When someone asks you, "What is Civitan?"

what do you say? I think we've all had the

experience of being asked that question.

Civitan has been many things, to many

people, and your response maybe different

than mine but one good response would be:

Civitan is a community service organization

made up of clubs. Each club operates

locally with volunteer members giving their

time to make their community a better

place to live. We are most known for our

work that helps people with developmental disabilities. Our

organization was founded on March 17, 1917 and on April

15, 1920, Civitan International was born.

Our founder Dr. Courtney Shropshire always envisioned

Civitan as a truly international organization but unfortunately

didn’t live to see that happen. When he died in 1965,

Civitan was only in the United States and Canada.

The first European club was chartered in Norway in 1969

and today we have 34 International Clubs at Large.

Dr. Courtney Shropshire’s vision of an international

organization that would create “builders of good citizenship”

around the globe has finally become a reality.

Every day that you serve Civitan you have that opportunity to

change lives. Sometimes those opportunities may look small

and you might think sometimes it really doesn’t matter but

the things you do matter and they’re not small especially to

the people you help. The power of combined effort knows

no limitation. ” The UAB Civitan International Research

Center is a good example of that.

If you would like to do more for Civitan and work on the

District level give me a call at 931-647-6426 or send me an

email rose.merriwether@yahoo.com. For the upcoming

2018-19 Civitan year we will have (4) Area Directors

positions open (Areas 1, 2, 3 & 7). We are also looking for a

Governor Elect and Public Relations Chair.

Individuals desiring to serve as an Area Director shall have

served as the President of a club and be a member in good

standing of a club in good standing with Civitan International

and the Valley District. The Individuals also has to be

endorsed by the club of which they are a member, and their

candidacy announced at a District-wide meeting prior to the

annual district convention. A person may not serve as Area

Director and as an elected club officer simultaneously.

GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE

WINTER EDITION

THE QUARTERLY N EWSLETTER OF THE V ALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

Rose Merriwether

2017-18

Governor

2017/2018

A candidate for the office of Governor Elect shall: (a) be an

active member in good standing of a chartered Civitan club

in good standing with Civitan International and the Valley

District, (b) secure the endorsement of his/her club, (c)

shall have been trained as an Accredited Club Builder, (d)

have served as a club President for one (1) year, (e) have

served either as Director, District Secretary, or District

Treasurer for a full year, or served no less than two (2)

years as chairperson of one (1) or more standing

committees of the Valley District.

Please remember to send in your donation for the 45th

Annual Junior Civitan Dance-a-thon. We need to help

Public Relations Coordinator, Taylor Albertia, to earn her

trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Our Spring meeting will be April 20-21, 2018 in Jackson,

TN at the Doubletree Inn. Our Governor Elect Jimmy

Jordan has provided the Entertainment on Friday night and

our Immediate Past Governor Sandy will provide the food.

On Saturday our special guest will be our International

President- Elect Bob Jones.

The registration form is at the end of the newsletter. I

hope to see you in Jackson. Don’t forget to bring dog or cat

food to the meeting to help our Juniors with their project.

Rose

Existing Club Attained Golden Circle Status During 2017-18 Year

Joelton

IN THIS ISSUE

Governor's Message 1 Convention 6

2017-18 Board Members 2 Chaplain 7

International President -Elect Message 3 Public Relations 7

Governor's Elect Message 4 Kroger 8

Immediate Past Governor Message 4 Junior Civitan 9 - 10

Valley District Fundraiser 5 Club News 11-17

International Area Director 5

2017-2018 Executive Board

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 2

http://www.valleydistrictcivitan.com/

Grants and scholarships are awarded on an annual basis. Both grant and scholarship applications must be received by the Foundation (not postmarked) by March 1st, 2018

Valley District Foundation - Grants and Scholarships

Governor - Rose Merriwether, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Governor Elect - Jimmy Jordan, Club 2071, South Jackson

Immediate Past Governor - Sandy Buckner, Dickson & Central Civitan Club 1827, 1197

Area 1 Director - Jack Fiefer, Cookeville Civitan Club 0994

Area 2 Director - Sharon Nass, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Area 3 Director - LaDonna Hamm, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Area 4 Director - Phil Buckner, Dickson Civitan Club 1827

Area 5 Director - Madie Fae Davidson, Columbia Civitan Club 0723

Area 6 Director - Bonnie Callahan, Middleton Civitan Club 3627

Area 7 Director- Julie Terry, Memphis Civitan Club 3

Area 8 Director - Lloyd Collier, Dyersburg Civitan Club 730

Area 9 Director - Steve Teasley, Ownesboro Civitan Club 3657,4139

Past Governor at Large - Leslie Benmark, Joelton Civitan Club 3361,4078

Secretary - LaWanda Beasley, Bolivar Civitan Club 1952

Treasurer - Jeannie Way, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Judge Advocate - Jay Albertia, MST, Clarksville Civitan Club 0076,3574

Chaplain - Vernon Brooks, Mount Pleasant Civitan Club 3157

Sergeant at Arms - Ed Van Maren, Columbia Club 723

New Club Growth & Retention Team - Bruce Myers,PDG, Leslie Benmark, PDG, Jay Alberia, MST, & Steve Teasley PDG

Public Relations - Rose Merriwether, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Junior & Campus Civitan - Gena Albertia, Clarksville Civitan Club 0076

Awards - Glenda Jordan, South Jackson Civitan Club 2071

Special Olympics - Jerry Nass, St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 0754

Fund Raising - Ramona Spencer, Middleton Civitan Club 3627

Hello Fellow Civitan

It is an honor and privilege to be serving as your Civitan International President Elect. I have had the opportunity to meet

so many amazing people during my journey and look forward to meeting many more.

This is an exciting time to be a Civitan. We are moving into our second century of service to our communities, state, and

the world. We have so many opportunities to reach out our hand in service, there are so many needs that we can help.

We have new leadership leading our organization. I would encourage you to reach out to the staff at Civitan International

Headquarters. They are there to help you.

It is hard to believe we are almost half way through the Civitan year. If you have not sponsored a new member now is the

time to look for that person who you feel with be an asset to your club and our organization. Have you shared your “WHY”

with that person? Everyone has a why they joined Civitan and there are those that are searching to give back to their

community. If your club has not held a recruitment meeting I would encourage you to consider doing so. A great way to get

people involved is to invite them to a service project that your club is doing. People like to get involved.

I hope you are making plans to attend our International Convention July 22-25 in Reno. It will be an exciting time for everyone. I look forward

to meeting many of you there.

Bob Jones

2017-18

Civitan

International

President-Elect

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 3

March 2018 – Bob Jones Civitan International President– Elect 2017_2018

Civitan International is happy to announce our new community initiative, the Servant’s Heart Awards. This ready-made service project is

designed to help your club or district recognize the unsung heroes in your community serving people with Intellectual and Developmen-

tal Disabilities (I/DD). The Servant’s Heart Award holds true to the mission of Civitan International, which has served the I/DD communi-

ty in so many ways over the decades. Participating clubs and districts should plan an award event in April to coincide with Civitan

Awareness Month.

To help you plan and prepare for your event, Civitan International has prepared a toolkit with a variety of collateral including a helpful

guidebook, award certificates, logos, and more. You can download part one of the toolkit at http://civitan.org/servants-heart-award/

Another tool kit will be released in the coming weeks. International will also provide video and social media support.

Valley President's Council District Report

55 Active President’s Council Member(s) made up of

(38) Council $120/year (13) Family $90/year

(1) Senior $240/year

(1) Advisor $420/year

(1) Cabinet $900 /year

(1) Life Member

3 Chartered Members

2 Past International Presidents

VALLEY DISTRICT CONVENTION

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7— SEPT. 8, 2018

HILTON GARDEN INN

290 ALFRED THUN RD.

CLARKSVILLE, TN

Associate Members 9

adds Deletes Inactive

27 62 19

Member as of 10/1/2017 Members as of 1/31/2018

1220 1157

Membership Comparison Report

Fellow Civitans,

I recently returned from the GE Academy in

Birmingham where I met other Governor-

Elects and shared ideas. We were very

busy as we set about learning what it will

take to make a successful 2018-2019 year.

The meetings were held at International

World Headquarters. After recent

remodeling the building looks great. We

spent one night bowling and just getting to

know the others attending. It has probably

been 40 plus years since I bowled, so I had a gutter ball or

two.

Just a reminder of the Spring District meeting in Jackson,

TN. It will be held Friday, April 20th and Saturday, April

21st at the Doubletree Hotel, 1770 Hwy 45 Bypass. The

registration form will be in this issue of the Valley District

newsletter. Just fill out the form and send it along with a

check it to Lawanda Beasley at address on the form. Hotel

reservations can be made by calling the Doubletree Hotel.

The registration form will have all the information needed on

it.

The 2018 Civitan International Convention will be in Reno,

Nevada during July 22-25 at the Grand Sierra Resort. It will

be an exciting time as civitans gather from all over to enjoy

this event. Registration information can be found

@ http://civitan.org/convention/convention-2/.

Hope you will mark the above dates on your calendar and try

to attend.

If you did not attend the Civitan International Convention in

Birmingham in 2017, you missed the opportunity to tour

such places as the UAB Research Center, International

World Headquarters and the Sparks Clinic. Our club took a

group in October and toured some of the above locations. It

was an eye-opening experience. Don’t be content with just

your club’s involvement in Civitan, get on board on the

district level and learn so much more about what is

happening in these areas. If you are interested in getting

involved in the district level I would like to hear from you.

Tell me what your interests are and what Civitan means to

you.

It is time to think about planning a Membership Recruitment

Meeting. As time goes by we lose our members due to

sickness, death and many other reasons. We need to be

constantly looking for new members to help in the loss of

our faithful long-time members. Take time to invite your

friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family. Tell them the

great things that Civitan does to help the community. Invite

them to attend the next meeting. The winter months are

almost gone, however there is still time to get a recruitment

meeting planned and implemented before things get busy.

Hello Fellow Civitans,

Hope things are going well for you and

your club! Also hope you are adding

new club members as they are our

life-blood. If we want a new and

invigorated club, we must try new and

invigorated projects from new and

invigorated members. If you are in need

of someone to hold a recruitment

meeting, please contact Rose, Jay, Leslie,

Bruce, Steve, Jimmy, or me and we will get

someone to help you.

Speaking of new things, Civitan International is starting a

new award. It is the Servant's Heart Awards and it looks

very interesting to me. It's a way Civitan clubs can honor

those who support children and adults with intellectual and

developmental disabilities in their communities. Part one of

a toolkit for clubs is on International’s website

at http://civitan.org/servants-heart-award/ - check it out!

I’ve already got several folks in mind who I think could be

good candidates for this award.

As Valley’s Past Governor, I am now an ex-officio member of

the Valley Foundation. I hope your club will make every

effort to send a little cash to the Foundation. For many

years a lot of Foundation’s funding was obtained from

contributions collected at the district meetings, but those

funds have diminished in the past couple of years. A letter

requesting your club make a donation has been sent to your

club president recently. I hope your board will take this up

and follow through soon as the Foundation is reviewing

applications for Grants and Scholarships now.

As I look out my window today the sun is shining and it

warmer; surely Spring is on its way! Hope to see you at our

next Valley District meeting in Jackson April 20-21.

Sandy

Jimmy Jordan

2017-18

Governor-Elect

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 4

Sandy Buckner

2017-18

Immediate Past

Governor

GOVERNOR –ELECT MESSAGE IMMEDIATE PAST GOVERNOR MESSAGE

Greetings Fellow Civitans!!!

It’s been a cold Winter, but Spring is almost

here! It is my hope that all Valley District

Civitan Clubs are gearing up for warm

weather fundraisers. One of the most

profitable fundraisers is the Vidalia Onion

Sale. If not onions, I hope all clubs are

getting ready to host some type of

fundraisers for your clubs. As Civitans, we

want to promote fellowship and service, but

that will not happen without hard work to provide projects and

fundraisers for our communities and for Civitan International.

Civitan is about reaching out to our neighbors in our

communities who need a helping hand. I love what Civitan

stands for and I really enjoy helping those people in need who

cannot always help themselves.

I have the final fruitcake total comparisons from Claxton

Bakery listed below for the 2016 and 2017 years. During the

2016 year, 15 Valley District Clubs ordered 18,665 pounds of

fruitcake. For the 2017 year, 16 Valley District Clubs ordered

12,534, which is a decrease of 6,131 pounds ordered.

Thus far during the 2017-2018 year (October 2017 through

January 2018), Valley District has remitted $4,949.42 from

Candy Boxes (16 clubs reporting) and $312.01 from Coin

Boxes (3 clubs reporting). This is a decrease over the same

time period last year (Candy Box - $1,395.80 or 28.2%, and

Coin Box - $72.69 or 23%). Let’s put forth a better effort to get

our numbers up Valley District!

Even though we have logged a decrease in contributions with

the Candy and Coin Boxes, I am hopeful we will do better

before the year ends. Also, there are a couple clubs that have

not made a remittance thus far.

VALLEY DISTRICT FUNDRASIING

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 5

I would like to remind clubs that signed a contract with

Civitan International to participate in these two programs

that we made a commitment. We need to make every

effort to fulfill our commitment and promise of submitting

collections no less than every three months. We must do

this in order to keep our clubs in active status. And we

must also remember that 75% of candy box contributions

and 50% of coin box contributions support the Research

Institute in Birmingham, AL. So Presidents, please urge

your Candy/Coin Box Chairpersons to do what they can to

increase contributions.

Let us continue to work together in the Valley District to

become the best District in Civitan International

Greetings from Marta

Wow, where has this year gone. We are

approaching the half way mark of our

2017-2018 year. I know in October that

we as individuals, clubs, districts and

International all set goals. Now is the

time to take a look at our goals and to

see if they are still attainable. Also,

goals are just that, a mark to reach for.

Please don’t ever stop reaching. Talk

Civitan, Share Civitan, Be Civitan, and

like me Love this organization we call Civitan.

International has shared some ideas that are very viable

and here are a few:

Combine meetings with projects.

Partner with local special education classes to serve

students and families.

Utilize social media.

Are we serving the needs of our new members/all

members. Many people that leave Civitan have been

members for less than 5 years. “Retention is the Key.”

As Civitan Awareness Month approaches our staff at

International have been busy working on a toolkit for our

new “Servants Heart Awards” honoring special education

teachers and paraprofessionals.

Just one final reminder as our International Convention in

Reno is just around the corner and the early bird deadline

is April 1, 2018. What a beautiful location for all of us to

come together and share the success of Civitan. I hope to

see many of you there and renew friendships and to meet

new friends that share the love of this amazing

organization.

Ramona Spencer

2017-18

Fundraising Chair

2016 2017

Ashland City Civitan Club 528 528

Bolivar Civitan Club 624 624

Clarksville Civitan Club 1,068 972

Columbia Civitan Club 3,800 2616

Cookeville Civitan Club 1,056 960

Dickson Civitan Club 1,325 750

Dyersburg Civitan Club 1,368 912

Green Hills Civitan Club 5,272 1,128

Greenridge Civitan Club 144 192

Henderson Civitan Club 264 240

Jackson Civitan Club 312 312

Paris Civitan Club 2,256 2,064

Pulaski Civitan Club 528 600

River City Civitan Club 96 0

St. Bethlehem Civitan Club 24 48

White Bluff 0 900

TOTAL 18,665 12,534

Club NamePounds Ordered

Marta Ford

Region 6

2017-19

International

Director

2017-19 REGION SIX INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR

2018 International Convention

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 6

Seems that I just sent a message to you. How time flies! Hope all is well with each club and hope all your

members are in good health. As our club members become older, it is difficult to maintain our membership

and have all members at our meetings. Many clubs have this problem. In view of this fact, the need for

recruiting is needed every day. Mt. Pleasant Civitan is blessed with a minister who has given his Saturday

morning to a Bible study at the Mt. Pleasant Health and Rehabilitation Home. This is a well-attended

meeting, a wonderful Civitan project for community service.

Many times in our efforts we run into unforeseen objects that hinder progress. This reminds me of Genesis

50:20 in which Joseph said that although his brothers sold him into slavery, God turned the table and

accomplished something good. “ The saving of many lives”.

So it is with us today. We have to find new ways to meet our Civitan goals.

Page 7

V A L L E Y D I S T R I C T P U B L I C R E L A T I O N S

V A L L E Y D I S T R I C T C H A P L A I N

I would like to encourage every club to submit articles this year.. Let your fellow Civitans know what your club

has been working on. Fundraisers, Community Service Projects, Civitan Awareness. Fun, Fellowship, and

more.

We only have one more issue for this Civitan year. Where does the time go? The earlier you can get your

club articles in the better. The Club articles should include up to 150 words of text, (Word or pdf format), up

to 4 photos and a photo of the author. You can email your material to me at

rose.merriwether@yahoo.com or mail it to “292 Bellshire Dr. Clarksville, TN 37043

Valley District has a Facebook page feel free to post your club news on the new page.

https://www.facebook.com/ValleyDistrictCivitan/

VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

Vernon Brooks

2017-18

Chaplain

Rose Merriwether

2017-18

Public Relations

Qtr. 1 - 9-1-2017 and 11-30-2017 -$43.99 11 Households

Don't forget to link your Kroger Reward card to Valley District. No work fundraiser for the District

Valley President's Council District Report

Page 8

K R O G E R R E WA R D S P R O G R A M

Kroger rolled out a nationwide program a few years ago that lets loyalty card holders select charities to which Kroger will donate money,

based on dollars they spend in stores.

Under the system, loyalty card shoppers sign up online and choose us from a list of local nonprofits that Kroger has agreed to help fund.

Kroger then tracks all the card holder's purchases (excluding alcohol, tobacco and gasoline), with every dollar counting as a vote for the

shopper's preferred organization. At the end of each quarter, Kroger totals up dollars spent by enrolled customers and distributes money to

nonprofits proportionately.

Shoppers don't sacrifice any in-store discounts or gas points they earn on their Kroger card; the charitable component is a separate, extra

feature.

Valley District number is 65766 or you can type in Valley District and it will pull up our organization.

If you need help or want some additional information give me a call. 931-647-6426

VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

37043

Hello Fellow Civitans!

I’m so thankful that the dark and gloomy days of winter are coming to end and spring is in the air! As a result

of two winter blasts occurring in mid-January, our Junior Civitan meeting had to be canceled, but our Spring

Convention is drawing near!! On Saturday, May 5th ALL JUNIOR CIVITANS are invited to attend our Valley

District Convention as we close out our year and elect officers for the 2018-2019 school year. We will be

hosted by the Clarksville High School Junior Civitan Club from 9:00 a.m. to noon at their school and will be

collecting items for the local animal shelter. All donations are welcome!!

In the interim, we are wishing Taylor Albertia travel mercies and tireless feet as she heads off to Myrtle Beach,

SC in March as our representative for Dance-A-Thon. Twelve hours of non-stop dancing await her and

countless other Junior Civitans! Thank you to everyone who has donated to the CIRC on her behalf. If your club has not

donated, please know it’s not too late! Make checks payable to Civitan International and mail them to: 304 Longwood

Court; Clarksville, TN 37043.

Lastly, we are still looking for dues to be paid for the following clubs:

Cheatham Co. Central HS Kenwood MS River City GHS

Columbia Academy New Providence Community Hickman County Northeast MS

West Creek MS Olive Branch HS

If you help to sponsor one of these clubs, please contact their advisor and encourage them to pay their

($14.50 per student) dues this month.

We hope you’ll come and join us at our Convention because we are all #obseussedwithservice!

Always Civitan HAPPY,

Gena Albertia

JUNIOR CIVITAN

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 9

Gena Alberta

2017-18

Jr. & Campus

Civitan Chair

Club Build ing Resources If you’re interested in starting a club that makes a difference, all the information can be found at

http://juniorcivitan.org/junior-civitan-resources/literature-forms/recruitment-and-club-building/

Contact juniorcivitan@civitan.org and tell them about your interest in building a club. The following files listed below

can be found on the website.

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 10

Marissa Lott

2017-18

Jr. Governor

My name is Marissa Lott, Junior Governor for the Valley District. I recently attended Sno-Do and had an

amazing time. Sno-Do is a snowmobiling trip to Canada that is used to fundraise for the Civitan

International Research Center. I spent many months fundraising through asking for monetary donations

and hosting a yard sale. Due to everyone’s generous donations, I was able to raise $3,660 dollars.

On January 26, I left my hometown of Clarksville, TN to fly to Buffalo, NY. I never traveled by plane much,

so it was a very exciting to experience being 30,000 feet high! Once in Buffalo, I was greeted by many

familiar faces, and some new ones. I have some family that lives in Buffalo, so I got to reunite with them

at the hotel for some time. After, I spent the time at the hotel catching up with other juniors. We soon loaded up the bus

and made our way to Barrie, Ontario.

The 3 days that I spent in Canada were absolutely amazing and filled with fun, fellowship, and lots of food! We stopped at

Niagara Falls on the way to Barrie, which was breathtaking. On Saturday, we had a Governors meeting and a banquet,

where we all danced the night away. On Sunday, we unfortunately were not able to snowmobile due to the lack of snow,

but we did get to snow-tube and go 5-pin bowling. Monday was spent in Toronto, where we got to see some sights and

shop ‘till we drop. We were constantly doing an activity, which kept us busy and gave us the opportunity to form close

friendships with each other.

Staying with a host family was a new experience for me. The woman we stayed with was very sweet and considerate. She

always made sure we were comfortable. Also, there was a puppy in my home, which I particularly enjoyed. I got to meet a

lot of new people and see so many aspects of the culture and life in Canada.

I am so grateful that I was able to experience this trip, and I feel so lucky that I was able to help people as a part of this

opportunity. I have made very close friends, and did not want to leave. I want to thank everyone who donated and

gave support to the Research Center through this fundraiser. I was intimidated to participate and was worried I

wouldn’t reach my goal, but due to everyone’s generosity, the fundraising process went very smoothly. I am so glad I got

this opportunity and this experience is definitely one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

2017-2018 Junior Governors and International Board

Tubing in Canada!

Niagara Falls

Jr. Governor Marissa Lott

Jr. Governor Marissa Lott Jr. Governor Marissa Lott

.

MIDDLETON

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 11

After a busy December our club hasn't been as active this year. We are now planning for Clergy

evening. We had a good number last year. Having sent out 20 letters and doing follow-up we are

expecting a good number this year. Sandy Buckner will be our speaker. A request for a grant has been

submitted to the Foundation for Reconnect. Our planned feeding of this group on January 18th had to be

rescheduled due to the weather, and is now scheduled for the 27th of February. We will be feeding them

chili, salad, cornbread and cookies.

A nominating committee has been formed to suggest officers for next year. We are encouraging new

members to consider taking a position. We are anticipating another good year. At the present time at least three members

of our club are planning on attending the International convention in Las Vegas this year

Middleton Civitan Club celebrated Clergy throughout the Middleton Community with a dinner held in honor

of Clergy Appreciation Week on Monday, February 5, 2018. The meal consisted of fried chicken, green

beans, roasted potatoes, coleslaw, rolls, assorted desserts, tea and lemonade. The program also

included a segment entitled, “Why We Celebrate”, presented by Ramona Spencer, Club Treasurer,

highlighting the story of the four Chaplains on the USS Dorchester.

Speaker for the occasion was Minister Jessie Hines, Associate Minister of the New Mt. Pleasant Baptist

Church in Middleton, TN. Minister Hines spoke to an audience of 27 people consisting of 16 Club

members and 11 guests.

Minister Hines spoke from Ephesians 4:1 and used a thought of “Walk Worthy.” He stated sometimes ministers need

some encouragement to continue their calling. He listed several reasons why pastors/ministers/evangelists do what

they do. He spoke about how God owns us and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. He stated clergy serve in many

different ways and they must keep serving because what they do, they do for God.

The Club gained one new member, Ms. Brenda Conry, as a result of Clergy Appreciation night and she will be installed at

the March meeting.

ST BETHLEHEM

Forest Suddeath

Ramona

Spencer

Pictured left to right: sitting – Janet Hines; Angela Hodoe; Evett Cutrer; Minister Jeanette Jones; and Minister Teresa

Cox. Standing – Minister Lucille Embry; Minister Jessie Hines; Pastor Jamie Hodoe; Pastor Jesse Cutrer; Pastor Gene

President Pat presents Joan

Presi-

dent Pat presents Donnie Johnson

The Columbia Civitan Club has a rich history and we celebrated with a special cake and ice cream for our 65th

year serving our community. The club has endowed a scholarship at Columbia State

Community College since the 1970’s and each year we add to that endowment so

that more deserving young men and women can receive a college education. Among

other projects are Jared’s Dream, a totally handicapped accessible playground,

Special Olympics, baseball and softball teams, Teddy Bears provided to Police and

Sheriff Departments. These and our other projects share and embrace a common

goal to make our community a better place for all our citizens.

COLUMBIA CIVITAN

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 12

Emily Marshall

S O U T H J A C K S O N

Glenda Jordan

The club placed a welcome sign as you enter the City of Jackson on Highway 45 South

headed North. Those helping were Don Pickens, James Stanfield and Joe Morris.

The February meeting was spent discussing our next project; our gourmet pancake

breakfast. It will be held at FBC, Bemis with breakfast starting at 7 a.m.

February 1 the Columbia Civitan Club honored the clergy of Maury County with a dinner and guest speaker. Pictured are

the clergy that attended and the speaker, David Baker, chaplain for Maury Chaplain Ministries that serves Maury County

Jail and Sheriff’s Departments.

Velma Marberry, Glenda Jordan, Ann Lee and Sarah Case

distributed pizza, ice cream sandwiches and soft drinks to

South Side High Schools’ CBL students in celebration of

Valentine’s Day.

DYERSBURG

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 13

David Raines

MT. PLEASANT The Mt. Pleasant Civitan Club is off to a great start this year with a major project coming together. Plans were put

together by the Club to improve a small City Park with reworking the basketball goals, adding outdoor grills, adding

benches honoring individuals from the community through donations and other improvements.. The major addition to

the park will be a large shelter honoring the late Mr. Willie Baker, teacher, coach, city commissioner, and mayor of

the City of Mt. pleasant of which about eighty (80%) percent of the funds have already been raised. The City of Mt.

Pleasant is working with the Club on this project providing some concrete pads for the benches and helping to

maintain the park. If any other club would like to donate to the shelter it would be appreciated.

The Club continues to help support the CDC Classes at the Elementary School with holiday parties and gifts during the

year. This year as we usually do we will honor two graduating students from each school (Elementary, Middle, and

High) who in the determination of the teachers and staff demonstrate good citizenship.

President

Carl Martin

On Monday evening, Feb. 5, Dyersburg Civitan Club held its annual clergy banquet, honoring and recognizing those

that serve in the community. Dyer County Mayor Chris Young and Dyersburg City Mayor John Holden presented a

proclamation at the event.

Clergy Appreciation Day is one of the Clarksville Civitan Club's annual events. Members are encouraged to

invite clergy members as guests for the special meeting during the first week of February. This year, Febru-

ary 7, 2018 was the date selected. Eighteen (18) guests were in attendance. Director Ray Stone was re-

sponsible for February programs and introduced the special speaker, Cal Hampton. Cal is a local resident

who grew up at First Baptist Church and who has served in various roles there. He earned degrees from Aus-

tin Peay State University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a licensed and ordained minister.

Currently, he is the founding pastor of the newly formed 2nd Mile Church on Riverside Drive in Clarksville.

In his presentation, Hampton included the well-known story of the Four Chaplains as an example of unselfish

devotion to others. He thanked Civitans and encouraged them to continue to recognize, support and honor

members of the clergy. The guests were treated to lunch, small token gifts, and invited to stay after the program for a group

photograph.

CLARKSVILLE

THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 Page 14

Virginia

Tenney

Secretary

S P E C I A L O L M P I C S

Dear Fellow Civitans:

I have received several responses to my previous message asking me when I wanted the information for your

Special Olympics donations. The answer is: As soon as you have made your donation. Write your check, make a

copy for me, and send off both of them at the same time. That way you wont forget and you will get credit for your

support of Special Olympics in a timely manner.

To date, I have received information from only two clubs that have donated a total of $350 dollars to Special

Olympics. The last date you can get credit for this fiscal years' donations is September 30, 2018. Thank you so

much for your generosity.

Jerry Nass

Jerry Nass

Special Olympics

Chair

Dickson Civitan celebrated its Pastor Appreciation Dinner Feb. 5. Pastors and spouses present were

front row: Angie Edgemon; Roger Michael; Robin Metcalf; Emily Blackburn; Joyce Guye; Judi Truitt. Back

row: Larry McGranahan; Jeff Edgemon; Mitchell & Eleanor Stevens; Ken Metcalf; Ed Blackburn; Dean

Guye; Rob Truitt; and Bob Niles.

Page 15 VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

DICKSON CIVITAN

The Ashland City Civitan Club presented a check for $650 to the Cheatham County Kids organization for an autism

awareness event.

On February 13 the Ashland City Civitan Club hosted a clergy appreciation lunch. Members provided a pot luck dinner. Drake Jenkins,

pulpit minister at Ashland City Church of Christ was the guest speaker.

Preparations are being made for a SEEK meeting on March 27.

ASHLAND CITY

Sherry Drake

Sandy Buckner

2017-18

Immediate

Past Governor

Dickson Civitan held its annual Developmental Services Valentine Party on Feb. 10

Page 16 VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

Columbia Civitan and Mt. Pleasant Civitan Clubs had a wonderful Clergy Celebration on February 1, 2018. Clergy Appreci-

ation and Celebration is my favorite event that Civitan supports. The clergy of our communities work tirelessly for the peo-

ple in their congregations, friends and neighbors. It is a true calling and we the members of Civitan worldwide thank and

appreciate them all. Our speaker was David Baker, the Maury County Jail Chaplain.

Area Director 5 Shela Hopkins

Shela Hopkins

Minister Baker displayed an exhibit of the work he does with the men and women of this facility. He works to provide opportunities of

furthering education, computer vocational skills training and job placement after incarceration. His main focus is helping these men and

women to find Christ. His dedication and love for his tremendous calling shone on his face and through his words. What a blessing he is

to our community!

Minister Baker displayed an exhibit of the work he does with the men and women of this facility. He works to provide opportunities of furthering education,

computer vocational skills training and job placement after incarceration. His main focus is helping these men and women to find Christ. His dedication

and love for his tremendous calling shone on his face and through his words. What a blessing he is to our community!

Everyone had a awesome

time in fellowship.

The Columbia club is preparing for a membership drive meeting on March 1,2018 at Puckett’s in downtown Columbia.

I had the privilege of visiting the Mt. Pleasant Club on February 19, 2018. President Martin and the Mt. Pleasant club is planning for a fruitful Spring in

2018!! This wonderful club is heading up some major fund raisers to build a park shelter honoring Mr. William Baker

The Mt. Pleasant Civitan club is hosting a membership drive on April 2, 2018 at the Pizza Place in Mt. Pleasant , TN at 6:00 pm.

Thank you Columbia and Mt. Pleasant for jobs well done! Keep kindling your fires for Civitan!

Page 17 VOLUME 67 ISSUE 3 THE Q UARTERLY N EWSLETTER VALLEY D ISTRICT C IVITAN

C O N V E N T I O N R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M

Return Address

Rose Merriwether

292 Bellshire Dr.

Clarksville, TN 37043

Phone: 931-647-6426

E-mail: rose.merriwether@yahoo.com

"Building Good Citizens"

address

http//:www.

valleydistrictcivitan.com

Civitan Valley District

Valley District Civitan - Voice of the Valley

VOLUME 65 ISSUE 1

Spring District Meeting

Friday April 20—Sat. April 21, 2018

Important Websites Valley District Civitan

www.ValleyDistrictCivitan.com Civitan International

www.civitan.org

Sergeant at Arms

Ed Van Maren

New Club Growth & Retention Team

Jay Albertia MST, Leslie Benmark, PDG,

Bruce Myers, PDG, Steve Teasley, PDG

Special Olympics

Jerry Nass

Public Relations

Rose Merriwether

Jr. & Campus Civitan

Gena Albertia

Awards

Glenda Jordan

Fund Raising

Ramona Spencer

Valley District Foundation Trustees

Vernon Brooks (2019)

Sam White, PDG (2019)

Yvonne van der Touw, (2020)

Pat Waggoner (2019)

Tim Campbell (2019)

George Weir, PDG (2020)

EX-OFFICIO

Sandy Buckner

International Foundation Board Liaison

Jay Albertia, PDG

Governor

Rose Merriwether

Governor Elect

Jimmy Jordan

Immediate Past Governor Sandy Buckner, MST

Past Governor at Large

Leslie Ann Benmark

Secretary

Lawanda Beasley

Treasurer

Jeannie Way

Judge Advocate

Jay Albertia MST

Chaplain

Vernon Brooks

Area 1 - Jack Fiefer (2018)

Area 2 – Sharon Nass 2018)

Area 3 - La Donna Hamm (2018)

Area 4 – Phil Buckner (2019)

Area 5 – Shela Hopkins (2019)

Area 6 – Bonnie Callahan (2019)

Area 7– Julie Terry (2018)

Area 8 - Lloyd Collier (2019)

Area 9 – Steve Teasley (2019)