Pine Island Kiwanis wins Al Mills Award
The Pine Island Kiwanis Club was given the Al Mills Award at the Annual Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce dinner Sunday, Jan. 23.
Kiwanian Mike Shevlin was asked to accept the award for Kiwanis President Andre Mule. When considering who might be awarded, Shevlin remarked that the Kiwanis Club does so much for the community.
“I emailed and said the Kiwanis does an awful lot for the community, for the kids on the island and has since 1977. That’s their whole purpose,” Shevlin said.
Although recognition is nice, Shevlin said, the mission statement for Kiwanis is an organization of volunteers, dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time, and that is, by far, more important than any promotion done by the organization.
“That’s what they’ve done for all these years. They think about the community, they think about the kids and they also think about the people on the island. They’ve carried out their mission statement and they continue doing it,” Shevlin said.
To date, he said the organization has given out over $500,000 in scholarships to islanders, for beginning or continuing education, or even to go into the fire department or to become an EMT. Although the Kiwanis Club seems to fly under the radar, Shevlin credits the organization with encouraging an untold number of individuals on their way to their goals, including two of his own kids.
“It’s all volunteer — they’re just community people that have done a lot for their community. It’s the one group I’ve stuck with for 40 years now,” Shevlin said.
Kiwanis is active around the world and in Lee County, he said.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about the Kiwanis Club, the group meets at Pine Island United Methodist Church, 5701 Pine Island Road, Bokeelia, Wednesday mornings at 7:30 for breakfast and then the weekly meeting starts at 8.