History of the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Rochester, MN
The meeting to incorporate the Kiwanis Club of Rochester Golden K, was held at Wade’s Broiler on April 27, 1983. Thirteen members of a 25 member roster were present.
A series of pre-organizational meetings had been held prior to this meeting in order to build a membership of 20 or more retirees necessary for incorporation of the club.
Cliff Lawrence and John Hansen chaired the meetings, which were held bi-weekly at Wade’s Broiler. Each meeting included a 45 minute program. Our pre-organizational meetings were sponsored by Walter Schaffer from the Kiwanis West Club, Dave Davis from the Kiwanis Sunrisers, and Al Famington from Kiwanis Downtown.
The officers elected at the organizational meeting, for the five months remaining of the 1983 term and for the 1983-1984 term to October 1, 1984 were as follows:
OFFICERS
Cliff Lawrence – President John Hansen – 1st Vice President George Jones – 2nd Vice President
Palmer Godtland – Secretary Eldred Senrick – Treasurer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frank Else Walter Macher Charles Austin Verl Fetty Harry Samways
CHARTER PROGRAM
The Kiwanis Club of Rochester Golden K, was chartered on May 24, 1983. The charter meeting was held at Holiday Inn South. Lt. Governor Paul Lutzke served as master of ceremonies for the program. Twenty-six members and their spouses, out of twenty-nine members were present. President Cliff Lawrence accepted the charter from District Governor Virgil Christensen of the Minnesota-Dakotas District.
Golden K Clubs for retirees became a new addition to the Kiwanis organization in Greenville North Carolina in 1975. As of October 1988 we had 193 clubs in the Minnesota Dakotas District. Included in this total were 41 Golden K Clubs. In April 1983, prior to Rochester Golden K being chartered, there were 189 Kiwanis Clubs including 27 Golden K Clubs in the Minnesota-Dakotas district. Rochester Golden K Club was number 28 in the district.
CHARTER MEMBERS–MAY 24, 1983
Charles J. Austin Thomas S. Broton Sunar P. Dahl Phillip D. Dendler Merle A. Dunn
Frank A. Else Arlowe W. Esau Verl A. Fetty Milt H. Gauthier George N. Gibbs
Palmer Godtland Donald Halling John E. Hansen William J. Hill Irvin A. Hoch
George W. Jones Richard D. Kilpatrick Clifford G. Lawrence Paul A. Lundberg
Walter C. Macher R. Frank Markley Ember K. Metz Walter Paulson Walter L. Payne
Harry E. Samways Eldred C. Senrick Durward A. Shepard Larry S. Smith Ralph Whittemore
Even though our club has consistently demonstrated growth, we offer this list of Charter Members who have elected to resign: (Thru October 1, 1992)
Charles J. Austin Thomas S. Broton Merle A. Dunn Arlowe W. Esau Milt H Gauthier
Donald Halling Durward A. Shepard Irvin A. Hoch Richard D. Kilpatrick
R.Frank Markley Ember K. Metz Walter Paulson Harry E. Samways Ralph Whittemore
Walter Payne resigned and reinstated membership
In Addition we regret that the following Charter Members are now deceased: (Thru October 1, l999)
Sunar P. Dahl Phillip D. Dendler William J. Hill Paul A. Lundberg Eldred C. Senrick Walter C. Macher
The following Charter Members are included in our current membership of 51 members, as of October 1, 1992.
Frank A. Else Verl A. Fetty George N. Gibbs Palmer Godtland John E. Hansen
George W. Jones Clifford G. Lawrence Walter C. Macher Larry S. Smith Walter L. Payne
Charter Members
Back Row: Larry Smith, Arlowe Esau, Verl Fetty, Harry Samways, Paul Lundberg, Palmer Godtland, Walter Payne, Richard Spaniol, William Hill, Walter Macher, ?, George Gibbs, John Hansen.
Front Row: Eldred Senrick, Cliff Lawrence, George Jones, Richard Kilpatrick, Ralph Wittmore, Reverend Merle Dunn, Frank Else
Last updated by Dick Zelenski on July 5, 2018