Club News


              

 

Upcoming Programs

We meet at 7:15 AM on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, at the Brew Works on the Green, 4300 W. Tilghman St., Allentown, Pa.

March 2 - Jon Schaeffer, LV IronPigs. Invocation: Young Chang.

March 23 - Foundation Grant Awards Dinner, Brookside Country Club. Invocation: Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Every parent stakes out boundaries within which it strives for diversity in bringing up its child. Intellectually, diversity is sought within boundaries related to educational attainment. Ideologically, diversity is sought within boundaries related to tolerance. Socially, diversity is sought within boundaries related to civility. The Kiwanians who exercise the need for helping one child at a time in our neighboring Allentown areas have been champions of social justice, diversity and equality. Yet their community is restricted on the bases of faith and gender. Does this render them incapable of fostering a climate that exalts diversity? No, it simply sets certain boundaries within which their efforts take place. Since its founding, Kiwanis has chosen to gather as a community of high quality and dedicated adults who believe that God is with all of us via man's humanity his equal needs for grace. And so it is with the highest respect for all people of all faiths, Kiwanis welcomes diverse ideas from diverse peoples and eagerly commits to learn, develop and enhance our children's unfinished development. This is our duty as Kiwanians, and it is our duty."
 

Young Chang, President

 

  

 

 

 

  

 
 

 

 

 

 

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The Downtowner

 Newsletter of the Kiwanis Club of Allentown

February 14, 2009

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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Don't forget your sweetheart today, and make every day Valentine's Day in your special relationship!

The State of Our City

At our February 2 meeting Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski provided us with his annual "State of the City" address. There was a nice turn out for the meeting, with 14 members in attendance and guests from three clubs in the Division, including Lt. Governor Ed Fahrman and former member of our club now representing Allentown NE, Jim Snyder.

The Mayor began his talk with some light humor, mentioning that his 7 year old son asked if he had today off from school in observance of "Groundhog Day." He also mentioned that today was his 20th wedding anniversary, which drew a round of applause from the audience. Despite our nation's economic crisis and the sluggish economy the Mayor felt that the City of Allentown was making tremendous progress. He outlined a series of "foundations" that have been built by his administration over the years. The first is in public safety. When he took office in 2006, 1/3 of the police force had retired due to a lucrative pension plan. Since then , over 80 new officers have been trained, and the force has gone from 150 in 2006 to 205 officers today. With federal grants the city has installed 80 surveillance cameras in critical locations. In an effort to better connect with the community, walking patrols by officers have increased 550% under his administration. Crime has dropped 60% since 2006. "Nuisance crimes"- loud music and litter have been targeted. Using the "Weed & Seed" program, resources have been directed towards neighborhoods that are 11% of the city's population, yet where 22% of crimes are committed. The Mayor felt that all trends in public safety were headed in the right direction.

However, the Mayor quickly pointed out that police officers alone are not the key to restoring the city's image. "We cannot just arrest ourselves out of the problem" he stated. The cost of building and operating prisons in the United States is six times more than we spend on education. So we must develop programs that break the cycle of lawlessness and despair among young people in our cities. The Mayor cited a very successful program the city has in Cumberland Gardens where over 300 kids are tutored and mentored by adults. Students of Central Elementary School are mentored from pre-school through high school, all the way through college. For these children to succeed though, parents need to play a bigger role in raising their children. "Everyone needs to step up" he advised, "this is everyone's problem."

Under his administration, Mayor Pawlowski has reduced the city work force from 1000 to 920 employees. Debt levels are lower than neighboring cities. Allentown's $120 million in debt compares to $500 million in Bethlehem. In the area of cost savings the city installed LED lights in all of its traffic signals, saving considerable money in electricity and replacement costs.  The city has improved to a BBB+ bond rating. The city has not increased taxes for five straight years. The Mayor stated that despite rumors to the contrary, the city will not be bankrupt. The projected deficit is running higher, and surpluses will be needed to balance the budget this year. However, this computes to only a 1/7% variance in the budget. The city has a five year budget plan to address these challenges.

Another key  "foundation" for the city is economic development. The Mayor cited the success of Coca Cola Park and minor league baseball. The final touches are being worked out to bring minor league hockey to Allentown by building an arena along the Lehigh River on a 40 acre TIF site. The Mayor expects a half-billion dollar investment in the waterfront area. The "Main Street" program on 7th Street has been very successful, attracting 21 new businesses to 7th Street in the past two years. The city plans to extend the "Main Street" program to Hamilton Street. On Allentown's East Side, the former Hanover Acres housing development was torn down and Overlook Park was built, with 250 low income mixed housing with renters and home owners. Crime has gone down dramatically in that area. The city has been courting "green jobs", and solar panels are being installed at the Bridgeworks business center operated by the Allentown Economic Development Corporation.

In summation, Mayor Pawlowski described the "State of the City" as "promising." He gave full credit to volunteer organizations like Kiwanis as partners in improving the quality of life for Allentown's citizens. THANK YOU Mayor Pawlowski for the inspiring talk, and your continuing support for the Kiwanis Club of Allentown!

   Foundation Dinner

Our Foundation Dinner Planning Committee has met and details are being worked out for the March 23 event! The Community Music School Silver Winds Flute Choir will be performing during a reception from 6-7 PM at the Brookside Country Club. Northampton County Executive John Stoffa will be our Master of Ceremonies, and Allentown Mayor Ed  Pawlowski has agreed to offer our invocation. And we expect a fascinating program by local historian Frank Whelan about the history of our club and how our young club was able to help children orphaned by the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. A dozen agencies will receive grant awards from our Foundation, and 8 members of our club's "Legion of Honor" will be recognized in a special ceremony. There will be a silent auction to raise funds for our Foundation. It will certainly be an evening to remember! A flyer will be forwarded to members by tomorrow which we ask they forward to everyone on their e-mail distribution lists. Our goal is to have 100 guests at the event. We hope that members bring their husbands/wives and friends to join them. Don't miss this exciting event!

Division 18 News

The Parkland Area Kiwanis Club will be hosting an interclub on Wednesday, February 24 for breakfast at Morgan's Restaurant on N. Cedar Crest Blvd. Also, The Kiwanis Club of Emmaus is hosting an interclub next month, on March 24. They meet for dinner beginning at 6:30 PM at the Perkins Restaurant on Lehigh Street, Allentown. The speaker will be Doug Harbach of the Pa. Gaming Control Board. Cost of the meal is $15.00. Call Don Club at 610-282-1897 by March 23 with reservations. Let's support our local clubs by attending their interclub meetings!

Personalized Books for Children

The Personalized Books for Children schedule is going full speed ahead in February.

·         February 18 - Ritter Elementary School, 89 students

·         February 24 & 25 - Mosser Elementary School, 165 students

If you would like to help out, meet in the school office at 9:00 AM on these dates. It is a very rewarding experience!

Kiwanis Night at the IronPigs

Region 6 of Pa. District Kiwanis will be hosting the 3rd Annual "Kiwanis Night at the IronPigs" on Friday, June 11. The 'Pigs will be playing the Toledo Mud Hens that night, and there will be fireworks after the game. Tickets are $25, which includes a two hour all-you-can-eat picnic buffet. A flyer was just e-mailed to our membership. Hope that you can join us!

Upcoming Programs 

February 16  – Rob Narayana, Key Club Lt. Governor.  Invocation: Don Knapp

 

March  2  – LV IronPigs Speaker.  Invocation: Young Chang

 

Next Board Meeting: February 22, 5:30 PM at the Allentown Brew Works.

 

February Birthdays  

                                            7 - Todd Siegfried

                                            21 - Bruce Reimer

                                            28 - Keith Reynolds

-Tom Harp, Editor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

Previous Newsletters

 August 14, 2006   

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


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