The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on March 14, 2025, at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Mark Albertus,  Superintendent of Carrollton City Schools, and Mr. Scott Cowart, Superintendent of Carroll County Schools. An informative program featured the forthcoming E-SPLOST opportunity to provide local educational support without the need to raise taxes. SPLOST VII proposed projects include the retirement of replacement Carrollton High School debt service and a new school to house pre-K and kindergarten. Carroll County school system enhancements include classroom additions, replacements and improvements.

 

Voting is March 18, 2025.

 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on March 7, 2025, at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting the CEO of Stuckey's Corporation, Stephanie Stuckey. Ms. Stuckey provided an inspiring, engaging, and information presentation surrounding the successful comeback journey of Stuckey's. Ms. Stuckey shared highlights of the Stuckey Corporation's road to resilience from a small roadside pecan stand in 1937 - to an expanded storefront vacation stop - to today's vibrant, reimagined business relationship with national retail chains. Ms. Stuckey spent time visiting with Kiwanis members, treating us to an original Stuckey's pecan log, and sharing her book, Unstuck: Rebirth of an American Icon. 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on February 7, 2025, at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting Marie and Patrick Yuran to learn about the impactful Marie Yuran Endowment for Cancer Care. Mrs. Yuran is a leader and proactive advocate in the field of special needs education. Mr. Yuran serves as the Head of School for Oak Mountain Academy. The program featured courageous and uplifting thoughts of holding on and letting go, and Mrs. Yuran's story was a compelling one of love, life, and loss - revealing lessons learned in a sea of unknowns. Mrs. Yuran is thriving, and it was a joy to experience the inspiration behind the endowment at Tanner Health in her name. 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on January 17, 2025 at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting Jonathan Dockery, Founder and Owner of The City Menus - a menu of business and community news and events covering the west Georgia area. Jonathan started the The City Menus on November 1, 2011, in tandem with a successful radio and television career as a traffic reporter,  then solely engaged in the Menu in 2022. Our program included compelling insights in a "behind the scenes" format for "thecitymenus.com" to include news discovery strategies, mapping tools, city planning meetings, construction bid sites, and data scouts via a facebook group. Jonathan described himself as a digital nomad, as he successfully combines his positive work ethic with global travels and adventures. 

 

There were conflicts with meeting space in March.

 

The March meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 11^th at 5:30 P.M. (not on Thursday).

 

Please update your calendar, but reminder emails will be sent closer to the meetings.

 

 

Jenny Ingram, Club Secretary

 

 

 

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The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on November 22, 2024, at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting Duane Sohl and Josh Ingle with Gradick Communications. The presentation featured a history of radio visionaries that shaped the current power of radio which we enjoy today. The Gradick Communications family of stations include five commercial stations, one non-commercial station, and nine signals, and is reflective of local community radio at its best. Gradick is proud to support our local communities based on an added value business model which is customizable and scalable to local needs and priorities. 

• Nov 12th: Children's Toy Drive
  • We are collaborating on a toy drive with multiple organizations. We are sponsoring one 4month old child and would love any donations of baby supplies including baby wipes, baby bibs, etc. Please let us know if Kiwanis has any donations!
• Nov 20th: CGR Care Package Drive
  • College Girls Rock is having donation drive that we are collaborating on we to help those in need during the holiday season. They are collecting hygiene items, food, books, and clothing! We would love any donations from Kiwanis to help support!

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on October 25, 2024, at the University of West Georgia Hubbard Dining Room in West Commons. Our club had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Michael Ock, Carroll County Elections Supervisor, as our speaker. His responsibilities include oversight for more than 200 poll workers and 28 voting precincts; managing the electronic and equipment aspect of the local voting process; and ensuring safeguards for the integrity of the system. Carroll County represents the 19th largest county in Georgia for registered voters with 97,700 registered voters (2024). With early voting underway for the upcoming election, Carroll County has reached a 22% voter turnout thus far. 

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The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on October 4, 2024, at American Pie Pizzeria. It was a milestone day for our club due to the focus on officer inductions. Mitch Clifton, Lt. Governor, conducted recognitions, honors, and inductions for the coming year. Among those recognized for exemplary service to Kiwanis and our local communities were outgoing President Paul McDaniel; 2025 President Mark Herring; President Elect Joey Key; Rookie of the Year Margaret Miller; new board members; members rotating off the board; officers continuing their service; and those newly appointed to leadership roles. The meeting concluded with remarks from President Herring who outlined his priorities for enhancing the visibility of our club while weaving our fabric of impact through connection and unified service.

 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on September 13 in the Hubbard Dining Room of the University of West Georgia's West Commons dining hall. Our club had the opportunity to welcome Chief Chuck Barnwell, Carroll County Fire Chief, as our guest speaker. Chief Barnwell started his career in 1989, serving in various leadership and operational roles, including a 22-year service commitment in Gwinnett, Georgia. The Chief is happy to come home to Carrollton and is serving 15 stations, 135 personnel, and 15 engines - making an estimated 14,000-15,000 calls annually. He has overseen many local upgrades; increased staffing, training, and recruitment; and is proud of the national certification status. He has a passion for his calling and strives to earn his profession each day while fostering a brotherly relationship with fellow Carrollton officers and responders. 

 

 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton had the esteemed honor of hosting the First Lady of the state of Georgia, Marty Kemp, at the Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Mrs. Kemp provided an insightful and engaging program in a question and answer format moderated by local Kiwanian Sandra Morris. Informative points of progress included the positive impact to eliminating human trafficking, mental wellness initiatives, proactive educational system support, animal tenderness and care, childhood literacy, Georgia Grown, and more. The program concluded with an expression of gratitude by Mrs. Kemp to the city of Carrollton for the nurturing environment comprising our community. Mrs. Kemp remains committed to helping others along the way in our great state.

 

 

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Patsy is the wife of our guest speaker, Robert Barr.

Patsy is a board member of the Southeastern Quilt and textile Museum here in Carrollton.

She has nine grandchildren, and one great grandchild.

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on Friday, June 14, 2024, at local American Legion Post 143. Steve Fuller introduced our speaker, Judge Advocate Bill Hearnburg, who delivered an enlightening and powerful program on the significance of national Flag Day for our country and local community. Wearing his Air Force uniform of some 40 years ago, Hearnburg honored our local Veterans, providing a special challenge coin to commemorate the military service of local Kiwanians and to encourage them to keep patriotism going. He reinforced to our club that we don't have to be a veteran to be a patriot. Local legionnaire officers demonstrated the proper folding of the American flag, noting the folding and symbols for each of 13 folds. Our group had the pleasure of respectfully honoring the playing of taps. 

The Kiwanis Club of Carrollton met on Friday, May 17, 2024, at local restaurant American Pie Pizzeria. Our club had the valuable opportunity to discover the positive impact of accountability courts from Superior Court Judge Dusty Hightower.  Judge Hightower presides over the Carroll County Drug Court and works passionately to provide a path of educational and societal reentry programs. Judge Hightower also serves on several local boards in an effort to give back to his community. 

 

 

Photo:  Judge Dustin Hightower and Paul McDaniel, Kiwanis President.

 

 

 

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