Monday, August 13, 2012

District Convention Inspires EOC Kiwanians to Reach for the Rainbow!

What an amazing weekend to share with so many members of the Kiwanis Club of East Orange County as well as members from around the Florida District of Kiwanis!  The 95th Annual District Convention kicked off on Friday, August 10, 2012 with George Langguth receiving one of five Hall of Fame Awards for his amazing work with Kiwanis.  Our club also was recognized as an Honorable Mention for Club of the Year for 2010-2011.  After enjoying numerous educational workshops, Division 10 gathered at Brio for a wonderful dinner and Divisional Council Meeting hosted by Prairy Riehl. 

Hundreds of Kiwanians braved an early Saturday morning House of Delegates, where several amendments were voted on and our leadership team was elected for the 2012-2013 year.  The newly elected Florida District Officers will be:

District Governor - Allen Whetsell
District Governor-Elect - Matthew Cantrell
District Treasurer - Charles Gugliuzza
Executive Director - Melanie Winternheimer

During the close of House of Delegates, George Langguth also retired from over 25 years of service to the Florida District of Kiwanis.  His farewell speech touched everyone, and he will be greatly missed in the District.

Just 1 Book was also announced as one of the focuses of Kiwanis in 2012-2013.  Sarah Dewitz, founder of Just 1 Book, and her family attended the convention this weekend to educate Kiwanians about the project and bring inspiration to us all.


During Saturday's Board Retirement/Installation Dinner, we celebrated a great 2011-2012 Kiwanis year.  Prairy Riehl was retired as Division 10 Lieutenant Governor, and Todd Smith (Greater Orlando Kiwanis Club) was installed as the 2012-2013 Division 10 Lieutenant Governor.  We thank Prairy for being our SLP champion, and look forward to the new leadership of Todd!

The weekend concluded on Sunday morning at the Memorial Breakfast and Installation of 2012-2013 District Chairs and Foundation Board.  Brent Hambly was installed as K-Kids/Builders Club Chair and Prairy and Jeremy Riehl were installed as Focus Under 40/Long Range Planning Chairs.

The convention has inspired the Kiwanis Club of East Orange County to follow the theme of the new District Governor to "Reach for the Rainbow" and "Make Dreams Come True" in our community!