm Beach County students. The
scholarship program has a unique feature of following each freshman recipient through
his or her college career as long as he or she maintains an acceptable grade status. This
includes, among others, advanced-degree assistance in the name of members Rudy
Tomasello and the late Past President David Faust.
Members on the scholarship screening committee interview dozens of applicants each
year and award scholarships on the basis of merit and need. The choice of institution is
left to the scholar, and at semi-annual periods throughout the year recipients appear
before the club to accept renewal checks – and tell often heart-warming stories of their
college achievements.
In 1970 the late George C. Barco, honored member, bequeathed approximately a half a
million dollars in assets to the Foundation for scholarship purposes. Since then the corpus
has been expanded by various member contributions, beginning perhaps most notably by
long term member and former secretary Jack Vander Klooster, who made a challenge gift
of $10,000 which members subsequently matched, pushing the Foundation total beyond
the million-dollar mark.
Most notably since then and from 1996 through 2004 Tim Henry, Esquire has
challenged the club members to match gifts he has arranged to be made to the foundation
totaling $165,000.00. He was also responsible for the J. Peter Hoffman bequest of
$315,000 quite remarkable to say the least.
During 2000 Richard Krause was responsible for arranging the Theodore Johnson
Foundation match of $51,000 which our club raised an additional 67,000 for a total of
$118,000 that year. During 2003, Dick also arranged for another $25,000.00 match.
During 2004 Paul Bremer was responsible for donating stock valued at $11,500.00 he
was also responsible for another $20,00.00 match. Our total collection this was
$50,000.00. Paul has also arranged for the Marshal Rinker Foundation to match his
donations up to $10,000.00 each year
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Other members including the McCampbell family and Murray Hamner have also
arranged for matching gifts to the foundation and Cathy Burk has named the foundation
as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy
During 1950 at the urging of then President Rudy Tomesello who was also on the Board
of Directors of the Salvation Army. Our club began manning a Salvation Army Kettle
and rang the bells during the holiday season. We have been at the old Courthouse the new
Courthouse and other locations in the city of West Palm Beach. Jack Waggenor has been
the Chairman for the last eighteen years. Jack moved away last and we were not able to
arrange to collect money last year Over the years we have collected more than
$20,000.00 for the Salvation Army.
The Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach assisted in the financing and development of the
Pony League Baseball Park, has sponsored Little League baseball teams, helped
promote the development of what has become Palm Beach Community College, whose
former long-term President Edward Eissey was the 1965 president of our Club.
Contributions were made also to the creation of Palm Beach Atlantic College and the
Community Mental Health Center now known as the Oakwood Center of the Palm
Beaches.
We currently sponsor three Key Clubs, Palm Beach Lakes High School, The Dreyfoos
School of the Arts and Kings Academy. We also sponsor three Bug Programs at Pleasant
City Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary and Washington Elementary in Riviera Beach.
These Sponsored Youth Programs are currently under the direction of our Sponsored
Youth Program Chairperson Lori Myers and assisted by Dr. Doug Starkey.
Fifty One Years ago and during 1954 we sponsored a new club in the Jupiter area. Now
known as the Kiwanis Club of Jupiter Tequesta. Since then our division has grown to
include thirteen other clubs from Central Palm Beach north to the Martin County line and
west to the Hendry County line. There are now 550 Kiwanians in the Division Twenty
area were I previously served as Lt. Governor during 2003/2004.
The Kiwanis motto is “We Build” a motto that guides members into a wide variety of
community services. We must never forget what Kiwanis has done for most of us over
the years.
