The weekend of August 4 – 6, 2023 was the Louisiana, Mississippi, West Tennessee District convention held in Lafayette, La. Attending from the Winnfield Kiwanis club were President Kim Futrell, President-Elect Margaret Coon, Secretary Treasure Dr. Bill Gaddis and Mary Lou Blackley. The opening session was Friday, August 4th at 5 PM. We heard from representatives from the district Circle K, Key Club and K-Kids. The keynote speaker was Warren Perrin, founder of the Acadian Museum, who spoke on the history of the Acadians being deported from Nova Scotia to south Louisiana resulting in what we call “Cajuns” today. On Saturday Dr. Gaddis was in charge of a breakfast for Past District Officers. Then there was a general session as well as a basket raffle to raise money for the district foundation.
The service project (Mable’s Table) was set up as well to put together food kits for children in the local schools. The rest of the morning featured different breakout sessions about membership, grants from the foundation, service, new clubs, leadership, etc. The Fellowship Luncheon began at 12:30 PM. It included an address by Gary Jander our 2023-24 Kiwanis International Counselor. There was a report on Mable’s Table. The awards for Lawman of the Year, Firefighter of the Year, Teacher of the Year were announced. The winners of the gift baskets were posted and $5326 was raised by the foundation through this event.
There was another breakout session after lunch. The House of Delegates and Annual meeting began at 4 PM to elect the Governor and Governor Elect for the next term. There were also amendments to be voted on. Later in the day there was the Governor’s Saturday night party. Sunday morning included a prayer breakfast and the closing session. Next year’s district convention will be held in Tupelo, Ms.
