Payson Kiwanis: A Club For Anyone Willing to Serve

A deep sense of responsibility, love of home, and friendship are what drive Payson Kiwanis members to a commitment of service.  The Payson Chronicle met with Kiwanis Club members last week as they gathered for one of their weekly lunchtime meetings at Mountain View Hospital and got a good look at just how valuable the club is to the community.  And just how receptive they are to new members who wish to join. Pictured here is Payson Kiwanis President Richard Behling in a photograph taken inside his insurance agency office in south Payson not long before our meeting.  He is holding the club’s original charter, given to him for public display by Richard Bell, a retired Payson Postmaster who, too, served in the ranks of the club. 

Payson Kiwanis President Richard Behling sees his work with the club as akin to that of a farmer.  It is an occupation he understands well, his side job to a day job as insurance agent and local business owner.  Like the farmer, volunteers who perform public service work enrich the earth--the community--initiate projects, the seeds, and nurture their seedlings through continued care, and then harvest robust crops to enrich society, both at present and for future generations.

Farmwork is a vocation that succeeds best when there is more than one at work in the field. Likewise, the Kiwanis Club flourishes with the hands of many, as well as multiple characteristics adding flavor to their work.  Richard is in excellent company, serving with the group who sow productive seeds as Kiwanis members today, each bringing their own expertise to the field. Payson Kiwanis is made up of a few bankers, a dentist, business professionals and insurance agents, and a local city councilman. But they would like to expand the body of membership and invite people from all backgrounds to join them.

They hope to, too, clear up a misconception that the Payson Kiwanis, established here in 1950, is a club of exclusivity. Richard Behling knows all about this myth. He was once among its believers. Chance encounters challenged his misconception.  His opinion changed six years ago when Josh Webster invited him to lunch with the Payson Kiwanis Club and got to see what they were really like.  That they were less concerned with their own interests and more so committed to the common good in a community they reside in and love.

This was apparent two weeks ago, when The Payson Chronicle joined them for one of their once-weekly Wednesday lunchtime meetings, held at Mountain View Hospital.  Each member arrived, selected their lunch in the bustling cafeteria, and then made their way to a quiet meeting room a short walk down the hall. The pumpkin pie on the menu that day was a culinary hint of a season in transition,  a marker of the summer’s end, a marker of a wrapping-up of the year’s two largest fundraisers that sustain generous scholarships for local students: The Payson Kiwanis Club Scholarship Golf Tournament, held annually in early June, and the Payson Golden Onion Days Car Show over Labor Day weekend.

While each member adds to the effort, Adam Sevy oversees the essential tasks involved with the Scholarship Golf Tournament, a four-person scramble held Gladstan Golf Course in early June each year.  The fundraiser is a fully local event, with sponsorship donations a key to its success.  One hundred percent is kept within the community.

Colin Logue and Glen Wood, who oversee the Car Show, have contributed immensely to an event from which proceeds are directed toward supporting Payson High School students’ venture into the collegiate world.  They also add to the appeal of the city’s yearly celebration, both for owners of cars, from classic to vintage, to guests who are given the opportunity to see them in their splendor.  

“We are able to put on a pretty good show,” Colin said.

Between 100-150 stylish vehicles are included in each year’s show. Logue said they hope to double those figures in the years to come, adding to the variety and funding for annual Kiwanis scholarships. Money that would then be used to help support local high school students’ by paying for part of their college expenses.  The financial contributions that is obtained here will ripple even further, as more students will then be supported through college and, later, willing to return to support their community through volunteer work.  

What is unique about the Kiwanis Scholarship, according to the Kiwanis members, is that it is rooted on the idea of helping students who may not necessarily be the top academic scholar, but are doing sufficiently in school.  Recipients are students who carry with them a strong volunteer spirit.  They are people with the potential to spend a lifetime committed to the values of public service  

Active participation in volunteer work is helpful to high school students looking at applying for a Kiwanis scholarship.  Opportunities exist throughout the community, be it a volunteer gig for the hospital or local nursing homes.  Joining the Key Club, a high school organization with the same goals as Kiwanis, is another step.  It is the “Kiwanis junior,” said Josh Webster.

Mark Warren is among Kiwanis members involved with correspondence between the Key Club at Payson High School and and Payson Kiwanis Club. A pattern of volunteerism is established among high school Key Club members.  Service-related goals are set and met under the guidance of an advisor at Payson High, Warren said.  The local Kiwanis Club provides pizzas to reward the students for projects that include “Thank-You Thursdays,” an event that has Key Club members encouraging and assisting their peers on campus in signing and sending positive notes on cards to others.

An orientation to service high among requirements for a Kiwanis scholarship, Key Club membership helps.  As do other volunteer-relative activities.   And there is always something going on in this town, the Kiwanis members chimed, from helping out at the Payson City Salmon Supper to lending a hand at one of the local nursing homes, or Mountain View Hospital, for instance. Keeping track of the hours are essential, though, stressed Todd Lambourne.  Those who pursue a Kiwanis Scholarship need to include this information on their application.

Eagle Scout projects have also taken the form of Kiwanis endeavors.  Kiwanis Park, which sits at the mouth of Payson Canyon, is among locations where these young men have been both achieved Eagle status and added to the well-being of the local community.  Two projects this year involved replacing a sign and fence-work at the park, Josh Webster said.  Removing debris and cleaning up the public space, which is equipped with a disc golf area, is a more frequent effort.  It is aided with the help of Bob Carter, who continuously checks on its condition.

Kiwanis members themselves face no shortage of ways in which to better the community through service.  While the Car Show and Golf Tournaments raise money, the gains are shared not only with scholarship recipients, but also local children enrolled in the Head Start Program.  Mike Hardy is among members devoted to the Reading is Fundamental project that brings books to these prekindergarten-age children, some of whom have limited or no access to literature at home.

Story books are custom read to the children, as each is included in the tales read by members, like Mike, that personalize the experience for them.  Each child is given their own book to keep.  “It’s really cool,” Mike said, reflecting on the reaction of children, both while being spoken into the stories allowed to keep the book in which they are featured.

Todd Lambourne is another Kiwanis member deeply involved with this project.  He looks forward to bringing a smile to the faces of the young children, he said, and supporting a cause that is crucial to their well-being: knowledge and understanding through reading.

“That program is really neat,” Josh Webster said, recalling his dad, Randy Webster’s involvement.

Steve Schramm serves as Club Treasurer, overseeing the funds as they arrive and are dispersed for the projects in the community sustained by the Kiwanis.  The role is a perfect fit, given he is employed as Mountain View Hospital’s CFO (Chief Finance Officer).  He helps facilitate the club’s meeting room, too.

Lois Heber is the club’s newest member and is excited about the good work which lay ahead.  “It’s not just for men,” she noted.

Payson Kiwanis Club is for anyone who is willing to give to the community and its residence their time and service.  There is an initial registration cost and nominal monthly dues, which are used in part to pay for the weekly lunches.  But the return is priceless.  

And if you are new to the Kiwanis Club, your first lunch is on the house.  Payson Kiwanis invites anyone in the local community interested in finding out more about who they are and what they do to join them at one of their upcoming weekly meetings.  Contact Mike Hardy at mikehardy1969@gmail.com and his phone number is 801-885-4120 for more details.