Upcoming Events

Sunday, June 7th at 7:30PM
Topic: TBA

Meeting ID: 841 2675 3241
Passcode: 601552

Governor’s Monthly Address

It’s Membership Month in our  Kiwanis World!

Kiwanians, you are the leaders in this movement to maintain and increase the momentum to continue to turn this ship, THE ILLINOIS-EASTERN IOWA ship around!!!

It has begun but we require even more effort at this time.  May is the first of the last six months of this Kiwanis year! WE NEED YOU TO ASK POTENTIAL MEMBERS TO JOIN, to get on board our ship!

We need you to consider what type of people do you need to ASK that will improve the drive to increase our efforts to better serve the needs of our communities and children.  The time is NOW, not next month!

Need support?  Contact your Lt. Gov., Member-ship Dream Team, Governor Mary Zeronas,  or Executive Director Angie Johnson.

Reach out to Past Governors and Past Lt Governors for support.  This must be a team effort, not a solo act.

We are witnessing progress but we are foreseeing the end of the Kiwanis year on September 30, 2026.  What does your club look like on September 30, 2026?

• Membership Numbers are compared to projections.  Have you met or exceeded those numbers?
• 2026-27 Officers had been elected by 5/15 and entered in ENGAGE
• Members who have moved or died have been removed from your membership asap, NOT WAITING UNTIL AUGUST OR SEPT.
• Charter strength is at least 15 members or more.
• Any large membership losses during the year have been overcome by GAINS!!!
• Service Leadership Clubs and your club have a strong, vibrant and growing relationship.
• Goals for the 2026-27 Kiwanis year have been set.  Growth has become a part of the structure of your club as well as its individual members.
• Your club has celebrated a great year that recognizes individual and club growth through team efforts!

I RECOGNIZE THE COMPLEXITIES AND TRIALS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED OR WILL ENCOUNTER.  This is the time, if necessary, to regroup and rethink your goals and implementation processes.  When we succeed as a team, we succeed as Kiwanians, working together as a team!!!

Just a reminder, we are the leaders that will make this happen!  Let me share the following words with you:

Position may give you authority.

But service gives you influence.

Too many people mistake leadership for control.

They believe leadership means:

→ Being the loudest voice

→ Having the highest title

→ Giving orders

→ Managing through pressure or fear

But real leadership works differently.

The most impactful leaders do not focus on proving their power over people.

They focus on building trust with people.

They ask questions.

They support growth.

They create environments where others feel respected, heard, and motivated.

Because leadership is not about making people feel smaller so you feel important.

It is about helping people become stronger, more confident, and more capable because they worked with you.

The strongest leaders understand something important:

Your success as a leader is measured by how many people grow around you.

Not how much control you maintain.

Service-driven leadership creates stronger teams, healthier cultures, and more meaningful results.

People naturally follow leaders who genuinely care about their growth and success.

That kind of influence cannot be forced.

It must be earned through consistency, humility, and integrity.

Lead in a way that empowers people, not intimidates them.

That is real leadership.

Share this with a leader who inspires through service

Follow The Leadership Journey for more business and leadership insights

#LeadershipMatters #ServantLeadership #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipMindset #TeamLeadership #SuccessMindset

Each member can make a difference as we enter the last sixth months of the 2025-26 Kiwanis year!  You are invited to work together to achieve all that we can as we continue to support the positive change of our Illinois-Eastern District!!!

More to follow!!!

Governor Mary Zeronas

About Kiwanis

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. Kiwanians are volunteers changing the world through service to children and communities. Kiwanis members help shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged, and care for the sick. They develop youth as leaders, build playgrounds, raise funds for pediatric research, and much more. No problem is too big or too small. Why? Because working together, members achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. When you give a child a chance to learn, experience, dream, and succeed, great things happen!

The I-I District consists of all K-Family clubs located in the State of Illinois as well as those in the following counties of Iowa: Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jones, Jackson, Clinton, Muscatine, Scott, Louisa, Henry, Des Moines & Lee.

The members of the I-I District are very proud of our midwestern heritage and our long standing Kiwanis service in our communities. Having chartered on September 27, 1920, the I-I District K-Family has provided service to children for over 100 years!

The term “Kiwanis” comes from a native term closely resembling, “we build.” Our district volunteers with communities in Illinois and Eastern Iowa. We acknowledge our service occurs on the ancestral lands of the Osage, Myaamia, Sauk & Fox, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo and Peoria peoples. As we give back with our hands and hearts, let us honor the original stewards of these ancestral grounds, the living land that we collectively gather upon, and acknowledge the strength of all indigenous peoples.

Birth of Kiwanis