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Kiwanis in Indiana
During 1915 and early 1916 the first Kiwanis Clubs in the nation were being organized in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The first Kiwanis Club in Indiana was formed in Indianapolis on August 17, 1916. International President George F. Hixson presented the 150 member club its charter on October 16, 1916. The first year John A. George was president and Melvin J. Hammel was secretary.The second club in Indiana was organized at Lafayette on September 8,1916, with a charter membership of 50. Harry B. Lyman was president and William F. Sattler secretary when the club received its charter on December 15, 1916. South Bend, the third club in the state, was formed on October 28, 1916. The charter was received on January 26, 1917, to the club of 75 charter members. The first year Herman Ries served as president and Fred Simms was secretary.
The Indiana District of Kiwanis International was organized at South Bend on December 27, 1918, to serve the seven clubs in the state: Indianapolis, Lafayette, South Bend, Elkhart, Marion, Fort Wayne and Evansville. Colonel J.L. McCulloch of Marion was elected governor of the District, and he was reelected at District Convention in 1919 and 1920.
In the years since 1916, the Indiana District has grown both in size and in the variety of service projects. By 1945 there were 81 Kiwanis Clubs in the state with a total membership 4,500. These figures by 1980 had grown to 200 clubs and 9,100 members. During the mid-1920s the Kiwanis Clubs of Indiana pledged and raised $150,000 to help finance the construction of the Kiwanis Wing of the Riley Memorial Hospital for Children, located in Indianapolis. In the decades since numerous additional Kiwanis projects have further aided the Riley Hospital for Children. In 1932 the Indiana District planned the first 4-H Junior Leadership Training Camp, a project which has been annually sponsored for more than 50 years. The first Hoosier Kiwanian was published in 1937with Ward D. Mayhall as editor.
More changes and other new projects were to appear in the postwar decades. The 1954 District Convention voted to establish an Indiana District Headquarters with a permanent District Secretary rather than one selected annually. In 1956 the Kiwanis Indiana Foundation was incorporated with the specific purposed of aiding the aged, giving assistance to underprivileged youth, and providing scholarships for worthy students. The Indiana District in 1970 established the Kiwanis-Indiana State Police Career Camp, a project which in its first 15 years acquainted 3,500 Hoosier boys and girls with the career opportunities in law enforcement. Throughout the years the Indiana District has played a major role in the International affairs of Kiwanis. Four Hoosier Kiwanians have been International Presidents: Carl E. Endicott in 1932-33; Jackson A. Raney in 1955-56, Lorin J. Badskey in 1972-73 and William L. Lieber in 1992-93. In 1981 the Indiana District learned that the Kiwanis International Headquarters Office was moving from Chicago to Indianapolis.
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