Kiwanis puts spotlight on kids

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February is the month to celebrate love; in Kiwanis, we always celebrate our love of providing service to our communities, especially the kids. A few of us also are off to the Pacific Northwest District Mid-Winter Conference in Yakima later this month – lots of information, learning tracks, meetings, socializing and renewing friendships!

The very talented participants in the Port Townsend Kiwanis Club’s 31st annual Kiwanis Stars of Tomorrow show will shine at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 25 at Port Townsend High School. We are excited to present our own Jefferson County youth offering singing, drama, instrumental music and dance. There will be concessions offered, which this year benefits the Chimacum Band Boosters.

Tickets are sold at the door for $7 to adults and youth older than 12; $5 for children ages 5-11; and free to children younger than 5. Information is available online at starsoftomorrowpt.com. Questions may be directed to the chairperson, Mary Crozier, at 360-531-0200 or

maryc@ptpc.com.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the club’s annual Thomas J. Majhan Teen Leaders Awards is Feb. 10. The Teen Leaders Awards program, in its 15th year, recognizes and honors teens for their community service excellence and outstanding leadership. Nomination criteria and information is available by emailing me as the event chair at

mabozak@gmail.com. The awards ceremony takes place on March 11 at the Elks Club, with many local officials present to hand out the awards to these very deserving teens. This year, we are pleased to have Barbara Carr, administrator for Jefferson County Juvenile and Family Court, as the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

Organizing the annual Kiwanis Golf Tournament benefiting Camp Beausite Northwest has begun in earnest. The new chair for the event is Bill Metzer, and his committee is hard at work locating sponsors and players for the tournament, which will be held on March 31 at the Port Townsend Golf Club. Information about sponsoring, participating or helping can be obtained by contacting him at metzer@olypen.com.

Other club projects on the horizon include the club’s Rock & Roll Party in early April; more on that next month, but save the date of April 7 – it’s a great time! Work is continuing with the club’s new Food Bank Garden, as well as other service projects to benefit the community. Planning will start soon for the annual Brats & Beer event, which happens during Rhody Festival, and the Classic Car Show in August. Always fun things going on with Kiwanis Club of Port Townsend! Let me know if you’d like to join us.

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Anyone interested in joining or obtaining information about the club may visit the website at ptkiwanis.org or send an email to portownsendkiwanis@gmail.com. The club welcomes businesses, organizations and individuals to present a 15- to 20-minute program during the weekly meeting. Please contact program chair Marilou Sullivan at 360-301-1271 or email aboutaccommodations@olympus.net to arrange a date.

Melanie Bozak writes this column monthly as a member of the Port Townsend Kiwanis Club.