The Putnam County Kiwanis Club joined members of the Kiwanis’ Key Club at Putnam County High School on Friday morning to celebrate 100 years of service by Kiwanis within the county.
Joining Putnam County Charter School System Superintendent Derick Austin and Assistant Superintendent Scott Sauls were three-time past Eatonton club president Tom Rosseter, current Key Club President and PCHS student Carolyn Thomas, and Kiwanis Georgia District Governor David Simmons.
“To me, it’s all about improving our communities and helping people in need,” said Simmons, whose one-year term as governor extends to October this year. It’s the small things to me that I think make the biggest difference. I remember being here and they had some Christmas cards out … so, I started signing the cards and asked, ‘Who are we giving the cards to?’ And they said, ‘Well, we’re taking them to the local nursing home because unfortunately there are some people there, that for whatever reason, their families are unable to visit them much.’
“So, making a small difference with things like that, letting people know that somebody’s out there that’s thinking about them, that’s the simple little things that Kiwanis and Key Club do to make a difference,” Simmons added.
Rosseter recalled helping the PCHS Key Club get established during his final tenure as the local Kiwanis Club president, about a dozen years ago.
“I’ve watched it all come together, and now it is amazing what they do because the Key Club is the largest youth leadership organization in the world,” Rosseter said. “And this one at Putnam [High School] is one of the largest clubs you’ll find in the state of Georgia.
“And these kids, they are amazing,” he continued. “They show up; they do everything; they do things in the community, and they have really come full circle from a little group to right now. They’re a force to be reckoned with in this community.”
PCHS principal Dr. Andrew Cooper also expressed admiration for his school’s Key Club shortly after ice cream and a large 100-year birthday cake were divvied up among approximately 50 PCHS Key Club members and a dozen or more Kiwanis visitors.
“They’re a great group of kids and I’m really proud of them for all the things they do,” Cooper said of the Key Club’s activities, which mostly extend to the greater Putnam County area.
Thomas also addressed the visiting dignitaries as well as her peers, saying she hopes everyone involved continues their public service efforts after graduating from high school.
Simmons stressed he couldn’t be prouder of the work and effort put forward by PCHS Key Club members.
“Of course, we have adults involved and you have a school sponsor and a club sponsor, but they’re really there just for guidance,” Simmons pointed out. “Everything a Key Club does comes from those students deciding what need they saw and addressing it. Because, let’s be honest, what I might perceive as a need, being somebody in my late 50s versus what a 17-year-old is going to perceive, it’s probably going to be a lot different.
“So, it does no good for me to walk in and say, ‘Y’all need to be doing this.’ We’re really just there to say, if they come up with an idea, ‘Okay, that’s possible, but how are you going to do that, how are you going to fund it?’ We’re just here for guidance and things like that, and this program here is a great example of how it should work.”