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In 1919 the young men returning to their homes after the World War felt the need of an organization in the town of Martinsville that had as its main object the advancement of the community interests of the town The consolidation of the potential possibilities found in the serious and concerted efforts along municipal lines, a saner town government conducted with the greatest possible results with the least possible expense With this thought in mind, the Young Men's Business Association was perfected and for about a year and a half did for the town of Martinsville what no other organization had been able to accomplish. In 1920 the Young Men's Business Association recognized that though the town's business men it was possible to have an organization composed of all branches of commercial and professional business who would forget their petty differences and fight for the community interest, yet this organization lacked a bigger something To which it could anchor and hold together those who had a tendency to drift It was decided to investigate the various civic organizations of national or international reputation with a view of organizing for this town The committee recommended the Kiwanis Club as being the one best suited for a town of this size Kiwanis International was communicated with and their Field Representative George Selig met the members of the Young Men's business Association and explained what Kiwanis stood for and what it would mean to a town of this size At this meeting it was decided to organize Teams were put to work to secure 50 businessmen in as many different lines of business as possible to become charter members Some doubted the possibility of securing that many men, particularly since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary it had been impossible to secure even a baker's dozen to join an organization of this nature with, for this town, such a large charter fee But they had reckoned without the Young Men's Business Association, whose members in less time than that alloted them by Mr Selig had the requisite number of names for a charter. A temporary organization was perfected, with T G Burch, President Later these officers were made permanent officers of the organization for 1921 The Young Men's Business Association was disbanded and became absorbed by the new Kiwanis Club of Martinsville, the organization being completed March 14, 1921, and the charter presented May 26, 1921. The Kiwanis Club found the field well prepared and cultivated for an extensive program of municipal betterment Due to the splendid work of the Young Men's Business Association the time was ready for better streets and the minds of the citizens were ready for the question of a bond issue for such improvements The bond issue was carried and today Martinsville is out of the mud and has seven miles of bitulithic streets. The county had not held a fair for several years; the Kiwanis Club got behind the project and held in 1921 exhibits in one of the garages of the town These exhibits were composed mainly of chickens, hogs and pigs and a few products fruit, vegetables and canned goods, the work of the Boys and Girls Clubs In a small way this was so successful that the Kiwanis Club organized the Henry County Fair, Inc, and in the year 1922 held on the fair grounds of the town one of the biggest and most successful fairs this county has ever had. From bitulithic streets for the town to improved highways for the county is not such a far reach The Kiwanis Club went to work, launched and carried a successful campaign for a county bond issue for schools and roads and today the County of Henry is out of the mud and has handsome new school buildings. 1922 One of the outstanding accomplishments of this year was the connecting of Martinsville with the growing town of Fieldale with a hard surface thirty foot road 1923 The Kiwanis Club has kept the pace set by the two preceding administrations The club has continued to foster its protege, the Henry County Fair, Inc, which is putting on during the week of October 16 an even bigger and better exhibition than last year The club also continued the work for the completion of the hard surface road to Fieldale raising the funds required for construction under the Robinson Act, and celebrated its opening at a meeting at Fieldale, August 28, 1923 We have co-operated with the Roanoke Kiwanis Club in efforts to secure a hard surfaced road from Rocky Mount to Roanoke, our committee having made several trips to Roanoke and Richmond with committees from Roanoke and Rocky Mount on this project Construction on this road is under way At the International Convention in Atlanta our club had the largest delegation of Kiwanians from the Capital District The club has gotten in closer touch this year than ever before with neighboring clubs, having taken part in several inter-club meetings here and in neighboring cities Our District Trustee, Tom Burch, is working up plans now to plant Kiwanis clubs in two neighboring towns An attempt to organize at Brookneal was unsuccessful, not because the fellows there did not want Kiwanis, but because the town was not large enough to support a club Our visit resulted in the organization of a Young Men's Business Association, one of whose purposes will be to make the town large enough for Kiwanis Among the meetings of special interest this year were a Brunswick Stew in an outlying section of the county, at which 500 farmers were guests of the club; Teachers' Night, entertaining all teachers in the city schools; Boy Scout Night, Father and Son Night Our club has underwritten a subscription of $1000 for the Children's Home Society of Virginia 1924 We arranged a citizens meeting to start a co-operative building and loan association Invited out-of-town speakers to address the citizens on the town manager form of government and held a special meeting of the club to discuss this subject Raised subscriptions of $11,000 to induce a new industry to locate in Martinsville Held a fair-booster meeting of the club, inviting forty as supper guests Entertained the Retail Merchants Endorsed the Intermediate Agricultural Credit Bank and solicited subscriptions for stock of same We started a campaign for funds for a Crippled Children's Hospital A committee of this club assisted in the organization of a Kiwanis club at Leaksville-Spray, North Carolina The Public Affairs Committee secured a change of train schedule on the D & W Railway, to the benefit of this section A special committee reported subscriptions of $2,274 for the Children's Home Society of Virginia 30 members attended a supper of the Kiwanis Club of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, held in our honor We entertained 1200 to 1500 farmers at barbecue in the interest of better relations between town and county Held a Fair Boosters supper, at which the honorary Vice-Presidents of the Henry County Fair, a community project sponsored by our club, were guests 1925 We appointed a committee to co-operate with a committee of the local Retail Merchants Association in advertising Martinsville as a trading center Appointed a committee to confer with the City Council in regard to electric power control and additional lighting facilities for the city Adopted weekly meetings Received the District Loving Cup from Roanoke and delivered it to the Salem Club Arranged a free moving picture entertainment for the District Convention of the Virginia State Teachers Association Entertained the Vice-Presidents from the rural sections of the Henry County Fair Acted as Host Club on Inter,-Club Day Cooperated actively in putting on a most successful campaign in Henry County for a Greater Virginia Through Education We entertained the girls in attendaneb at an agricultural short course Had Employer Employee Night with 39 superintendents and foremen as supper guests Played a baseball game with LeaksvilleSpray, North Carolina, Club, after which the visiting team and rooters were our guests at supper Provided transportation and soft drinks to Chautauqua program for fifty girls attending agricultural short course Entertained the members of the Town Council We had the Martinsville baseball club at our meeting of August 6 Our Public Affairs Committee undertook the raising of funds to supplement town funds to hard surface the approach to Martinsville from the north We organized a County Agricultural Council of leading farm men and women and business men About sixty farmers were our guests when the organization was perfected A committee co-operated with a Masonic committee to secure a location for the Masonic Home A Kiwanis committee solicited membership in the business section for the Parent Teachers Association with good results We entertained the Honorary Vice-Presidents of the Henry County Fair During fair week, in lieu of our regular meeting, each Kiwanian was assigned an underprivileged child to take to the fair Attended the celebration of the opening of Roanoke-Rocky Mount road Contributed fifty dollars and helped with the arrangements for a Community Tree and the distributions of Christmas baskets 1926 We raised $600 in one week to provide school playground equipment Raised funds for Shenandoah National Park The four meetings in March were devoted to discussions of Henry County public schools, representative teachers, patrons, pupils and school officers from the several sections of the county were guests of the club at these meetings, giving us their ideas of the needs of the schools Nine members of the club attended the Inter-Club Meeting at South Boston, Virginia We raised funds for our crippled child work Sponsored the formation of a Kiwanis Club at Bassett, Virginia The club put on a radio program at the Richmond broadcasting station on October 21 The program consisted of modern and old time music and a short sketch of the history of Henry County and Martinsville industries We attended a Martinsville-Bassett-Fieldale meeting of the business men of these communities which was held at Fieldale, Virginia Raised five hundred dollars for the purpose of distributing Christmas baskets in our town and county 1927 We sponsored a Boy Scout Troop and held an entertainment for them Donated scales for health work in the public schools and donated $2500 to help in the county athletic meet We donated sufficient money to pay for toxin-antitoxin so that each school child in Henry County could be given this dyptberia preventive The Bassett Club was our guest on April 21st We held an attendance contest with the Kiwanis Club of Leaksville, North Carolina, and lost To pay our obligations we entertained them at the Roundabout Club near Martinsville Through the efforts of our club a new silk industry was secured for our city The members of the State Convention of the D A R were given a luncheon 15 county farmers attended our December meeting to hear Mr James Speed of the Southern Agriculturist 1928 Members contributed ten cents a week for the benefit of our crippled child fund The V P I Minstrels raised $600 for this work The tickets sold from $1 up Some bought $10 and one $23 Rora Wilson sold 100 tickets at $250 each Clubs at Bassett and Martinsville each organized a baseball team, one game being played in each city, the proceeds going to underprivileged child work A good deal of effort was expended in the attempt to secure new industries for our town We were successful in bringing the following to Martinsville: silk mill, weaving, etc; underwear garment manufactory (cloth); and silk garment manufactory We also worked on the matter of developing the dairy industry in this immediate section Our Public Affairs Committee issued pamphlets giving valuable data relative to Martinsville, its industries, schools, churches, population, growth, climate, etc Besides the inter-club meetings with Bassett in connection with the baseball games, 20 members attended Lynchburg and 30 met with Danville We entertained the Rotary Club and had a visit from LTG J R Adams Our annual Ladies' Night was held on December 13 1929 We sponsored a re-organization of a Boy Scout troop The Kiwanis Anniversary was suitably observed 36 undernourished public school children were furnished a quart of milk each day This resulted not only in a gain of weight and general health but also in a general improvement in their school work The Committee on Vocational Guidance arranged for a number of speakers in the schools of the county We had a prominent part in arranging a celebration of the completion of a hard surfaced road north of Martinsville, linking us with the north and south highway We hosted 16 members of the Bassett Club on June 6 The club entertained members of the Virginia Press Association upon their visit to our city on July 20 2 out-of-town meetings were held in August, with the farmers as guests We secured for Martinsville a Salvation Army post and raised $400 37 public school teachers attended a meeting on November 14 We entertained the Martinsville Rotary Club A charity ball was given to raise funds for the underprivileged child work and $175 was realized Fifteen members visited the Roanoke Club on December 11 1930 The Under privileged Child Committee paid for the removal of tonsils from 2 small children All Division 2 clubs attended a meeting with LTG Samuel Stephens presiding Donation was made to the Christmas Tree Fund 1931 In January, tile club raised a fund of $8500 to loan a young girl to enable her to complete her business course In the Sallie month, we had tonsil and adenoid operations performed oil tell children whose parents were unable to have the same performed The cost of these operations was $150 We celebrated the tenth anniversary of our club when members of the Bassett club were with us and Governor Plummer was the speaker One hundred dollars was provided for playground equipment The Public Affairs Committee appeared before the City Council and successfully urged the installation of traffic lights 1932 The club furnished 16 under-nourished school children with a pint of milk, a sandwich and a bowl of soul) a day during the school session, and furnished several T and A operations The club put on a safety program It entertained the graduating class of 33 of the High School It had a speaker to ex-plain the recent acts of the legislature The club has been trying to have the Govern-ment Veterans Hospital located at Martinsville, and it has favored a Community Chest A delegation from Roanoke put on the program at one meeting Sixteen members attended an inter-club meeting at Danville 1933 The club continued giving sixteen School children milk, soup and sandwiches It gave two musicals during the year to raise money for the under-privileged work The club sponsored a curl market for farm products and furnished 15 tables for this purpose It entertained the graduating class of the High School at one meeting and at another was host to all the teachers in the town The District Governor and the Lieutenant-Governor were entertained at a large inter-club meeting with delegations from Roanoke and Danville A joint meeting with Rotary was held and also a successful Ladies Night 1934 Sponsored a Lowell Thomas lecture for its welfare fund Furnished during the school session 10 pints of milk The club had a joint Ladies Night with Rotary club It celebrated Kiwanis Anniversary and sent delegates to the Mid Winter Conference and the District Convention 1935 The club furnished lunches for 14 U P Children in the school It entertained the senior class of the High School it had a program on Vocational Guidance put on by students from their point of view The club entertained 36 teachers and school officers It also succeeded in bringing a new industry to town Visited Danville and Lynchburg, held a Ladies Night and entertained the LTG < 1936 The club planned and organized a Nutrition Camp for U P Children, and organized an eye clinic It played Donkey Baseball with Bassett for its U P Child Fund It sponsored the Boy Scouts Four troops were organized with 100 taking Tenderfoot tests and 16 Second Class The club entertained the four troops at Fairy Stone Park It gave a benefit minstrel for this work It entertained 45 High School graduates The club conferred with the NYA planning permanent Vocational Guidance for the community It put on a Safety Campaign offering a Loving Cup to the most careful driver It studied the advisability of having a Community Chest and organized it and had the budget of $800 for Boy Scouts included It also cooperated with the Salvation Army It was host to Bassett and Danville and carried the Golden Rule to Bassett It celebrated its own Anniversary and was represented at the Division Meeting, the District Convention and the training school for club officers 1937 The club sponsored a Roman Baseball Game for its U P Child Work It aided the Clinic for better health of U P Children, furnished glasses for one child, made a survey of U P Children and recommended nineteen boys for whom members of the club acted as buddies The club sponsored Scouting, held a meeting devoted to Boy Scout Work, saw to it that the Scout organization received $800 from the Community Chest Fund of $10,000 raised in a drive aided by the club It also held a Boy Scout Rally attended by 150 Scouts from its own and nearby towns It also had a program put on by 4-H Club boys and girls The club worked with the schools in the interest of Vocational Guidance, and its members had individual conferences with a number of boys and girls to aid them in the choice of vocations The club entertained the officials of the Soil Erosion Camp, aided the town in obtaining Federal aid for a new armory, held a meeting at a CCC Camp and put on the program, and held meetings featuring Social Security, Law, Labor, and Local Government The club was host to Danville and to Bassett when the latter delivered the Log, and carried the Log to Danville The club also visited Roanoke on the occasion of the visit of the International President The club trained its officers, field a program on Kiwanis Education, entertained the District Governor and was represented at the Mid-Winter Conference and the Division Meeting 1938 Raised $140 for under privileged child work by a Minstrel Show Entertained 31 underprivileged children at 3 supper meeting at the rifle range, and contributed $25 toward an artificial leg for a child The club attended two Inter-Clubs at Danville and Bassett Held a joint meeting with Rotary and the B and P Women's
Club, and a Ladies' Night 1939 The club had a Program on underprivileged child work The club was instrumental in bringing Virginia State Seed Show to Martinsville, and contributed to the expense of the show It also had one program devoted to Agriculture Club held an inter-club meeting for Division 2 with representatives from Danville, Lynchburg, Bassett and Crewe honored guests were District Governor, the District Secretary and the LG The club had two Ladies' Nights A joint meeting of 133 people with Rotary, the Business Professional Women's Club, the Retail Merchants and the Bassett Club 1940 The Club put on the collins Festival netting $300 for underprivilegd child fund Nine children were fitted with glasses, performed 3 T and A operations, and financed 3 serious operations. The club was instrumental in bringing to Martinsville a $11,000,000 duPont Plant for the manufacture of nylon. 1941 Sponsored a Musical Festival that netted $500 for the underprivileged child fund. The club celebrated Kiwanis Anniversary, and was represented at the Training School for Club Officers and at the International and the District Conventions 1942 The club got together about $800 for underprivileged child work Its accomplishments were a picnic, with supervised play for 200 children, two cases of hospitalization, 5 cases of eye examination and glasses, one tonsil operation, one case of dental care, a $25 payment for an artificial leg, $250 donated to the Milk Fund, and 1 ton of fertilizer for Victory Gardens, which produced more than 3,000 units for underprivileged children. The club, as usual, entertained the High School Seniors The Scout work was sponsored by the club, and at one meeting an Eagle Scout spoke oil the value of this aid to the Scouts and their appreciation of it. During the Scrap Metal Drive, conducted locally by the club 30 leading farmers were invited to a dinner meeting with city representatives for the purpose of making this drive a joint city-county enterprise. War Bonds to the amount of $102,000 have been bought by club members. The club had programs on Kiwanis Education, entertained the LG, and was represented at the Training School for Club Officers and at the International and the District Conventions. 1943 The club furnished glasses for three children; paid for operation correction of eves for one child; and tonsilectoinies for four children; contributed $2,50 to Perinx-a Bottle Milk Fund; a blood transfusion for one child; contributed $5 for Christmas donation for children committed to State Bureau of Public Welfare; and sponsored a Children Nursery for working mothers at a cost of $1,153. Sponsored Boy Scout work in the city, and provided two excellent programs; one, on Scouting, a dramatic sketch staged by local Scouts; the other, a Court of Honor ceremony. The club secured from high school students their idea, of what the community owes its young people in the way of jobs, recreational facilities, etc, and has undertaken a program to meet the needs, so far as possible; and also to furnish, to the High School, speakers competent to ad6se in the field of vocational guidance. It sponsored the sale of War Bonds and Stamps for the inonth'of August, exceeding the quota by approximately 21%, participated in the Civic Council, which is coniposed of representatives of all civic organizations, for the formulation of plans for civic betterment, and sent 110,000 cigarettes to the boys in the armed forces. Inter-club to the Danville Club Held several Kiwanis Education meetings, was represented at the District Convention and the Training School for Club Officers, and December 31 had 10 members in the armed forces. 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 In cooperation with the Bassett club, sponsored the annual Southern Piedmont junior Dairy Cattle Show raising funds to carry on the show in which there were 132 entries; awarded prizes in the corn growing contest and 35 certificates for improvement in pasturage. Held the annual Farmers Night with 27 farmers as guests; set up and put into operation a College Loan Fund; held a Career Clinic for High School juniors and seniors at which 27 representatives from 18 fields discussed their work and answered questions as to required training, qualifications and rewards; entertained the senior class and its sponsors at a regular luncheon; sponsored a Little League football team and a six-man football team at a total cost of $500; sponsored a window painting contest at Halloween, giving eight prizes totaling $50; helped organize a new Scout Troop, taking part in hikes, camping trips and the camporee, and in raising funds for Scout work; organized a Key Club in the High School and financed sending delegates to the Key Club Convention in Miami; arranged and decorated an effective booth, stressing the preeminence of the spiritual values, at the Henry County Exposition; supervised the Lee Ford Camp property, maintaining and improving it at a cost of $1,760, and gave a two weeks camping trip to twenty-three worthy boys at a cost of $476; continued its clinic, furnishing medical and dental care and hospitalization at a cost of $81325; made Christmas donations of $116; staged the Annual Henry County Exposition, netting $4,200 for the clubs underprivileged child work. 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1969 - 1970 1970 - 1971 1971 - 1972 1972 - 1973 1973 - 1974 1974 - 1975 1975 - 1976 1976 - 1977 1977 - 1978 1978 - 1979 1979 - 1980 1980 - 1981 1981 - 1982 1982 - 1983 1983 - 1984 1984 - 1985 1985 - 1986 1986 - 1987 1987 - 1988 1988 - 1989 1989 - 1990 1990 - 1991 1991 - 1992 1992 - 1993 1993 - 1994 1994 - 1995 1995 - 1996 1996 - 1997 1997 - 1998 1998 - 1999 1999 - 2000 2000 - 2001 2001 - 2002 Year End: 28 Projects completed, 410 Service Hours, $973 Spent, 0 Interclubs 2002 - 2003 Year End: 24 Projects completed, 78 Service Hours, $732 Spent, 0 Interclubs 2003 - 2004 Year End: 46 Projects completed, 179 Service Hours, $300 Spent, 3 Interclubs 2004 - 2005 Contribution to Tsusami Relief through KI Foundation $850 Year End: 41 Projects completed, 167 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 2 Interclubs 2005 - 2006 Year End: 34 Projects completed, 200 Service Hours, $1,500 Spent, 2 Interclubs 2006 - 2007 Year End: 10 Projects completed, 12 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 2 Interclubs 2007 - 2008 Year End: 8 Projects completed, 31 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 0 Interclubs 2008 - 2009 Year Ends: 0 Projects completed, 0 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 0 Interclubs 2009 - 2010 Year End: 0 Projects, 0 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 0 Interclubs, $0 CD Foundation 2010 - 2011 Year End: 0 Projects, 0 Service Hours, $0 Spent, 3 Interclubs, $0 CD Foundation 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 2013 - 2014 2014 - 2015 2015 - 2016 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019 2019 - 2020 2020 - 2021 |