On March 28, 1977, sponsored by the Greensburg Kiwanis, the Batesville Kiwanis Club was chartered. A member of Indiana’s Farmland Division, the club began with 30 members, meeting at “Red’s Oasis”, a storied local establishment. Four of our current members (Ralph Craig, Al Geis, Dennis Harmeyer, & Ham Struewing) were part of that original group. We currently meet at the Sherman House Restaurant & Inn on Tuesday mornings at 6:30 a.m. Although the wives of our members have always been an important part of our success, our first female member was inducted into the club in 2007 and the club has also had four members (Al Geis, Dennis Harmeyer, Bob Fitzpatrick & Jerry Brelage) serve as Lieutenant Governor. Bob is preparing to serve a second term during the coming year.
In a little over thirty years, this small club, currently with 43 dedicated individuals, have worked together to provide numerous positive improvements for local children and the community of Batesville as well. A few of the note worthy accomplishments include sponsoring the Cubs Scouts, Batesville Soccer and KSLA. In 1977, before soccer was mainstream, the club, under the leadership of the late Bill Gillespie, organized, funded and ran the Batesville Soccer Program until 1991, turning responsibility over to the newly formed Batesville Soccer Club, which today sustains the program for the children of over 600 families. In 2000 the club, under the guidance of Jerry Brelage, created KSLA or the Kiwanis Student Leadership Academy. High school students spend a weekend together learning leadership qualities from professionally trained facilitators and participating in exercises to reinforce these principals. Then, during the school year, those students are required to plan and complete several projects throughout that year based on the training they received. In 2007, the state office for the Indiana Kiwanis adopted a similar program for clubs around the state to implement.
During the year, the club sponsors or assists with several projects in which the proceeds are donated to local organizations. Additionally, we hold two major fund raising events (our Spring Carnival & Applefest in the fall) each year which allow us to fund our many programs we support and scholarships we award. Although Kiwanis is known for its focus on improving the lives of children, in recent years, we’ve begun to help provide for the needs of our senior population as well.
If our club had an official motto, it could well be “Quality, Not Quantity.” We are not among the large Kiwanis Clubs in membership and considered young at just over 30 years of existence but, because of our members, we have been able to accomplish some impressive achievements, helping to improve the quality of life for the young and old alike in the Batesville Community. Contact us if you’re interested in making a difference.
