Kiwanis Club hosts Altman at weekly meeting

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Seventeen members of the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club and special guest District Attorney Hayward Altman met Tuesday, June 16, at New China for their regular club meeting. Members were seated in a private dining room and followed social distancing for the meeting and the meal.

The meeting was called to order by President Petite Garrett, who welcomed club members. Mary Ellen Smith led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the evening prayer and blessing by Dess Smith.

Judge Jim Daughtry then took the microphone and began by lamenting the fact that no members had been in the recent issue of the local paper. Members Jane Durden and Gary Couse were fined for no name tags. Good news dollars were given by Dess Smith because his granddaughter Smith made the junior varsity cheer squad at ECI. Jim Clapham gave a good news dollar because of a former student of his in New York, Doug Hurley. Colonel Hurley is now an astronaut and is part of the SpaceX Mission to the International Space Station.

Gary Couse, sports reporter for the club, reported NASCAR’s recent race winners Martin Treux Jr. at Martinsville and Denny Hamlin at Miami. Local sportscaster Frank Patrick reported that the Dixie Youth League teams were playing through the month of June in an abbreviated season. The endangered species of the day was the African Painted Wild Dog.

During the business segment of the meeting, President Garrett noted that several board members have attended webinars to learn the latest news from Kiwanis International. Attending these webinars were Jane Durden, membership chair; Tim Goodman, board member; Petite Garrett, current president; Travis Garrett, treasurer; and Dess Smith, 2019-2020 president-elect. The president also thanked Dess Smith and Tim Goodman for their continued support of our club by their submission of articles to The Blade and the Georgia Kiwanian Newspaper.

Following an introduction by club member Jim Daughtry, retiring District Attorney Hayward Altman presented a most interesting program. Altman has served as district attorney for 34 years and is in the process of moving with wife Kathy to Roswell. Altman summarized his career highlighting a few of his cases among the over two hundred murder cases he has tried. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Sunshine House and has been an active supporter of Troop 75, the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club sponsored Boy Scout troop.

Next on the agenda were the drawings for a strawberry cake donated by Cayla Page and won by Jane Durden and the Domino’s pizza, won by Deana Patrick. President Garrett adjourned the meeting.  A brief board meeting was held immediately after adjournment of the regular meeting.

If you would like to become a member of the club, contact Jane Durden, membership chair, at 478-494-4113 or email her at hsdurden@bellsouth.net. New member registration fees are being suspended now through September 30, so now is the time to join. To learn more about Swainsboro Kiwanis Club and its many community service projects, visit the Swainsboro Kiwanis Facebook page.

Hayward Altman, Swainsboro Kiwanis Club