The Kiwanis Club of Swainsboro held its weekly meeting Tuesday night, July 7, 2026, at the Franklin Memorial Library at 6:30 p.m. With President Dianna Wedincamp presiding, they had 15 in attendance including guests, Oskar Cerpovicz, Blythe Wilcox, Marie Townsend, Ronnie Shuemake and Yolanda Shuemake. Oskar Cerpovicz won the White Chocolate Raspberry Crème Cake, Tim Goodman won the Domino’s Pizza, Bobbie Daughtry won a bag of Vidalia onions and Oskar Cperpovicz won a jar of home-made blueberry jam picked from home-grown bushes by Bobbie Daughtry.
Ronnie Shuemake presented a program on Future Generation Youth Book Bags. Ronnie and his wife, Yolanda, founded the school supplies give-a-way over 23 years ago. He explained the impact of the program on children in the community. Last year they were able to give book bags full of school supplies to over 700 children in the community.
Born and raised in Swainsboro, Ronnie remembers those who helped him while he was growing up and is returning the service to the community. He noted they were honoring recently deceased educator Erma Jenkins this year. The Kiwanis Club presented him with a check to support his program.
Marie Townsend from the Dublin office of TLC CASA described what they do as special advocates for children who have been victims of abuse and neglect. TLC CASA recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers appointed by the court to advocate for the child’s best interest. The TLC CASA Program provides community-based advocacy that promotes safety and permanency for children who are victims of abuse and neglect. Trained and supervised volunteers, in cases assigned by the juvenile court judge, center the focus of the case upon the child, giving the child a voice in the proceedings. Dianna presented a check to Blythe Wilcox, Executive Director for Institutional Advancement at Southeastern Technical College, to support their programs. Blythe thanked the club and explained how the money would support scholarships, the early admissions program, and help students having funding issues.
