As a result of a talk from Joe Bowles, Field Representative, to some eight or ten business men of Emporia, 52 men agreed to organize a Kiwanis Club in Emporia, Virginia A town of about 3000 inhabitants, On June 11, 1923 Joe Bowles presented the charter from Kiwanis International, about 40 members of the sponsoring club Petersburg being present Hellenga, Perkinson and Craig told of the beauties of Kiwanis and gave the new club their pledge that the Petersburg Club would assist them whenever called upon, and since that time their pledge has been carried out in a liberal fashion.

Officers elected for the first term were: President R W Jordan, Vice-President A F Dodd, 2nd Vice-President W P Adams, Treasurer W M Land, Secretary F J Daugherty, Trustee W R Cato.

From the date of the organization until the end of the year the program and procedure of the club was somewhat indefinite The club greed to supply the local high school football team with equipment which was needed and donated $5000 for this purpose In order to stimulate public interest in high school athletics and to give the high school boys encouragement, the Kiwanians closed their shops for one afternoon, persuaded most of the other merchants to do likewise, and attended the game in a body.

The Kiwanis Club for the first time in the history of the town organized, at the suggestion of the various churches, a community Christmas tree celebration, collecting the baskets secured by the churches and other charity organizations and distributed them in as nearly a systematic method as possible.

After drifting from hotel to meeting halls the end of the year found the club established in their own quarters with their own equipment and the ladies' organizations of the town anxious to provide the meals This was accomplished by leasing a hall and remodeling it to suit the purposes of our organization Officers elected for 1924 were: R W Jordan, President; F J Daugherty, Secretary, and W R Cato, Trustee.

The members of the Town Council were our guests at the anniversary meeting We erected Kiwanis road signs, held a charity bazaar, the gross proceeds of which amounted to $2,700, the net proceeds being devoted to our underprivileged child work.

We sent a representative to Savannah, Georgia, to attend a meeting of the Atlantic Coastal Highway Association Co-operated with the Board of Trade in raising one thousand dollars for a Farmers' Day Gave a picnic to Boys' and Girls Clubs made up of farmers' children of the county.

An appropriation of five hundred dollars was made for a dental clinic and five hundred dollars for the care of a crippled child Arranged for a Community Christmas Tree and distributed baskets collected by other organizations Held a Fathers and Sons Night.

We undertook the care of two orphans in the Near East at a cost of $13332 for the year Realized two hundred dollars from the proceeds of a play Entertained the school teachers Solicited sufficient funds to complete the plans of the committee in charge of building playgrounds A delegation from the club donned overalls and erected the playground equipment on the grounds sponsored by the club.

Attended Inter-Club Meetings at Richmond and Weldon, North Carolina Held a baseball game with Weldon Kiwanis Club, the proceeds to go to Near East relief.

Entertained the graduating class, twentyseven in number, of the Greenville County High School Had as guests eleven local division officials of the Southern Railway Company at the time of the visit of its General Manager.

A committee worked with the Town Council to obtain better fire protection Another committee co-operated with the Boy Scouts Put on a play and realized a nice sum.

Entertained twenty-one members of the school faculty Held an all-day meeting at the Hunt Club with the Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club as guests Held a Ladies' Night.

Received Christmas baskets from schools and churches and distributed them to needy families Had a tree and gifts for twentysix orphan girls of the Jackson-Field Home of Jarratt, Virginia, and gave them a moving picture entertainment.

The Public Affairs Committee entertained the town and county officials The Agriculture Committee entertained the members of Greenville County Agricultural Board.

We entertained 13 business men from Lawrenceville, Virginia, to get them acquainted with Kiwanis Offered prizes to the farmers of the community for yields and diversified crops The purpose of this contest was to stimulate interest on the part of the farmers to live at home and raise all food necessities for his family and stock as well as his money crops.

Was host to the Victoria Club Held a Fathers and Sons Night.

Had an orthopedic clinic, the first of a series of monthly clinics arranged by our club At the first clinic 47 cases were examined Many of the children received treatment and one child was sent to the hospital at Richmond This clinic was later named the Vincent Clinic in memory of the late C L Vincent, who was very active in its promotion.

We prepared plans for the improvement and beautification of the railroad depot and adjacent property, agreeing to furnish flowers and shrubbery for the proposed improvements.

We entertained 22 members of the Portsmouth Club who brought the District Loving Cup to us Seventeen of our members accompanied the cup to Petersburg.

We secured the services of Dr Ellis, of Petersburg, to examine and fit glasses to underprivileged children.

Held a joint picnic with the Boys' and Girls' Farm Club Entertained the school teachers of the county at lunch The orphans of the Jackson-Field Home were made glad at Christmas by our Santa Claus and his gifts.

Our clinic for crippled children was held on the second Tuesday of each month during the year In April, we presented a minstrel show and realized $40000 for the crippled children's fund We also raised money for this fund by taking charge of the refreshment car on a Sunday school excursion train to Norfolk A delegation attended the inter-club meeting at Petersburg on May 10 We entertained the high school graduating class on May 31 Our Ladies' Night on September 26 was a great success Jules Brazil was the entertainer and Governor Russell Perkinson favored us with his presence We gave a Christmas party to the children from the Jackson-Field Orphanage Home There was a tree, while each child received a suitable present with a dollar bill attached We induced a new industry to located in Emporia.

Our crippled child clinic was held every month during the year There was an average of about 25 patients in attendance each month The cost for the year was between $650 and $700 We worked on the matter of getting a hosiery mill here, and co-operated in every possible way with the new Chamber of Commerce of Emporia The mill was not secured until 1929.

A drive for funds for our crippled child work realized sufficient money to care for this work for a full year We entertained the County Agricultural Board together with about thirty farmers There were talks by State Agent Farrer, County Agent Rogers and a general get together to welcome our farmer friends The children from the Jackson Orphanage Field Home were entertained at dinner on December 15, and there was a tree and a gift for each of the thirty children present.

Our Crippled Children's Clinic under the care of Dr Thomas Wheeldon of Richmond, aided by the county head officers, was held regularly on the second Monday of each month The funds were secured by a minstrel show given by the Rotary Club of Petersburg The cast included 125 and the show was given without cost to Kiwanis A farmers meeting was held on January 22 A meeting with the Chamber of Commerce proved to be very enjoyable We co-operated in the matter of securing for our town a tapestry mill which moved here from Philadelphia Twenty-six orphans from Jackson Field Home were given a Christmas party with Santa Claus and presents The children contributed to the program with songs and recitations This is an annual affair of our club.

Our Orthopedic Clinic, established in 1926, under Dr Thomas F Wheeldon, of Richmond, has continued to be a great success and help to crippled children, Twelve clinics were held in 1930 with an attendance of 382 Braces and other appliances were furnished in 43 cases and 21 cases received hospitalization This made a total from 1926 to 1930 as follows: attendance 1,465, braces appliances 141, hospitalization 47 Raised $250 with a play and $150 with a baseball game.

Two meetings with our farmer friends presented outstanding agricultural programs and entertainment Cooperated with the Women's Club in the matter of town clean-up and beautification A delegation attended an inter-club meeting at Petersburg The Greenville County 4-H Club met with us at the Hunt Club in a basket picnic Armistice Day was observed with Kiwanian Rev J A Hughes as speaker We entertained the High School football team.

Past Governor Russell Perkinson, and International Representative Franklin Kean addressed two of our meetings We did work along with Vocational Guidance.

Our major activity is the Crippled Childrens Clinic Sponsored by the Emporia Kiwanis club was started in May 1926 The work has been highly satisfactory During 1931, 358 patients were treated and hospitalization Several patients were taken care of Funds for this work were obtained from a Minstrel Show for which we arranged with the Rotary club of Petersburg.

Early in the year, the club cooperated with the Woman's Club in sponsoring the beautification of the town by growing flowers and shrubbery A very marked improvement was noted The-club also sponsored better fire protection, and sent a delegation to the Town Council A joint meeting with the Chamber of Commerce was held in the interest of better fire protection The school officials were entertained by the club, at which time Vocational Guidance was the topic and a very good program was enjoyed.

In August, a meeting was held jointly with the 4-H Club, at the Country Club, where a basket picnic was held This is an annual affair and is enjoyed by all attending.

We attended an inter-club meeting at Hopewell and entertained delegations from Hampton and Newport News, headed by Lieutenant-Governor Elliot Constitution Week was observed Each Christmas the club entertains the orphans of the JacksonField Home in Greenville County with a Christmas tree A present is given to each of the children of the Home by Santa Claus, These gifts are donated by the members of the Kiwanis club.

The club held a monthly clinic for crippled children, which was largely attended, and brought the Rotary Minstrels from Petersburg to put on an entertainment which netted the club $250 for the work of the clinic.

Entertained the teachers from the city and county Host to a delegation from Ashland, Richmond and Petersburg on the occasion of the visit of the LTG and to Norfolk.

No activities reported after April and no report after June.