The Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg was organized and chartered at a meeting held at Goodwin’s Tavern on May 31, 1949 under the guidance of the Kiwanis Club of Blacksburg and the Lt Governor of the 3rd Division of Capital District Kiwanis International Twenty-six Charter Members of the club were present and they elected Albert R Jones to serve as the club’s first president.

With an annual budget of $600, the club decided that the best way to serve the community was to strive to provide needed services for the young people of Christiansburg Club members agreed that the future of any community depended on the youth and they committed themselves as a civic club to provide the leadership that would benefit the young people and at the same time build a stronger and better community From 1949 to 1952 the newly formed Kiwanis Club worked in many ways to assist local children This included sponsoring a Boy Scout troop, Red Cross Swimming and Life Guard classes, supporting the School Safety Patrol, and sponsoring high school students to attend Girls and Boys State each summer In addition, the Kiwanis Club provided milk, clothing, and medical assistance for needy children, and provided food baskets for families in need at Christmas The club also donated equipment and supplies to the local Rescue and Life Saving Squad; provided assistance and support to the Christiansburg Chamber of Commerce; assisted in the formation of the Ground Observation Corps (Civil Air Patrol); promoted Liberty Bond sales; and held several agricultural appreciation nights at club meetings where local farmers were honored.

The year 1953 is remembered as the beginning of a new era for Christiansburg and a renewed commitment by the Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg to serve the young people of the town That year the club founded the Kiwanis Sandlot Sports Program consisting of football, basketball, and baseball Every young person in the community had opportunity to participate in a sports activity.

The club purchased uniforms for the teams, provided coaches and referees and umpires for games and supervised the sandlot program activities A member of the Kiwanis Club served as director of the sandlot programs Football and baseball were played at the old Christiansburg High School fields and basketball was played in the high school gym The first year, there were four teams in each league with over 150 children participating in the programs In addition to the Sandlot Program, the Kiwanis Club continued to provide financial support to assist needy children and to sponsor Boy Scouts and other civic activities Monies were raised through various club activities supported by the generous people of Christiansburg.

Between 1954 and 1963 the Kiwanis Club continued to concentrate its efforts on an ever expanding youth sports program The programs had become so successful that it became necessary to begin a search for land to build new fields The program had continued to use the high school fields and gym facilities in cooperation with school officials A solution to the problem of land was solved in 1962 when Mr W Ward Teel offered a long-term lease on a piece of property with the stipulation that it would always be used for programs for children The property was located behind the Sealtest plant and thus Kiwanis Park was established JE (Buddy) Earp served as club president and worked to obtain the land Grading was completed and a baseball field was created at the park The first baseball game was played at the park in 1964 Kiwanis cooperated with school officials to allow the high school to use the field for baseball practice and to play home games at Kiwanis Park Today, the facility includes two lighted baseball-softball fields, storage buildings, and restrooms at both fields The park has been expanded to include play areas and a picnic shelter.

In 1954, the Kiwanis Club initiated a Christmas party for underprivileged children that has become a tradition ever since Since its inception, this project has provided an enjoyable Christmas for over 1400 local children and has become an eagerly awaited activity for Kiwanians and the children What better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than to see the joy on the faces of little children.

On February 25, 1960, the Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg sponsored and chartered a Key Club at Christiansburg High School Key Club is the international youth club of Kiwanis Twenty-eight high school students became charter members of that first club Key Club continues to be one of the most active clubs in the high school and many of its members have gone on to establish themselves prominently in the fields of medicine, commerce , law, and industry Many former Key Club members have become outstanding members of Kiwanis.

A group from the Kiwanis Club led by their president, Lance Muir, appeared before Christiansburg Town Council in 1971 to urge the establishment of a town recreation department The town population had grown and Kiwanis was strained to continue the scheduling and supervision of all our youth sports activities This discussion and the meetings that followed led to the creation of the Christiansburg Department of Parks and Recreation with a full time director paid by the town While the new department director and his staff took over the operation of the sandlot programs and developed new programs, the Kiwanis Club continued to provide financial support and to support the maintenance of Kiwanis Park The Recreation Department maintains the fields which many consider to be the best in the New River Valley The fields are in constant use by children and adults and is the home site of many Dixie Youth League baseball and softball tournaments Thousands of citizens use or visit the facilities each year.

The Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg has been able to fund its many projects and provide for an expanded sandlot program through numerous fund raising activities over the years One of the most successful projects for several years was the Kiwanis Follies, a fun-filled evening of entertainment and local talent held annually at the high school For the past thirty-five years the club has sold Christmas trees, sponsored carnivals, chili and pancake suppers, Casino night, car washes, and sold advertisements for the Christiansburg High School Football program as well as other projects too numerous to mention Money has been donated to help build the new CHS Athletic Complex and to provide lighting at the CHS baseball field The club recently contributed $10,000 to help equip the new Christiansburg Recreation Center Our club members work tirelessly to provide monies to fund our many community projects During the last fifty years, the Kiwanis Club has raised and given back to the community over $350,000 This does not include the hundreds of thousands of man hours donated by our members to community projects.

It would be impossible to name each and every member of Kiwanis who has contributed to our success Each member gives a 100% effort often sacrificing time away from their family to help with projects It would be remiss not to mention just a few of those men who have played an important part in establishing the rich heritage of the Christiansburg club Men like Nat Shifflette, who many consider to be the founding father of our club CR (Tad) Workman, Buddy Earp, and Omar Ross were responsible in large measure to the development of the Christiansburg Sandlot Program OD Walker worked tirelessly in selling tickets to many of our club functions and fund raisers Truman Daniel, Richard Ballengee, and Tom Johnson, with over 25 years of service each to the club and Kiwanis Legion of Honor inductees have provided leadership, knowledge and hard work in making our club successful Dan Canada, who puts together our annual carnival, has made it one of our biggest fund-raisers Ernie Wade, whose guidance and leadership has contributed to our obtaining many valuable members These are just a few of the individuals who work together to make our club such a success.

Membership in Kiwanis is open to anyone who has an interest in building a better community and who will dedicate themselves to achieving the goals of Kiwanis There are currently 49 members in the club who meet each Thursday evening at Stone’s Cafeteria.

The Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg has been successful not only because of our hard working members over the years, but also from the tremendous support and encouragement we receive from Christiansburg Town Council, the Christiansburg Department of Parks and Recreation, and the citizens of Christiansburg It is our pledge to continue to be the hardest working civic club in the area and to continue our efforts to build an even better community as we enter the 21st Century.

(Following is the text of the resolution adopted by Christiansburg Town Council)

whereas, the kiwanis club of christiansburg was organized and chartered may 31,1949 by a group of dedicated citizens, and

whereas, from 1949 to 1952 the newly formed kiwanis club worked in many ways to assist local children this included sponsoring a boy scout troop; red cross swimming & life guard classes; and providing milk, clothing, and medical assistance for needy children, and

whereas, in 1963 the kiwanis club, seeing a need to provide the youth of christiansburg a way to participate in sandlot sports, developed kiwanis park on land donated by a citizen, and whereas,

WHEREAS, the Kiwanis Club members in the fifty year existence have contributed over 300,000 dollars and hundreds of thousands of man-hours to community projects and services that have greatly enhanced the quality of life for the community, AND

WHEREAS, in 1970 the Town created a Department of Parks and Recreation at the urging and with the support of the Kiwanis Club, NOW THEREFORE

BE IT RESOLVED by the Town Council of the Town of Christiansburg meeting in regular session on this 4^th day of May, 1999 that the Council commends the Kiwanis Club on the occasion of its Fiftieth Year Anniversary and express its sincere appreciation for its outstanding service to the citizens of the Town

Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Christiansburg this the 4^th day of May 1999

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