Va. Bankers Association CEO addresses Nov. 1 meeting

Bruce Whitehurst, president and CEO of the Virginia Banker's Association addressed our club at the Nov. 1 meeting.  Whitehurst touched on the subjects such as the causes of the mortgage meltdown and the scope of regulatory reform banks now face.   He noted that the 2,319 page Dodd-Frank Act had no reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or of the ratings agencies, two causes of the collapse.  The act did address subprime lending, but the "markets had already figured that out."  He also warned that this act could cause prices for consumers to rise as companies' compliance costs will rise, options will be limited and also price controls will be instituted.  

Photos from our golf tournament

Our 11th annual golf tournament to benefit Camp Littlehawk was a huge success raising approximately $40,000 for the summer camp and was featured in the Times-Dispatch.  We have posted some of the pictures below.  There are many more pictures, check out our Facebook page to see more.  Search "Kiwanis Club of Richmond."

We would like to congratulate our winning team from KPMG with a winning net score of 46!!

Radio at War

At our Oct. 18 meeting, the club heard from two voices of Richmond radio speak about "radio at war" and their experiences broadcasting overseas during times of conflict.
WRVA's Paul Bottoms and 107.3-FM's Tony Booth, who both broadcast for the Armed Forces Radio Network during their time in the military, talked about the censorship they encountered during their broadcasts and also the "pirate radio" station that would pop up on frequencies supposedly reserved for emergency communications.

For example, they could never say they "napalm", but could refer to it as an "incendiary device."  Bottoms said they couldn't mention the invasions of Laos and Cambodia or drug use among troops and had to refer to South Vietnam as the Republic of Vietnam.   Some of Paul Harvey's broadcasts would have to be edited before going out over the air.  The two also said their edited reports added to confusion for soldiers as they would also receive newspapers from home telling different sides of the story.
They also mentioned some of the songs that they would either have to edit before play or not allowed to be played at all such as Bob Dylan's "Lady Lady Lady" and Peter, Paul and Mary's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone."
The censorship and the inability to play music that pleased everyone caused pirate radio stations to pop up throughout the time, they said.
Booth and Bottoms also played public service announcements that played during the time in place of commercials that reminded troops to not use drugs and other helpful reminders.

Golf tournament donates $40,000 to Camp Littlehawk

It comes as no surprise with the great weather of the 11th Annual Kiwanis Golf Tournament to benefit came great results to raise money for Camp Littlehawk.

As noted in the Oct. 16 Richmond Times-Dispatch, the club donated $40,000 to Camp Littlehawk as a result of the golf tournament.

The club thanks the hard work of the golf committee who make this event an annual success.

Oct. 18 Annoucements

A few new volunteer opportunites were announced at our Oct. 18 meeting:

1) Jim Irby is heading up a group to volunteer at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon on Nov. 13 and man a water stop.
2) The William Byrd Community House "Lunch Buddies" program is looking for volunteers.  If interested, please contact Richard Hendricks.
3)  Bill Steele announced that the WBCH is taking a field trip to a pumpkin patch and that approximately 10 volunteers are needed on Oct. 27
4)  Ian Nimmo said volunteers are still needed at the Clark Springs Elementary School reading program.  The regular spots are full, but "pinch hitters" are still needed.
5)  The annual fall clean up at Camp Littlehawk is Saturday, Oct. 23 and eight to 10 helpers are needed. 

Virginia War Memorial Adds New Educational Wing

At our Oct. 11 meeting, John Hatfield discussed the many new exciting changes that have taken place at the Virginia War Memorial.
Hatfield, executive director of the memorial, said the landmark "belongs to all Virginians" and that it "honor's its vets unlike any other memorial in the U.S." with its location overlooking the James River and the downtown Richmond skyline.
Dedicated in 1956, it stands to honor the Virginians who have given the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf.
Hatfield said the memorial began to fall into disrepair in the 1990's and the 200-seat auditorium was all the space visitors had at the memorial. 
The memorial recently opened the Paul and Phyllis Galanti Educational Center, an 18,000 square foot addition that allows the memorial to expand its educational offerings and adds to the experience for visitors. 
He said they have added educational programming such as seminars and documentaries, including the award-winning "Virginians at War", an interview film series with Virginia veterans which he called "hard hitting and emotional."   There also is a 800-seat amphitheater as part of the updated facilities as well.   The center and memorial also aim to educate middle school and high school students to the history of our state and veterans at war.

1st District Councilman and Kiwanian Bruce Tyler Addresses Club on State of the City

 Fellow Kiwanian and councilman for Richmond's First District, Bruce Tyler,  addressed our club Oct. 4 and gave club members what he termed his "vision for the city" and his goal for Richmond to become a top-100 city in the world.
Tyler noted improvement in two areas of the city - public schools and safer neighborhoods.   He noted that all schools are accredited now and that is up from 25% a few years ago.
In terms of goals for the city, he said Richmond needed to continue to improve its infrastructure and said that there would need to be several hundred millions of dollars over the next five years to get the infrastructure where it needs to be to compliment the great cultural facilities the city has such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Center Stage, the James River and the Richmond Sports Backers.
Tyler also stated his goals for a efficient, effective government by implementing the audits put in place by auditor Umesh Dalal and to be more competitive with the surrounding localities in terms of real estate tax rate.
He also wanted to continue to improve a vibrant downtown area and note the improvement and increase in population during the last 25 years and to continue to work with VCU a partner to continue that transformation.
Tyler said the biggest challenges for the city are the amount of poverty and the high rate of teen pregnancy. 

Lugbill shares what SportsBackers brings to Richmond

Jon Lugbill, a world-class canoe racer and currently executive director of the Richmond Sports Backers, spoke to our club on Sept. 20 about the transformation of the Sports Backers as a group and what the organization does to promote sports in the area. Lugbill said the turning point for the Sports Backers was when they took over the SunTrust Richmond Marathon in 1998 because they became a group that organized and planned events as opposed to bidding on events, which they had done since 1991. That turning point came because it was becoming harder to get events and with the success of planning the marathon, he said.

They then began to create popular metro area events such as the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K and now have had a goal to create an additional event each year to take advantage of Richmond's unique features, citing the James River and that Richmond was a city ranked in the top-10 for volleyball and triathlon, top-5 for running and top-3 for tennis. New events have included the Dominion RiverRock, the Henricus Dauber Dash and dragon boat races. Participation in Sports Backers events grows on an annual basis (15-25% per year since 2003) and they currently own 13 events, he said.

Lugbill also noted the Kiwanis club's contributions to the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, as the club has volunteered at every marathon since it started in 1978.

Sept. 13 meeting focuses on habitat preservation

Our Kiwanis club learned about the causes of habitat loss and ways to improve habitats and increase biodiversity. Carol Heiser, education manager for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said that there are four main causes for habitat loss including fragmentation from development caused from regional planning , the extensive use of lawns in the environment, invasive exotic plants competing with the natives and the extensive use of non-natives in landscapes. Heiser left educational materials for the membership to take home said that ways to improve biodiversity is to transition from alien to native plants as ornamental, use native plants to interrupt runoff, reduce the amount of lawn in landscapes, utilize corridors to connect natural areas and to plan for sustainability on a regional scale.

Founder of Richmond's First AAU program speaks

Tony Squire, founder of Squires AAU Basketball and the Squires Basketball Foundation, was the first person in Richmond to start an AAU basketball program in the city in 1987 and has used the program as a way to "give guys more of an opportunity." Squire spoke to our club in September about how's his program has helped more than 400 kids to receive scholarships that slept in "gated communities to bathtubs." Squire spoke of the success stories of his program, helping children steer themselves out of trouble as well as superstars such as Ray Allen and Amare Stoudamire, who have been a part of the program. He also spoke about how everyone does something to help support the program, everyone helps with the fundraising and that there are "no short cuts" for those participating in his program and that his motto for his players is "a degree for free."

More Pictures from Kiwanis events

Here are some other pictures from our other community service activities such as handing out water at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army and participating in Christmas parties at the Children's Hospital and William Byrd Community House.

William Byrd Community House Summer Carnival

Every year, the Kiwanis Club of Richmond assists the William Byrd Community House with their summer carnival by playing games with the children and serving up food and prizes. Here are some of the pictures from the carnival this August. It was your ordinary hot, humid summer day in late August in Richmond with several Kiwanians winning the annual "guess the weather contest."

Raising Money for Virginia Voice and Enriching the Lives of Youth

The Kiwanis Club of Richmond just completed their annual fundraiser that serves a two-pronged approach of enriching the lives of children and fundraising for thee Virginia Voice.

This year the club raised several thousand dollars to help send more than 200 inner-city youth from Church Hill Activities and Tutoring, Intercept Youth and United Methodist Family Services to a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game on a fireworks night. Some of the participants got to throw out a first pitch and participate in other on-field promotions. Some of the groups reporting taking several children who were making their first trip to a baseball game. Thank you to CHAT for the pictures provided in this post.

The club solicited donations from members and local businesses to purchase tickets for the baseball game with the leftover proceeds to benefit the Virginia Voice, an organization that supports the print handicapped.

We appreciate all of the help of those that helped raise money and to get children to the baseball game for a memorable night.

Anthem Blue Cross president discusses health care reform

Anthem Blue Cross president Burke King spoke to our club at the Aug. 30 meeting about some of the many changes consumers and employers will face in light of the recently passed health care reform bill and what King described as the "new landscape of health care."

His presentation focused on four factors: what is new, how it will impact small businesses, how it will impact the state of Virginia and what Americans thought of the health care reform. His talk discussed the penalties individuals and businesses face if they do not obtain or provide health insurance, respectively. He also estimated that the increase in Medicaid would cost the state between $2.1 to $2.8 billion through 2022. Burke also discussed how different businesses, depending on their size, would approach providing health care for their employees such as providing it themselves, increased employee contributions or letting the new insurance exchanges offer insurance.

VCU Business School Dean speaks at Aug. 23 meeting

New Dean of the VCU Business School, Ed Grier, spoke at our Aug. 23 meeting. Grier, who was hired in February, spoke about what it was like to come to work in an academic setting after a career in the corporate world. He also spoke about the growing trends of universities hiring "corporate deans" with people sharing similar backgrounds to him.

Prior to coming to VCU, Grier worked his way through the Disney organization with his most recent job being president of Disneyland Resorts. Through his career, Grier worked in Paris, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Grier said he chose VCU because of the impact the university had on Richmond citing the Broad Street growth and renewal and the statistic that 1 out of 5 Richmonders with a bachelor's degree or higher have earned one of those degrees at VCU.

Aug. 16 meeting focuses on those in need

Kristin Van Story, director of communications for FeedMore, spoke at our Aug. 16 meeting about the dire need of those in the Richmond area when it comes to accessing food. She also spoke about what her organization is doing to help make sure that they are reaching out to as many people as possible. FeedMore is an umbrella organization that includes the Central Virginia FoodBank, Meals on Wheels and the Community Kitchen.

Spurred on by her speech, Kiwanians Cobey Wagoner and Sandy Neumann put together an impromptu food drive for the following week's meeting. The results are the picture above - a van full of food for Richmond's less fortunate.

William Byrd Community House honors the late Kip Bachtell

From a current Kiwanis eBuilder

by Ed Stover

On July 22, 2010, the William Byrd Community House dedicated its computer lab in memory of our recently departed Kiwanis member, Kip Bachtell. Kip was our WBCH committee chairman and computer lab coordinator for many years. The dedication recognized his tremendous contribution in making a difference to the children, whom he dearly loved.

Robert Bolling, William Byrd's executive director, gave the dedication. Tim Sexton spoke on behalf of Kiwanis, and John Philips reflected and shared many wonderful memories the children had of Kip.

Kip's wife, Susan, and daughter, Christina, were both present and touched by the ceremony. The WBCH children gave two dance and song recitals in honor and memory of their beloved and faithful computer instructor and pal, "Mr. Kip".

More Pictures from our Aug. 9 meeting