With just two weeks left in the Kiwanis year, President Brian Rodgers led a group discussion of what Kiwanis means to individual members. Words such as Children, Fellowship through Service, Global Impact, Identity, Networking, Leadership Development, Friendships, Community Awareness, Unity, Meaning & more were shared by those present.

Many shared their own Kiwanis story and what this club means to them.

We were joined by fellow Kiwanian, Past Lt. Governor, and Tom’s Callison’s Mom- who shared her experience in Kiwanis.

President Brian Rodgers shared the following video to begin our discussion:

We concluded our time of sharing renewed in the spirit of what Kiwanis is all about and excited about what the new Kiwanis Year has ahead.

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Next week our speaker is, Public Service Commissioner Susan Parker.

Susan Parker was elected to the Alabama Public Service Commission in 2006. Parker’s political career also includes being elected as State Auditor of Alabama in 1998, and she was the first woman in Alabama ever nominated for the U. S. Senate in 2002.

Prior to becoming involved in politics, Parker had a 25-year career in public education. In 1972, at the age of 16, she started working at Calhoun Community College as a file clerk and rose through the ranks to become an Associate Dean. Parker worked her last eight years in higher education at Athens State University where she served as Development Officer and Assistant to the President.

The accomplishment of which Parker is most proud is that she completed four college degrees by attending college at night and working full-time during the day. It took her 13 years but Parker persevered and completed her associates, bachelors, masters and Ph.D. — all with honors.

She is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (NARUC) Executive Committee, Member of Energy Resources and Environment Committee and Subcommittee on Education and Research. Vice-President of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (SEARUC) and Chairperson of the Gas Technology Institute Advisory Board in Chicago Illinois.

Throughout her career, community service has been important to Parker. She has served as president of numerous non-profit organizations including; Boys and Girls Clubs, Heart Association, Cancer Society, Leukemia Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and United Way. In 1988, Susan Parker became the first woman in Alabama to receive the coveted TOYA Award (Ten Outstanding Young Americans) by the U. S. Jaycees.

Parker and her husband of 29 years, Paul Parker, enjoy golf and travel. They are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services (CHIPS Center) is a place where child abuse victims can come for help and healing. The CHIPS staff is a team of specially trained clinical counselors, doctors, social workers, and nurses who work with law enforcement, the Department of Human Resources (DHR), and child advocacy center (CAC) representatives to provide the best possible care for children and families traumatized by physical and/or sexual abuse.

Hope that you can join us in the newly renovated Staterooms of The Club.