About Kiwanis Club of Tobaccoland

Our Charter

The Kiwanis Club of Tobaccoland (KCT) was chartered with 50 members on July 8, 1960. Charter night ceremonies took place at the stately old Washington Duke (later Jack Tar) Hotel. The hotel occupied the space bounded by Parrish, Corcoran, Chapel Hill and Market Streets in downtown Durham. It disappeared in a spectacular implosion on December 15, 1978.

Our Membership

KCT was formed to be a downtown club and remained so until downtown left us in the lurch. All but five of the original 50 members worked within walking distance of the Washington Duke. As our club and city have grown and changed, our members' geographic spread now embraces many parts of Durham County. Nearly all KCT members live in Durham, others in Chapel Hill, Cary and Hillsborough. We are educators, health professionals, merchants, businesspersons, financial service providers, youth service administrators. One of us was a Nobel Laureate in medicine, another was President of the U.S. Olympic Committee, a third has a plaque in the National Football League Hall of Fame. The rest of us are also terrific.

We are exemplary citizens. Our members have served in the N.C. General Assembly, on the Durham City Council, on the State Supreme Court and the District Court bench. Others have headed the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, Durham Arts Council, Durham Merchants Association, and have served on countless local boards and commissions.

Our Meetings

We biweekly on Mondays (see calendar) at 12:30 p.m. for fellowship, lunch, some wisecracks, a program and to conduct KCT business. Our Program Committee traditionally does a superlative job. Early each November we meet and work at the Old Armory on Foster Street for our annual Pancake Days, a prominent event on Durham's community calendar. Our annual Family Picnic, in recent years held at the N.C. Museum of Life & Science, has occurred every September since 1965. This popular gathering became an exciting one in 1996 when Hurricane Fran's introductory gusts sent us home early. A highlight every spring is our festive Annual Banquet, attended by spouses, dates and other guests and climaxed by the Kiwanian of the Year presentation. A special committee of our many experts has charge of the menu, the party favors, the decorations and the entertainment. The Kiwanian of the Year is always taken by surprise.

WE BUILD: Community Service

KCT is about enjoying fellowship, friendship and good times, but more than anything else it is about community service. Over the years our Pancake Days have produced a cumulative net profit of more than $265,000 as of December 1999. Except for a modest contingency reserve, all of these dollars have been dedicated to the diverse public service and community-building donations that our club has made to help meet the needs of Durham nonprofit organizations. By far our heaviest emphasis has been on serving the needs and potentials of less-privileged youth. (We also participate in Kiwanis-sponsored projects at District and International levels.)

Our KCT Board of Directors appropriates funds for these varied purposes only upon the request of one of our major service committees and after investigation and recommendation by the Finance Committee. It is worth noting that many of our club's smaller contributions for support projects or equipment have had a vital impact on their beneficiary organizations.

WE BUILD: Volunteer Services

Our dollar contributions to local service groups have extensive effects. So do the personal efforts of KCT members. This is especially apparent in such activities as Terrific Kids, the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, and Reading Is Fundamental. Our members' individual participation is evident in many other ways too. For example, we have rung Salvation Army bells at Christmastime every year beginning in 1960. KCT members help with arrangements at any number of charity Walkathons, Bowlathons and Special Olympics events. KCT members have worked closely with the Circle K Club at Duke University and with high school Key Clubs. We got blisters on our hands one year from planting hundreds of juniper shrubs along a four-block stretch of the Pettigrew Street railway embankment. The Better Business Bureau of Eastern N.C. is a result of KCT's initiative and leadership. One of our club's committees led and coordinated a 1981 County-wide Get-Out-the Vote promotion that garnered a 72 percent (72 percent!) voter participation. This grassroots exercise in good citizenship cost KCT's treasury a whopping $1.66.

Pancakes

Every nickel of KCT's community service donations comes from the proceeds of our annual November Pancake Days. The esprit that accompanies this labor-intensive two-day frenzy (it isn't that bad, but we're sure busy) is beyond price. Our Chief Pancake and his or her committee give it a lot more than two days. The rest of us sell tickets and we all work at least one shift, most work two, some work a whole day and more. It's these hours on the job together that transform our entire membership into a unit of common cause.

"Pancakes" is a one-word definition of KCT fellowship.
History by C. X. Larrabee