Hello everyone! What a month April has been. We’ve had freezing, 100 degrees, mega hail, tornado watches, rain, & thunderstorms. We’ve also had some of the most beautiful days that have been a blessing to experience.
Where did April go? University Kiwanis WF HAS BEEN BUSY.
The Easter Egg Hunt was well attended by children but with a new location and lack of volunteers the crowd was hard to control. Thank you Mary Rhodes, John Rhodes, Herbie Marchbanks, Keith Rice, Greg Randolph and Laura Pineiro for being there. Preaching to myself, “Would it have been better if I had been there”? Not likely, but if we all helped out, the event would have been a delightful gift to the children of our community. Sadly the city will not have an Easter Egg Hunt next year. In its place will be a celebration of Spring. Let’s not assume events are covered like I did. Let’s give back to our community when we can and CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE CHILD ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME.
Our new Triple 66 foot Zip Line is finished. University Kiwanis purchased the materials & the City of Wichita Falls Parks Department constructed our latest project. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday April 24th. Some 20+/- students from Cunningham Elementary and three faculty were there. Thank you to Mary Rhodes, John Rhodes, Greg Randolph, Herbie Marchbanks, Susan Marrs, Cathy Dodson, and Keith Rice for being at the ribbon cutting. Thanks to Channel 3 for sharing with our community. It’s a good feeling to watch the grinning kids zip over and over and over!
April 26th, Woody Gossom, John Rhodes, Cathy Dodson, Keith Rice, and myself attended the Region 4 Governor (Bobby Quinton) Visit and Training in Altus, OK. It was delightful to socialize and learn with good folks. I learned the following: Kiwanis Texas Oklahoma District (TO) has 4,927 members and 199 active clubs. There is a new Media/Marketing Committee (M&M Team). We can give memorials to the Governors Project “2025 Special Needs Graduates”. Also, as of August 1, 2025, Kiwanis is updating from “Connect” to “ENGAGE”. Kiwanis members will be able to easily access everything from International and TO Leaders all the way down to our club members. Watch for the latest Bylaws. Invoicing capability is in the near future. E Library will contain programs, disaster relief options, strategies, the district logo, Risk Management info, Youth Protection Training, and post events and pictures, and much more; AND, it is faster. Key Club and Circle K are great resources for the latest marketing venues available. We can use our secretary Susan Mars’s reports to assess our club. We can make our own Spin the Wheel to give out candy, pencils, balloons, etc in our booths and attract the public to step into our space to see what we’re about. We can have KI and TO programs and training via zoom. We should have “where” and “when” we have meetings on EVERYTHING we hand out. We should always invite everyone we serve and do business with potential members. We should offer to partner with retailers that we use and advertise for them in our media. We also have an approved Corporate Membership Package. ALSO, not every member is required to undergo a Kiwanis International Background Check. Only members who are Student Leadership Program Advisors and anyone who goes on overnight trips with students are required to have this extra background check. ALL Kiwanis members must have a TO Background Check. I encourage all of you to attend at least one training or convention just for the experience. It lifts you up, broadens your outlook, and you get the latest resources. I call them Pep Rallies.
Kiwanis Park Concession Stand is being swamped with customers. This is a good thing. All net profits go back to City of Wichita Falls Parks Department to improve our park The Concession Stand will be open until the end of May for the YMCA Baseball League. Thank you Greg Randolph, Susan Marrs, weekly chairs, University Kiwanis WF members and Key Club members. The Key Club is learning to work with the public and receive payments. You are ALL doing a great job!
We had a Short Notice Board Meeting to discuss a request to be PIE Partner from Jessica Young, Cunningham Elementary PIE Partner Coordinator . It was tabled due to lack of knowledge of exactly what entails a PIE Partner. John Rhodes, University Kiwanis WF June Program Chairman, has asked the Wichita Falls Independent School District PIE Partner coordinator, Nicki Davis, to be our program at one of our General Wednesday Club meetings in June, First Christian Church, (across from Midwestern State University), Noon. Ms. Davis has accepted!
We have a social every 5th Wednesday of the month. Our Wednesday meetings are informative and the programs our members bring are educating. (I love to know what is going on in our community). However, we are constrained by time due to members who work and our own busy schedules. The 5th Wednesday Socials are a time to relax and enjoy each others company. Hopefully I will get this to our editor, Jeremy Davis, in time for our 5th Wednesday, April 30th Social at Half Pint Taproom & Restoration Hall, 817 Ohio Ave, 6:00PM. It is “order when and what you want to eat and/or drink and pay for yourself.
We are launching our University Kiwanis Club World Series Competition. Thank you Greg Randolph for the idea and being the commissioner. We drew names and have two teams, Pink Panthers and Blue Devils. I hope this friendly competition will result in getting new members. We would love to have the public join us at Half Pint and see if Kiwanis is a fit for you.
Our Community Services Committee, (Dennis Probst, Chairman, Bill Bosworth, Kathy Probst, Mary Rhodes, Laura Pinero, Mike Luebke, and Greg Randolph) reviewed and selected three of six impressive applications for our Key Club Scholarships. The winners are Giorgio Toffoli (Legacy High School), Trae Donavan Steele (Memorial High School), and Elizabeth King (Legacy High School). Each winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship at our General Meeting, Wednesday, May 7th, Noon, First Christian Church across from Midwestern State University. Their parents are invited to celebrate this success in their children’s lives.
Saturday, August 23, 2025 is Hotter Than Hell bicycle ride. University Kiwanis WF has hosted a rest stop for ???? years. It’s HOT but a fun way to support our community. Come join us under the tent to assist and revive riders. Rumor: A Bicycle Rodeo with Wichita Falls Police Department or Texas Department of Transportation? Teach children safe riding habits. Contact me or Greg Randolph if interested. We could do it in coordination with Hotter Than Hell a month earlier? Just a rumor.
That is all I can think of for now. I wish you all a wonderful May!
Newsletter
MAY, 2025 NEWSETTER
Hello everyone! What a month April has been. We’ve had freezing, 100 degrees, mega hail, tornado watches, rain, & thunderstorms. We’ve also had some of the most beautiful days that have been a blessing to experience.
Where did April go? University Kiwanis WF HAS BEEN BUSY.
The Easter Egg Hunt was well attended by children but with a new location and lack of volunteers the crowd was hard to control. Thank you Mary Rhodes, John Rhodes, Herbie Marchbanks, Keith Rice, Greg Randolph and Laura Pineiro for being there. Preaching to myself, “Would it have been better if I had been there”? Not likely, but if we all helped out, the event would have been a delightful gift to the children of our community. Sadly the city will not have an Easter Egg Hunt next year. In its place will be a celebration of Spring. Let’s not assume events are covered like I did. Let’s give back to our community when we can and CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE CHILD ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME.
Our new Triple 66 foot Zip Line is finished. University Kiwanis purchased the materials & the City of Wichita Falls Parks Department constructed our latest project. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday April 24th. Some 20+/- students from Cunningham Elementary and three faculty were there. Thank you to Mary Rhodes, John Rhodes, Greg Randolph, Herbie Marchbanks, Susan Marrs, Cathy Dodson, and Keith Rice for being at the ribbon cutting. Thanks to Channel 3 for sharing with our community. It’s a good feeling to watch the grinning kids zip over and over and over!
April 26th, Woody Gossom, John Rhodes, Cathy Dodson, Keith Rice, and myself attended the Region 4 Governor (Bobby Quinton) Visit and Training in Altus, OK. It was delightful to socialize and learn with good folks. I learned the following: Kiwanis Texas Oklahoma District (TO) has 4,927 members and 199 active clubs. There is a new Media/Marketing Committee (M&M Team). We can give memorials to the Governors Project “2025 Special Needs Graduates”. Also, as of August 1, 2025, Kiwanis is updating from “Connect” to “ENGAGE”. Kiwanis members will be able to easily access everything from International and TO Leaders all the way down to our club members. Watch for the latest Bylaws. Invoicing capability is in the near future. E Library will contain programs, disaster relief options, strategies, the district logo, Risk Management info, Youth Protection Training, and post events and pictures, and much more; AND, it is faster. Key Club and Circle K are great resources for the latest marketing venues available. We can use our secretary Susan Mars’s reports to assess our club. We can make our own Spin the Wheel to give out candy, pencils, balloons, etc in our booths and attract the public to step into our space to see what we’re about. We can have KI and TO programs and training via zoom. We should have “where” and “when” we have meetings on EVERYTHING we hand out. We should always invite everyone we serve and do business with potential members. We should offer to partner with retailers that we use and advertise for them in our media. We also have an approved Corporate Membership Package. ALSO, not every member is required to undergo a Kiwanis International Background Check. Only members who are Student Leadership Program Advisors and anyone who goes on overnight trips with students are required to have this extra background check. ALL Kiwanis members must have a TO Background Check. I encourage all of you to attend at least one training or convention just for the experience. It lifts you up, broadens your outlook, and you get the latest resources. I call them Pep Rallies.
Kiwanis Park Concession Stand is being swamped with customers. This is a good thing. All net profits go back to City of Wichita Falls Parks Department to improve our park The Concession Stand will be open until the end of May for the YMCA Baseball League. Thank you Greg Randolph, Susan Marrs, weekly chairs, University Kiwanis WF members and Key Club members. The Key Club is learning to work with the public and receive payments. You are ALL doing a great job!
We had a Short Notice Board Meeting to discuss a request to be PIE Partner from Jessica Young, Cunningham Elementary PIE Partner Coordinator . It was tabled due to lack of knowledge of exactly what entails a PIE Partner. John Rhodes, University Kiwanis WF June Program Chairman, has asked the Wichita Falls Independent School District PIE Partner coordinator, Nicki Davis, to be our program at one of our General Wednesday Club meetings in June, First Christian Church, (across from Midwestern State University), Noon. Ms. Davis has accepted!
We have a social every 5th Wednesday of the month. Our Wednesday meetings are informative and the programs our members bring are educating. (I love to know what is going on in our community). However, we are constrained by time due to members who work and our own busy schedules. The 5th Wednesday Socials are a time to relax and enjoy each others company. Hopefully I will get this to our editor, Jeremy Davis, in time for our 5th Wednesday, April 30th Social at Half Pint Taproom & Restoration Hall, 817 Ohio Ave, 6:00PM. It is “order when and what you want to eat and/or drink and pay for yourself.
We are launching our University Kiwanis Club World Series Competition. Thank you Greg Randolph for the idea and being the commissioner. We drew names and have two teams, Pink Panthers and Blue Devils. I hope this friendly competition will result in getting new members. We would love to have the public join us at Half Pint and see if Kiwanis is a fit for you.
Our Community Services Committee, (Dennis Probst, Chairman, Bill Bosworth, Kathy Probst, Mary Rhodes, Laura Pinero, Mike Luebke, and Greg Randolph) reviewed and selected three of six impressive applications for our Key Club Scholarships. The winners are Giorgio Toffoli (Legacy High School), Trae Donavan Steele (Memorial High School), and Elizabeth King (Legacy High School). Each winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship at our General Meeting, Wednesday, May 7th, Noon, First Christian Church across from Midwestern State University. Their parents are invited to celebrate this success in their children’s lives.
Saturday, August 23, 2025 is Hotter Than Hell bicycle ride. University Kiwanis WF has hosted a rest stop for ???? years. It’s HOT but a fun way to support our community. Come join us under the tent to assist and revive riders. Rumor: A Bicycle Rodeo with Wichita Falls Police Department or Texas Department of Transportation? Teach children safe riding habits. Contact me or Greg Randolph if interested. We could do it in coordination with Hotter Than Hell a month earlier? Just a rumor.
That is all I can think of for now. I wish you all a wonderful May!
Kathy Probst, President
University Kiwanis WF
Upcoming events
Mike Battaglino Joined 2023
Speaker: Officer Arries from citizen's police academy
Club Business Meeting
Speaker: John Henderson County Sheriff Deputy
Speaker: Jason, County Sheriff Dept.
Nikki Davis - Partners in Education (PIE)
Club Business Meeting
Jack Browne - Times Record News columnist
Mark Schmalzried - Booze Fighters Volunteer Group
Division 18 Lt. Gov. Keith Rice
Club Business Meeting
Anthony Watkins The ARC of Wichita County
Club Social - TBA