The Kiwanis Club of Swainsboro held its weekly meeting Tuesday night, June 18, at the Rustic Grille at 7 p.m. With President Cheryl Goodman presiding, they had 21 in attendance in-cluding seven guests, Erin Youmans, Case Youmans, Reid Youmans, Asa Youmans, Division 17 Lt. Governor Trish Tootle, Faye Ruacks and Joelle Romanchik-Cerpovicz. The pecan pie cheesecake donated by Dess Smith was won by Deana Patrick, Dess Smith won the Domino’s pizza donated by Domino's and the chocolate cake was won by Petite Garrett. Everybody was given a mini moon pie in honor of the moon tree. Division 17 Lt. Governor Trish Tootle presented the 2022-2023 banner patches to the Swainsboro Kiwanis Club. These included awards for Distinguished Club, the Governor’s Cup award, 6-for-6 support for Georgia District Projects and for completion of the Interclub Challenge. In addition, the club received a patch for being in the top ten for distance traveled completing inter-clubs. The program was hosted by Tim Goodman who introduced Erin Youmans, the Magnolia Midlands Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center (MMGYSTC) Regional Coordinator. GYSTC, is a private, non-profit organization designed to increase interest in STEM subjects in grades K-8. MMGYSTC was founded in 1997 and is located at the Fulford Center on the EGSC campus. It serves Emanuel, Candler, Jefferson, Baldwin and McIntosh Counties. STEM education events include STEM Nights, STEM Days, in-class activities, professional development activities, summer camps, campus visits and kits and resources for teachers to check-out. Youmans also talked about the “moon tree” that has been planted at the Fulford Center. A “moon tree” is a tree planted from seeds that have been in a spaceship which has orbited the moon. The first seeds making the voyage were on Apollo 14 in 1971. Seeds from this trip have been planted all over the US and the world. The first moon tree planted in the early 1970’s in Georgia is at the Okefenokee RESA in Waycross. The second-generation seeds made the trip around the moon in the Artemis I, which was launched in November 2022. Youmans got a grant for a moon tree grown from a seed that was on the Artemis I. The loblolly pine, called “Luna”, was planted at 1 p.m. on May 7, 2024, at the Fulford Center. Information and pictures about the tree planting can be found on the EGSC webpage at https://www.ega.edu/about/fulford-center/moon-tree.html.
