Kristin Vahle, Peace Corps Volunteer

Kristin Vahle, a Greenfield Native and Peace Corps Volunteer spoke to Kiwanis about her experiences serving in Rwanda.  She served in the Peace Corps from May, 2016 until August, 2018.  
The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by President John Kennedy to provide trained people to countries needing them and also to promote understanding between the people of the nation being served and the people of the  United States.
46 percent of the Peace Corp activity is in Africa.  The activities are 41% Educational and 20% in Health Services.  Those are the services she worked at in Rwanda, a country about 1/3 the size of Indiana with 13 million people.  She discussed the economy, agriculture, culture, crafts, dance, animals, and agriculture of the country, 
Her work was primarily in the area of Maternal and Child Health.  Much of her work was in prevention of malnutrition.  She accomplished this by providing food and food powders, gardening instructions, and nutrition information, 
Since returning from the Peace Corp she is working on obtaining a Masters in Public Health.

Dave Willis and Lois Myerholz

Sad news about a former Kiwanian and a hardworking active member. 

Click here for the obituary of Dave Willis

Click here for the obituary of Lois Myerholtz

Christmas Party 2018

A good friend made it back to club

Martie Crider, Barb Kauchak, Julie Dishman and Marcy Hoffman  The Committee

Lyman fighting the urge to try'em on

Ckick here to see all of the photo's from the Christmas Party

Kiwanis President Gerry Smith with Jill Snyder, Business and Economic Director for Ninestar Connect

Jill Snyder, Business &. Economic Development Director for Ninestar Connect spoke to Kiwanis about the Idea Co-op at Ninestar.   The Co-op's purpose to toe enable entrepreneurs, small business people, and mobile workers to co-work, collaborate, and connect.  The five point mission is:

• Attract and retain technical talent in the area
• Create a co-working space
• Create an education center
• Be an IoT (Internet of Things) lab focused on Agrotech, the Utility Industry, and Home Autmation
• Create a Makers space with 3D printing, Drone technology, and Virtual Reality

Some of the features of the facility include:

•  30,000 square foot facility
• Education Center
• Gigabit internet
• 17 acre campus
• Greenspace
• Accessible 
• Outdoor deck
• Indoor fitness Center

For more information see ideacoop,com or Facebook Idea Co-op

Meet Your Kiwanians

Kiwanians were introduced to three of their newest members, Clara Starkey,  and Penny and Bill Smith.   Clara is employed with Edward D. Jones and Company and has been active in Kiwanis youth clubs both in high school and college. Clara shared about her job, family, church and Kiwanis family experiences. Penny Smith is a nurse and Bill was in the Air Force and an engineer.  They shared their experiences living in other places including Alaska and spoke about the children and grandchildren. 

Sister Cities

Abby McKinney, Lyndi Grubb, and Kathy Locke with Sister Cities

Abby McKinney, Lyndi Grubb, and Kathy Locke with Sister Cities spoke to Greenfield Kiwanis about the Sister Cities program that was established nearly 30 years ago between Kakuda, Japan and Greenfield.  The cities are both home to Kehin corporation facilities.  Kehin and the City of Greenfield subsidize the program and the trips.  Greenfield students and their chaperones travel to Japan in June and the Japanese contingent comes to Greenfield in August.  The groups are usually composed of 12 students and 3 chaperones.  The total cost for each person is about $3,000 but due to the generosity of the community businesses and the city governments the cost is reduced to about $850.  Students who are in need of additional reductions can usually receive additional help. 
In 2020 the program will celebrate their 30th year of exchanges.  They hope to commemorate this milestone with a sculpture in the Sister Cities park area near the Pennsy Trail. 
The program needs three things:

1. Families willing to host Japanese guests each August.  If you are willing to host complete the application found at http://www.sistercitiesofgreenfield.org/.
2. The organization hosts an annual 5K race and other fundraising activities.  They need participants in these events.
3. Funds to subsidize the trips and programs.  To contribute go to http://www.sistercitiesofgreenfield.org/.

Online Coffee Break

Chuck Fields, President of Spacetech Software, talked to Kiwanis about his podcasting venture, Online Coffee Break.  Podcasting is a free service that allows Internet users to pull audio files from a  Web site to listen to on their computers.  
Some of his podcast guests have included:  Andy Weir, Author of Martian; Laura Marie, Singer and Songwriter; David Cunningham, Movie Director; John Schneider, Actor of the Dukes of Hazards; and Scott Kelly, Astronaut. 
For more information or to listen to a cast go to onlinecoffeebreak.com.