Attendance/Calling – The members of this committee are required to canvass the entire membership by phone before each Civitan meeting to determine the number who will attend. Occasionally they are required to relay information about special meetings or meeting changes. Each committee member is required to make about 6 to 8 calls twice a month. The results of the survey are passed to the committee chairman who gives the total number to the Chariot.

Awards – This committee is responsible for selecting the recipients for the Citizen of the Year, Civitan of the Year and any other special awards requested by the Club President and/or the Club Board of Directors. They are responsible for obtaining or preparing the necessary certificates or plaques. They also plan and participate in the awards program held the last meeting in September each year.

Civi-News – This activity is currently covered by a single Editor, but could be expanded to include other members. The Civi-News is published and distributed once a month, usually before the first meeting of the month. The Editor must have the computer capability to prepare the issue in a concise and understandable manner, assure that there is input each month from the officers and committee or activity chairs and then distribute both the hard copies and the electronically transmitted copies in a timely manner.

Directory – As per the Civi-News, one person currently carries out this job. The Club Directory is a 30-35 page booklet that is revised and reprinted each year. It contains the names of the Officers, Directors, and Foundation Trustees as well as the names of all Committee and Project Chairs. Names and addresses of selected District and International Officers are also shown. One page is dedicated to listing important meeting dates throughout the years for the Club, the Civitan Area, Civitan District and for Civitan International. The remainder of the Directory is made up of names, pictures, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for each member. All this information is compiled on the computer and taken to the printer so that the booklet can be given to each member at the first meeting in October.

Electronic Communication – This is a fairly recent addition to club activities resulting in the need for this committee to continually work with club officers and committee heads to support and advance the use of electronic communication where it may be beneficial to the club. Currently this committee chairman is responsible for editing and updating the club’s web pages (www.civitanhendersonvillenc.org), ensuring that the web page host is paid each year, and keeping a list of e-mail addresses of members to be used for rapid bulk communication.

Fellowship – This committee is called upon to meet and greet those persons attending a Civitan meeting for the first time. This same courtesy should follow any other visits prior to an individual becoming a member. The committee is also responsible for encouraging club fellowship time before and after each meeting and specifically to make certain that new members become acquainted with other members and meeting procedures. The group is also responsible for being aware of the sickness or death of Civitan members or their family and to provide for cards to be sent as well as phone calls or visits where appropriate.

Growth and Education – This committee coordinates planning and implementation of the club’s ongoing program for membership recruitment and member retention. It, with the Fellowship Committee, is responsible for welcoming guests, providing current informational material, coordinating membership applications and the new member initiation process. The committee also provides a program for new member orientation and education, which includes club history, traditions and activities. Information concerning the history and projects of Civitan International, NC District West and Area I West is also provided.

Historian – This has traditionally been the assignment of one member. This person is to gather and maintain in orderly fashion information and records pertaining to the activities and membership of the club through the nearly 50 years of its existence. The Club Secretary keeps certain procedural documents and the Club Treasurer keeps financial records leaving the Historian to organize copies of Club Directories, Civi-News, newspaper articles, significant correspondence, etc. The Historian also maintains a scrapbook that can be displayed at club meetings, recruiting opportunities and club socials.
Program/Entertainment – Members of this committee are called upon to provide programs for Civitan meetings throughout the year that are informative, educational and relevant as well as entertaining. This is one of the most important jobs in the club since dull or boring programs at meetings will eventually result in poor attendance and reduction in membership. Most of the effort of the committee deals with making initial contact and then following up with program presenters or speakers. For special meetings or social functions, this committee may be required to arrange musical or other types of entertainment rather than a speaker.

Publicity – This committee is to provide the necessary publicity in both the local media and in the various Civitan publications concerning club projects and activities. The aim is make area residents aware of Civitan and its contribution to the well being of the community and also to receive recognition from other Civitans for the accomplishments of the Hendersonville Club. This committee must impress upon each project and committee chairperson the need for publicity and then to work with them to gather the information needed for publicity purposes.
 

Charitable Activity/Agency Coordinators

With the exception of the Citizenship Awards and Scholarship Awards Committee, each of the following coordination responsibilities is assigned to a single member. Currently each of these charitable agencies or activities receives financial support from the Civitan Club of Hendersonville. It is the function of the coordinator to periodically contact these agencies to obtain an assessment of their needs and how effectively the support of the club is being utilized. Each year the coordinator is called upon to prepare a budget proposal to be submitted to the Trustees of the Civitan Foundation of Hendersonville to be included in the yearly budget for charitable giving. After budget approval, the coordinator arranges for the donation to be given to the agency at an appropriate time and works with the Club Publicity Committee to obtain suitable media coverage of the event.

Blue Ridge Community College – Blue Ridge is a two-year Community College located in Henderson County. Civitan has provided a yearly grant to assist students who have encountered financial hardships that would interfere with the continuation of their education. A portion of the funds is used for loans and the remainder goes to outright grants to students. This coordinator may also be called upon to communicate with the College on future joint projects involving both Civitan and the College.

Citizenship Awards – The same committee that administers the Scholarship Awards coordinates these awards. A Citizenship Award consisting of $50 and a certificate is given to a Sophomore at each of the four public high schools. This committee prepares and distributes the guidelines for this award but does not select the recipients; they are selected by the student’s peers.

Duke Research Center – The Duke Research Center is now referred to as the Child Development Unit (CDU), a branch of the Duke Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics. It is located in the Civitan Building on the Duke University Campus. The CDU is a multidisciplinary research and clinical unit serving children with autism, behavioral/learning problems, attention deficit disorder, mental retardation genetic disorders and various other developmental problems. The CDU also functions as a training site for medical residents and fellows in Development Pediatrics and for other students in North Carolina Universities. The unit’s research focuses on early intervention and the prevention, identification and treatment of developmental difficulties and learning problems.

Helping Hand – Helping Hand Developmental Center, currently located on the BRCC Campus, is a private, nonprofit preschool that provides a comprehensive and individualized program of services for children ranging in age from birth to five years who have special needs. The children served are those who are learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, physically handicapped, mentally retarded or autistic.

International Research Center – The Civitan International Research Center is housed in a six-level building located on the medical center campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It is an interdisciplinary center dedicated to improving lives through brain research and treatment of developmental difficulties. It pursues research on the central nervous system by focusing on the overall development of a child’s mind and forming a continuum from the laboratory to the clinic to the home and the community. The Civitan International Foundation, which is supported by Civitan Clubs throughout the world, has made a long-term commitment to raise $20 million to support the work of the Research Center. 

NC Boys and Girls Homes – The Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina are located at Lake Waccamaw, NC. The purpose of this facility is to assist youths ages 9-18 who have had social and emotional problems. The children are integrated into a family structure and with the help of a skilled staff and other caring individuals are preparing to live a normal, productive life. In 1958, when the first cottage opened its doors, it bore the Civitan name. Civitan has continued to insure in perpetuity the future of the Civitan Cottage and the future of the children who call this cottage their home. 

Scholarship Awards – The Hendersonville Civitan Club over the past several years has awarded four scholarships of $2,000 each year to graduating High School Seniors. The committee assigns one of its members to each of the local High Schools. This member maintains a liaison with the school counselor and, through them, obtains applications for scholarships. This committee then selects the scholarship winners, introduces all the candidates at a club meeting and announces the recipients. Members of this committee are also called upon to present the Scholarships and the Citizenship Awards during assembly programs at the various schools.

SSEACO – Something Special Enterprises and Career Opportunities is a Hendersonville-based non-profit organization which has been serving persons with physical and mental disabilities since its beginning in 1967. Training and employment are provided at a 45,000 sq.ft. facility on the Spartanburg Highway. SSEACO provides training and employment to a daily average of one hundred persons with physical, mental and developmental disabilities as well as individuals seeking independence from welfare. SSEACO tries to involve its clients in activities that lead to community integration, successful employment and increased self-reliance to the extent possible. 

Victory Junction Gang Camp – This is the newest activity supported financially by the Hendersonville Civitan Club. In August of 2003, our District, NC District West, voted to support Victory Junction Gang Camp by sponsoring one of the cabins at the camp. $250,000 was pledged to be paid at $50,000 a year for five years. The camp, located in Randleman, NC, was co-founded by Pattie and Kyle Petty with Paul Newman and the Hole In The Wall Camps. Its mission is to enrich the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating camping experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound. The camp will allow these children to experience the full range of fun and pleasure the “healthy” kids might experience at summer camp. The camp will have pediatric specialty doctors, nurses and a fully equipped medical center available 24 hours a day.

Service Projects

African Medical Mission Walk – African Medical Mission provides support to impoverished people in the Transkei in South Africa. A Hendersonville doctor, his wife and their five children moved there in 1985 to begin the program and they continue to give it primary leadership. Dr. Chris McConnachie teaches in the local medical school, performs surgery and has established training courses for nurses and therapists. Mrs. Jennie McConnachie, RN, operates a primary care clinic, a pre-school and a feeding program in a squatter’s village. Aids education is a major concern at the clinic.  There is a Hendersonville-based Board of Directors that organizes an annual “Walk for Africa” each spring to raise funds with walkers sponsored by means of donations for mileage walked. Civitan members are encouraged to walk and/or support members who do walk to allow this mission that sprung from Hendersonville to continue operations.

Blood Drive Posters – Civitan members deliver posters or flyers announcing upcoming Red Cross Blood Drives on approximately 13 routes in the Hendersonville area. The Chairman of this project coordinates with the Red Cross to determine when deliveries are to be made – usually about once a month – and then arranges for each deliverer to obtain the flyers. The Chairman also works with the Red Cross to keep the list of approximately 120 route businesses up to date by using feedback from the deliverers.

Blood Drive Supplies – This community service project also assists the American Red Cross. Each month Civitan volunteers deliver from three to twelve Red Cross provided canteens (soda, juice, ice, snacks, etc.) to blood drive sites such as schools, churches, industries, other service clubs and hospitals. The volunteer picks up the canteen at the local Red Cross Chapter and makes delivery one hour prior to the drive. The Civitan then returns at the conclusion of the drive to take unused supplies back to the Chapter Office. Early morning, evening or weekend drives may necessitate prior day pickup of supplies and/or following day return. This project requires no Civitan funds since each volunteer provides his or her own transportation.

Civi-Care Boxes – The Civi-Care Box is a collection of twenty to twenty-five items such as school supplies, hygiene items and holiday candies that the Project Chairman selects. These items are collected from member donations during a ten-month period prior to Christmas. A mentally or physically challenged group within Henderson County is selected each year and the gift-wrapped boxes are given for Christmas distribution. Recently the boxes have been given to a special education class in either an elementary or middle school.

Freeman Halloween Party – The Jimmy Freeman Halloween Party is an annual event hosted by Civitan with the support of various businesses in the community. These businesses partner with Civitan by providing the food, beverages, ice cream and candy for the party. Civitan provides any additional funding required to host the party. This event, held in the Whitmire Building, is intended solely for the developmentally disabled children of Henderson County with the various schools in the county ensuring that children are made available. Approximately 150 children, 50 or more teachers, aides and school volunteers and 30-35 Civitans and spouses attend the event. The program involves carnival-type games aimed at the level of the children in attendance. Prizes of candy and small trinkets are given to the children as they participate in the games. The Parks and Recreation Department provides a DJ. Clowns from several sources are also in attendance to entertain. Civitan members set up and tear down the games, ensure the facility is clean at the conclusion, provide and run the games, prepare and serve the food and assist the teachers and staff in exercising a degree of supervision for the children to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment.

Friends of the Library Book Sale Parking – Civitan provides the parking services for the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale held over three weekends in September. Teams of 2-6 Civitans work one or more two-hour shifts parking cars in the front and rear of the new Friends of the Library Building on the Spartanburg Highway. Two Civitans members coordinate the parking assignments and they, with four additional Civitans, act as shift supervisors working four-hour shifts. If one ever wanted to be a traffic cop, this is an excellent opportunity.

Hendersonville Town Meetings – The Town Hall Meetings, held at the Chariot, are intended to give Henderson County residents an opportunity to interact with their elected officials and other community leaders on topics of interest. Civitan is one of the sponsors of these meetings along with Designing Our Future, the Greater Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters and the Environmental and Conservation Organization. In the past, the meetings were held quarterly, resulting in the need for Civitan members to select the topic and then organize and moderate approximately one meeting per year. The Town Meeting Board, which includes one Civitan member, has recently decided to hold meetings only when an issue of great interest warrants discussion. 

Special Olympics – Civitan is a major supporter of the yearly Henderson County Special Olympics Spring Games by providing funding as well as member participation to assist in running the games consistent with the direction of the local Special Olympics Coordinator. In addition to playing a role in running various games and assisting in judging, Civitans present the ribbons and provide encouragement to the participants by “hugging” as the children complete an event and receive their award. From various business partners Civitan obtains the food to be served to participants and games volunteers. Civitan members also operate the canteen where the food is served. Civitan sells a portion of the food to guests, observers and other attendees and donates the proceeds to the local Special Olympics Committee to be used in funding various local Special Olympics programs.