The Civitan
Club of Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA
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A History of the Salisbury Civitan Club
This Page: 1997 to the present
written by Club Editor Len Clark
1922-1997 is here: A History Sections One and Two
1922 -1997
Other Page Links at foot of page
1998:- When
President Len Clark took the
gavel in October 1996 - our 75th Anniversary Year, the club had built a
sizeable bank balance. Not with any particular intention, but as a result
of fund surpluses and unspent allocations during previous years. This
allowed President Len the enviable opportunity of celebrating the 75th
Anniversary in grand style. Unlike his predecessors' annual goals which
generally had to consist of fund raising and membership drives, President Len's
theme for the year was quite singular: "Spend every penny we've got and
more!" The 'more' portion was to come from record breaking golf and
spaghetti events, profits were all-time records. The club's expenditure of
charitable giving exceeded $34,000, still a record; but also (and
this did not faze the Prez one iota) because of the manner in which
budgets were calculated at the time, the club unwittingly outspent available cash by almost
$6,000.
$11,000 was used to establish "The Marion M. (Chub)
Richards / Salisbury Civitan Club Endowed Scholarship Fund" at
Catawba College. The announcement was made at the 75th Anniversary
Celebration and as Committee Chairman ED Cook said "The
endowment represents a milestone in The Salisbury Civitan Club's 75 years of
service, and a tribute to a member who has played a significant role in the
success of our club".
( Len:- the fund has now grown to well over $30,000 -
so it was worth a measly bit of debt wasn't it?)
In his closing address President Len estimated that during the
club's 75 years, over half a million dollars had been given away to 400
organizations or projects, and we had affected the lives of 100,000 individuals.
The Prez declared the year an outstanding success.
Citizen of the Year was Mayor Margaret Klutz. Civitan of
the Year was Joe Linn.
District President of the Year was Len Clark, and John Whittington was District
Secretary of the Year.
We were the District Club of the Year, and received The Governor's Award for
Best Project.
The club was awarded Civitan International's prestigious "Honor Club"
award as well as 8 banner patches for various achievements.
1998:- President Mark Lewis took over a club proudly in debt, and in true banker's fashion slotted line items into the next two years' budgets to right the rocky boat. Through his and the club's efforts there was a balanced budget in less than 2 years. President Mark's goals included "involving all members, identifying good projects, enhancing club programs, holding open forum, and a membership goal of Plus Nine." (as well as others, Mark achieved this last goal, 'plus nine'. Unfortunately four members either died or resigned, but still - plus five membership in any year is cause for celebration).
Under Prez Mark's
watch, Club # 3487 - The Summit Club was chartered on May 26, 1998.
One of Mark's other goals "enhancing club programs" turned out pretty
well. During his tenure these were a few of our speakers:- Mayor Margaret
Klutz, Police Chief Jeff Jacobs (A Salisbury Civitan Club member - and the
only time anyone had ever seen him at the club); Billie Ray Jr. distinguished
President of Bell South, International President Horace Davis and Food
Lion Chairman Tom Smith, La Vondra Edwards and the NBC6 News Team, Phil Kirk the
NC Education Guru,
The Mayor of Charlotte Pat McCrory, Sheriff Bob Martin, and Catawba
College Coaches Dave Bennett and Jim Baker.
Anecdote from our "Fish 'n' Fun Day for mentally challenged kids:- "In case anyone has any doubts about what our projects mean to the beneficiaries:- The family of Patrick, one of the participants; changed the day of his grandmother's funeral so Patrick could go to the Fish 'n' Fun Day, because it meant so much to him."
For Independence Day, Len printed the bulletin in full color, the only time it has ever happened.
The Senior Civitan Honor Roll was introduced. 30 members were recognized, all with at least 25 years service to the club.
At the District Convention in Asheville in August 1998 our club shattered all previous records for club achievements by totaling 3538 points, 963 points better than any club had ever reached before, there were audible gasps from the audience! President Mark was voted Outstanding Area IV President of the Year, and Outstanding District President of the Year, we were Outstanding Club of the Year, the Fish 'n' Fun was voted Best Service Project, The Bulletin got District First Prize; we received so many service banner patches (10), that Mark stayed up on stage to receive some of them, it wasn't worth going back down the steps. The club finished with a remarkable 16 District awards.
International awards are always awarded a year late, so it was not until July 1999 at the International Convention in Albuquerque NM that we learned that our club had earned the highest award possible for 1997 / 1998 : "Honor Club of Distinction" as well as International 2nd place for our spaghetti feast in the Civitan Awareness Category. Additionally we were one of only a very few to gain "Honorable Mention" for SIX different categories: Outstanding Total Service to People with Disabilities, Outstanding Club Bulletin, Outstanding Service to Disabled People, Outstanding Total Youth, Outstanding Youth Project, and Outstanding Total Civitan Awareness!
Civitan of the Year was Ralph Thomas. Distinguished Citizens of the Year were Eli and Rose Saleeby.
1999:- The
Year of President
Dick Williams.
Mark
Lewis passed the gavel for Dick's year beginning on October 1st 1998.
There simply wasn't anyone else like Dick, and probably never will be.
President Dick glided through his year as President the same way he glided
through the rest of his life. I personally likened him to Ronald Reagan.
Dick was never in a hurry, never met a stranger, was never panicked, never
seemed to do much - except tell jokes by the thousand. It was all just
water under the bridge to Dick, just one of the good guys.
Then by August 1999
there we were at the District Convention and Dick was President of the Year.
Wayne Mullis was installed as District West Governor for 99/00. ED Cook
and family Beffie, Emily, Mary, and Jennie were proclaimed District Family of
the Year; Dick Smith was named District Civitan of the Year. The entire
convention was dedicated to Chub Richards and wife Elaine, and Chub was honored
with an International Fellow Award. Fred Jordan received a special award
for 43 years of perfect attendance and Len Clark won the District Bulletin of
the Year award.
Civitan of the Year was Dick Smith. Distinguished Citizen of the Year was
Scott Maddox.
That was Dick Williams,
who coached Catawba
Baseball Team to back-to-back S.A.C. Championships in 1992 & 3, including a
perfect 21-0 season in '92. Whose
record was 137 - 69 in his five seasons in the dugout. Who has a Mecklenburg
County Track Meet named after him. Who
has The Catawba College Baseball MVP Award named after him. Who was awarded the
NC Governor's Long Leaf Pine Award. Who
was named NC Athletic Director of the Year in 1978. Who now has a Scholarship
named after him, established by a group of grateful and appreciative former
Catawba Baseball players and fans.
And a whole college baseball tournament named for him: "The Dick Williams
Good Guys Tournament";
because that was Dick Williams,
one of the Good Guys.
(Tragically,
Dick died during heart surgery on December 16th 1999)
[Postscript:- In
October 2001, East Mecklenburg High School named
its new stadium "The Dick Williams Stadium".]
2000:- President
Larry Peeler accepted the gavel from Dick Williams
at the September 30th 1999 Awards Banquet.
We suffered the deaths of four pillars of our club during President Larry's
tenure, first Dick Williams, then Fred Jordan, Linwood Foil, and finally
President Larry's father Cliff Peeler.
Linwood was the president in 1952, a member for 69 years! He was a District officer, Honor Key recipient, and beloved Mayor of Salisbury - Three Times!
Fred had a world record 44 years of perfect attendance,
he was an International Director of the Youth Committee in 1971, a sponsor of 10
new members, and the club's president in 1961. (At
the 2000 District Convention the attendance award was renamed "The Fred
Jordan Attendance Award".)
For what it's
worth, this was my tribute to Fred in the Club's newsletter:-
"For
those of you who have joined the club in the last couple of years, and looked
over in the corner to see an old deaf and near blind man in a wheelchair; and
thought that it was best to leave him be…….You missed a treat.
Fred was articulate, funny, and fully compos mentis until the day he
died.
There will be so many accolades tomorrow, you won’t be able to count them. So
I’ll give you just two recollections.
When I became President of the Club, Fred congratulated me. He apologized
for not being able to help me; because of his health. In the same breath he said
he was contemplating resigning from the club because he felt useless.
I could not believe it. The
tears welled up in my eyes, as they are doing now as I write this.
It took a long time for me to be able to reply.
I told him: “Fred, there
is no way you are resigning from this club.
As long as you are able to get here, and for the rest of your life, you
will be a welcome and honored member of this club.”
He thanked me, but I could tell he resented his infirmities.
It is a sad reflection on our society, that the aged feel ridiculed rather than revered. We should not reach old age fearing what younger generations think of us. We all should teach our children to respect, honor, love, and learn, from people like Fred Jordan.
On a lighter note, I recall a dear friend of mine, Rikki Spencer, who once told me about Fred’s volunteer spirit at First United Methodist Church. Fred counted the collection plates for years, but eventually developed such poor sight that it became extremely difficult for him to accurately see the bills. Rikki told me of his Sunday mornings, Fred stacking and counting all the one dollar bills, and Rikki silently pulling out the fives and tens. That’s respect, and love. God Bless You Fred."
Clifford Peeler's legacy is quite extraordinary.
This is an extract of Rose Post's © tribute to him in the Salisbury Post on
June 25, 2000.
|
"Clifford Peeler probably set more records than anyone else in
town. Not that he was in the Guinness Book of World Records or anything official like that. But Friday, as word of the death of the former Salisbury mayor who made Cheerwine a household word spread quickly through town, records just kept popping up. Did you know, people said to each other, that Clifford Peeler was a Catawba College trustee and trustee emeritus from 1938 until his death Friday? That’s 62 years — years longer than anyone else. That’s a record. Did you know he was an advisor to seven of the eight presidents Catawba has had since it moved to Salisbury? Or the oldest Civitan Club member in the world? (Ed:- Cliff joined Civitan in 1925); and a Civitan longer than anyone else in the world? And he was the only Salisbury Civitan who could — and would — stand up and recite the Civitan Creed from memory instantly upon request. Did you know he was without a doubt the only golfer who helped three much younger members of their four-man team win the annual Civitan golf tournament — and a big trophy — with his well-honed skill as a putter when he was 92 years old? “I think he made something like a 40-foot putt,” his grandson, Mark Ritchie, said during an interview five years ago, but his self-effacing grandfather waved it away. But everybody who knew him knew golf was his game. “On the golf course, he was known as Pee Wee,” says Dave Clay, a long-time friend and Clifford Peeler’s insurance man, “I remember in the ’50s and ’60s, if I wanted to see certain people in town, I didn’t go on a Wednesday afternoon. They always took Wednesday afternoons off and played golf. If you were in Clifford Peeler’s office in the middle of the day, you had to cut it short. He always had an appointment — at the starting tee at the Country Club. “Why Pee Wee? He was the little one in the crowd —in stature,” Clay says. “He was tall in everything else.” Tall enough to make a giant impact on his hometown in many ways and far beyond with Cheerwine. / Clifford Peeler had served
three terms on the city council as mayor and vice mayor when Clay got to
know him. Clay, also a Civitan during the post-WWII days when Salisbury’s civic clubs played a major role in the community, says Clifford Peeler “supported every good thing that the Civitans and the community did. He was just one of those quiet men who gave of himself and never really expected or looked for a lot in his own direction.” / “You always knew he was going to be there if you needed him,” Mark Ritchie said, “but he didn’t come running unless you asked.” He went to work five days a week — in the same office with the same furniture he’d always had — in case he was needed, until three years ago when his car was hit on Jake Alexander Boulevard when he was driving home from work one day. But even if that accident had a permanent effect on his sight and he no longer made it to the office daily, he was always available, always cared, was always a man who had filled a litany of roles for most of the 20th century, who quietly and modestly created a legend. " |
| ===== |
One could have forgiven President Larry if he had
sat in a corner and let the balance of his year pass quietly by.
But not Larry, he may be quiet be he's certainly not inactive. He traveled
to Oslo, Norway for the International Convention, and received the worldwide
award for 3rd place in the Outstanding Community Service Projects category (our
Scholarships award program). Governor Wayne Mullis took the plaque for the
world's largest district, and President Elect Andy Storey was also one of the
760 delegates.
Back on
home turf, the Golf Tournament took in a record $12,500 net profit, we increased
the college scholarships by 50%, and the budget went over $80,000 for the first
time ever. 47 members turned out to help at Special Olympics.
Wayne Mullis received the District Honor Key at the Myrtle Beach District
Convention, and was made a Foundation Fellow. Larry Peeler garnered the
Outstanding Club President award. The club bulletin took 2nd place.
Our Reverend Ron Fink was the District Chaplain for this year.
At club level, Civitan of the Year was Jeff Smith, Distinguished Citizen of the
Year was Wilson Smith.
Rookie of the Year was Pete Prunkl.
With all the deaths and resignations it would have been an achievement to end
the year at a level 95 members.
President Larry miraculously finished up at PLUS SIX! The club was over the 100
mark again.
Article
in "Comments" Oct 19,2000:- If you have not read the 4th
quarter “Western Tarheel Civitan”, you should. It contains a synopsis of the year. A year which we should not underestimate.
Wayne Mullis achieved more in his year as Governor than all of the other
Governors in all of Civitan. Chartering Six new clubs in an area which has the
densest concentration of clubs in the world is a phenomenal achievement; and on
the way making NC West the largest district in the world, with the largest net
increase in membership of any district; is quite startling.
You
certainly “Put Your Heart” into
it, Wayne!
2001:-
President Andy Storey learned that Civitan
affairs are not always planned and delivered in slow but sure ways; and proved
he could think on his feet. One day I walked into the club meeting and mentioned
to him that I'd heard that there were seven kids at the Battered Women's Shelter
who needed school uniforms before they could attend school.
By 2:30 pm there's been a board meeting and a check was on the way. Later
in the year a bone marrow match drive ran out of money, and once again the cash
was delivered in time to pay for more tests.
This website
was launched on our club's 79th birthday - August 15, 2001, during
President Andy's reign.
We expanded the high school scholarships, for four
schools to be eligible for "The Cliff Peeler Humanitarian Scholarship" (North Rowan, North Hills, Salisbury, and West Rowan).
We started the year with 101 members
and finished with 106, always a sign of a successful year.
On President Andy's watch the new Salisbury "Dream Catchers" club was
chartered.
Citizen of the Year was Dr. John Wear Jr. Civitan
of the Year was Mark Lewis.
Rookie of the Year was Walt Turner, and District
Civitan of the Year was a well deserving Marny Hendrick!
Dick Bradshaw was made an Honorary Lifetime member.
(Dick's been a member for 65 years!)
District Chaplain was our Rev Ron Fink, and NC West Area
IV W Lt Gov was our Larry Peeler.
2002:- President Dan Sommers led the club out of the darkness and gloom of the World Trade Center, PA and Pentagon terrorist attacks in his own inimitable style. A new baby for he and Jennie in November seemed a fitting start to his Presidential year.
Starting with 106 members, it was to be a
tough year to try and end with +1 in membership.
Dan had some famous 'Berra style' one liners. My own personal favorite Sommers
nugget: "We need to have more widows at the Christmas Party next
year." His reaction to finding out that deceased club member Locke
Long often carried a gun in his sock, was a very worried look on his face and
the question from the head table "Is there anyone else packing in
here?"
Then there was his emotional relationship with one-eyed Sister
Ernestine, who apparently to this day keeps an eye out for Dan. When President
Dan had to leave the club before the end of the Civitan year to go back to
Missouri (August), he handed out some certificates. My favorites were
"The Chanaka Yatawara Award" to Wayne Mullis (who could never
pronounce Chanaka's name) and "The OBGYN Award" to Kenan Smith (see
below).
Things
we found out during the year's "Civitan of the Day" minute:-
Brian Miller was brought up in Japan /
Bob Wilson was a dentist in Vietnam /
Bill Adams was a Pastor in the town of Brilliant Ohio, and
thus was known as "The Brilliant Presbyterian Preacher" /
Alex Dunn says the alphabet backwards in10 seconds /
Clyde Young's nickname at Boyden HS was "Bunny" /
Ron Fink has the cremated ashes of a cat on his mantle
/ Tom Crabtree produced Michael Jordan's
first video /
Gene Sunding, paying his way through college, once
accepted a pig in exchange for fixing a sewing machine /
Jere Austin was once the youngest commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy /
In 1944 Burt Harris fell through the bomb bay doors of a
plane at 8,000 feet - he pulled himself back in /
Glenn Hudson found and interviewed the man who murdered
Glenn's father /
Steve Agner was once hauled off a HS basketball court for fighting by his coach
- W.A Cline! /
Mark Lewis once scored 21 over an 18 hole golf course during his professional
Putt Putt career /
Frank Goodnight after a wild college Saturday night, fell
asleep playing the church organ /
Marny's HS nickname was "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" /
ED Cook's first ever words to his future wife were "I'm gonna marry
you". Her reply was "You're drunk" /
Kenan Smith inspected his wife's innards during her
C-Section (It was this descriptive pronouncement
that probably sealed the fate of Civitan of the Day; - a shame - most
of the time you could eat your
lunch while listening ).
We celebrated our 80th birthday August 15, 2002, by presenting the first annual Curtis Hero Award to Sherri Weaver, who gave a kidney to someone she didn't even know. We also presented $800 worth of equipment to Rowan Regional Pediatrics Ward, $800 to Nazareth Children's Home new Special Needs Home, and $800 to the ARC of Rowan. Guests came from North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. 100 attended the Lunch.
Wayne Mullis became a "Master Club Builder". Civitan of the Year was Len Clark. Distinguished Club and District Citizen of the Year was Mayor Susan Kluttz. Mark Lewis won the District Humanitarian Award.
2003:-
President Jeff Smith kicked
off the Civitan Year on October 1st with 102 members in the herd.
At the Awards banquet there was a hint that perhaps President Dan's infamous
one-liners may not have entirely disappeared. With many Civitan wives in
attendance, Jeff's welcoming speech included: "...this
looks like a well rounded group...".
The
first meeting of the Civitan year had a full slate. Presentation of Perfect
Attendance Pins included a couple of milestones: Elon Massey and Chub Richards
each 40 YEARS!
Wayne Mullis and Marny Hendrick received Club Spirit Award Plaques for
their continuing Civitan work. Walt
Turner presented the Club Rookie of the Year award to Glenn Hudson.
Steve Yang and his wife Lori established the
Michael Yang Foundation. and the Civitan Michael Yang Scholarship at West
Rowan High School. Michael,
aged 2, died in November 2001.
The
Club approved $500 for a Handicapped Accessible Garden in Salisbury.
And that was all at President Jeff's first meeting!
In
November we had a field trip to Livingstone College for our meeting.
We missed two meetings in December because if ice-storms,
Many club members helped with the Rowan
250th Anniversary Parade
PHOTO:
Prez Jeff leads the Special Olympics Teams around the track.
For our annual Spaghetti Feast we cooked 375 lbs of hamburger meat, 55 cases of spaghetti sauce, and 25 cases of noodles. With additives the totals were 1750 lbs of sauce and 650 lbs of noodles.
We chartered the East Spencer club.
Curtis Montgomery, guided the Candy Box Project to new heights. In 2001 we collected $4500, In 2002 we collected $5500, In 2003 we collected $6300
Notable guests during the year were: Phil Kirk NC State Education Board Chairman, Ms. Cherie Berry, The North Carolina Commissioner of Labor, Doctor Albert Aymer, President of Hood Theological Seminary.Dr. Bob Knott, President of Catawba College, and NASCAR team owner John Hendrick of Hendrick Motor Sports
2004:-
President Charlie Graeber, the headline in
"Comments" read -
"All
Hail:
President Charles Graeber II -------- Will Present his Plan for the
first 100 days. Will he unbalance the budget?
Will 2004 be the Year of the Female Member? Will Spaghetti be replaced by BBQ
Chicken?
PHOTO:
President
Charlie lifts another noodle bin from the boiling water. (BBQ
chickens nowhere in sight)
For
some years, we published a column in the newsletter called "The
Difference Civitans Make". Here
are a few extracts::-
Voices
of Hope – Steve
& Lori Yang’s 2nd Annual Remembrance Celebration, raised
$31,630 for The Michael Yang Foundation.
800 people gathered at Spencer’s Library Park last Sunday. What an
amazing start after last year’s $25,000 inaugural at Sloan Park.
Congratulations to new
Salisbury City Councilman Mark
Lewis, who came 4th of 10 candidates last Tuesday, and will sit
on the Council until November 2005, when (if he’s still in the mood)
he’ll have to do it all over again.
Mark Ritchie and The Cheerwine Company provided $105,000 for a large aquarium that will be the center of attention in a new entryway structure at the Nature and Learning Center at Dan Nicholas Park. The gift includes $50,000 up front and $5,000 a year for 11 years to pay for upkeep.
PHOTO: Doctor Clyde Young and wife Libby - Grand Marshals of the
Christmas Parade.
President Charlie Graeber led a team for a Rowan Helping Ministries volunteer night and morning.
Reverend
Bill Adams chaired our 32nd Good
Samaritan Day.
For
the first time in our history, the award went to
a club member, MM
(Chub) Richards,
who accepted this latest honor with the
humility which is a trademark of the man. Civitans stood and remarked on
Chub’s achievements. Listening were Elaine Richards, and seven previous
winners attending, hearing Guest
Speaker Dr. Bob Knott, Catawba
College President
speak of Chub’s achievements::- “.. 100s
of Catawba students live better lives because of Chub Richards”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stamey
Carter, Salisbury Civitan member for over 30 years, died Saturday, March 6,
2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
President
Charlie completed his year by drawing level or edging (we were never quite
sure) the Asheville club for the title of "Largest Club in NC West".
A tremendous achievement.
2005:- President Glenn Hudson
2006:- President Frank Goodnight
Frank Goodnight served as the President of the Civitan Club of Salisbury for the 2005-2006 Civitan year. During his presidency, the club held three major fundraisers raising over $35,000 in revenue to be used for Club projects. The club also reduced its overdue membership accounts from $12,300 to $2,100 by the end of his term. The roles were also cleared of all severely overdue members and yet the club managed to end the year plus three ending with 118 members. During Goodnight's presidency, the club built a new Civitan club in Kannapolis with Goodnight as one of the club builders and, as a result, was recognized as a Civitan Honor Club of Distinction; the highest honor bestowed on a club by Civitan International. As a result of the outstanding Club year, the Civitan Club of Salisbury was ranked the number one club in the district setting a new record for number of award points received. Frank received the Distinguished President's award from International as well as being named the Area Civitan of the Year for 2005-2006.
The club also started several new projects and was recognized in both the District Newsletter and the International Magazine for the innovative ways the club helped its community with hands-on activities.
Overall, the club grew and prospered while giving away over $33,000.00 including
scholarships, local donations and International pledges. The Civitan Club of Salisbury
is an organization to be proud of and the hard work of its members made 2005-2006 a very
successful year.
2007:- President Mark Beymer
2008:- President Andy Jeter
2009:- President Steve Clark
Civitan Home Civitan Two Civitan Three Civitan Four Civitan Five
Civitan Six Civitan Seven Civitan Eight Civitan Nine Civitan Ten
A History of the Salisbury Civitan Club.
Section Three:- 1997 to the present.
Or go to A History - Sections One and Two 1922 -1997