Three Rivers Kiwanis is growing

    MILO — Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo-Brownville has inducted a new member, Milo Chief of Police Damien Pickel. Pickel was honored and inducted as the 48th member by long-time member Eben DeWitt on Sept. 10 and was the featured speaker at that meeting. The club is enjoying the use of the new building at 24 Gerrish Road, north of downtown Milo.

Photo courtesy of Three Rivers Kiwanis

    NEW MEMBER — Milo Police Chief Damien Pickel was formally inducted into the Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo-Brownville on Sept. 10. Pictured with Pickel are his sponsor Tom Harrigan, center, and Eben DeWitt. At the end of the ceremony Harrigan pinned Pickel with a Kiwanis lapel pin.

    Pickel described his professional background and how he came to be chief in Milo. He talked to the members about drug problems in and around the Milo area and how he is working for change. He goes to the elementary school every morning to greet the students as they arrive. “I want them to see the police in a positive light,” he explained. “I believe this is the best kind of outreach.”
    Weekly Kiwanis meetings usually conduct pertinent business, discuss upcoming events, and have a speaker. Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 in Detroit, Mich., and became an international organization with the creation of the Kiwanis Club in Hamilton, Ontario, the following year. On Jan. 21, 2015, Kiwanis will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In the early years, members focused on business networking, but in 1919, the organization changed its focus to service. In the 1960s, worldwide expansion was approved, and within the decade, Kiwanis International-Europe was formed, representing Kiwanians in 11 European nations.
    Three Rivers Kiwanis (established in 1991) meets every Wednesday morning at the Kiwanis building at 24 Gerrish Rd. at 6:30, except the last Wednesday (be it the fourth or fifth Wednesday of the month), which meets at 6:30 p.m. There will be a birthday celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The public is always welcome.
    For membership information, please call Secretary Cherly Zeh at 943-6909. For information on building use, please call Bobby Ellison at 943-2317.