Perry Bergum, president of the Medicine Hat Kiwanis Club, speaks to members during the club's centennial dinner at the Lodge on Saturday.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
To honour the service of members over the past 100 years, the Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat held a celebratory dinner at the Lodge on Saturday night.
Since 1924 volunteer members of the Kiwanis Club have been actively giving back to the city through hundreds of service programs and donations, as well as undertaking several projects that help develop youth.
Along with Kiwanis Central Park, the club has sponsored two city flower beds to help beautify the community, and it also hosts the annual Best Residence and Best Block awards, which are featured in the News each summer.
Volunteer members are involved with the local Army Cadets and run youth leadership programs in schools. Each fall the Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat hosts the Kiwanis Regional Science Fair, as well as several educational programs throughout the year with the Nature Centre Interpretive Program.
The club itself has also evolved from a businessmen’s club which excluded women, then accepting its first female member in the early 1990s, to becoming an all-inclusive community service organization.
“So it was quite a transition from more of downtown business people to an eclectic bunch of people who are interested in community service,” says Perry Bergum, president of the Medicine Hat Kiwanis Club and member for 36 years. “There’s been a change in how people want to service their community.”
Doug Heine is one of those individuals who has service in his heart. Heine has been a member with the local club for 52 years and was key in discussions that led to the South Alberta Light Horse regiment to remain in Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
While speaking with the News, Heine highlighted the positive impact of the cadet program for youth development and emphasized the leadership and life skills cadets gain during their service.
“A lot of them are kind of shy and they’re not sure where they fit into the world quite yet,” says Heine. “And to see them develop the leadership skills that we offer, it’s just amazing to watch.”
Heine also serves as a judge for the club’s annual Best Residence and Best Block Award.
“Overall I think the people in the city look after their property very well and take pride in their homes and community,” says Heine.
Mayor Linnsie Clark addressed members of the Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat during Saturday’s centennial dinner and spoke about the importance of continuing their work supporting the youth.
“And by investing in their growth today, you’re helping build a stronger community for all of us.”
Moving forward, the club hopes to restore some of their youth programs offered in schools that were disrupted during the pandemic that include the K-Kids, Key Clubs and Builders Club.
“We have some kid programs that we kind of lost a couple years of during COVID and haven’t been able to get them back, but we’re going to focus on trying to get those, our student leadership programs, back in the junior high schools and maybe a couple of elementary schools,” says Bergum.
Members from Kiwanis clubs in Calgary, Edmonton and Swift Current also attended the centennial dinner.
