THE HISTORY OF KIWANIS
Kiwanis is an international service organization founded in Detroit in 1915. The organization is composed of clubs in communities, large and small, in the United States and in many foreign countries.
Okemos and Haslett each have separate school systems which has insured some sense of rivalry over the years. Neither community has a proper town center, due in part to the proximity of the Meridian Mall and associated businesses and restaurants which serve both. Most residents of each community live in organized subdivisions and work in Lansing or East Lansing, large cities only a few minutes away. Meridian Township provides the administrative structure, collects taxes, and provides services, not the least of which is a system of 29 parks and pathways (2021).
Our local Kiwanis club, initially chartered as Haslett-Okemos (1953), which soon became Okemos alone (1959), which then (with Williamston) helped create a parallel Haslett club (1981). The two clubs merged in 2018, forming once again, after a hiatus of 59 years, the Haslett-Okemos Kiwanis Club. A strange odyssey indeed, but one that has provided services and enriched lives in major ways in both communities.
Board Members
- Alanna Harvey, President
- Phil Deschaine, Vice President
- Holly Galovich, President-Elect
- Pam Fraley, Treasurer
- Vic Samuelson, Secretary
- Tom Haas, Trustee
- Jim Galovich, Trustee
- Greg Smith, Trustee