The Kiwanis Family Bulletin of the

   •  KIWANIS CLUB OF ST. MARTINVILLE  •   
March 4, 2009  •  Vol. 17-No. 19

Editors/Publishers: Peggy Hardy, Gerry LeBlanc and Marti Harrell

2008-09 CLUB OFFICERS

President: Dennis LeBlanc
President-Elect:  This position could be YOURS!
Secretary: Annie Durand
Treasurer:  Peggy Hardy
Immediate Past President: Jean Potier
BOARD MEMBERS: Dan Berard, Steve Comeaux, Carol Lagarde, Margaret Richard,
Leslie Thibodeaux, Gerry LeBlanc

BOARD/EVENING CLUB MEETING:
1st Wednesday of the month - 6pm
All other club meetings: Wednesday - 7AM

Youth Service Leadership Organizations

• Trinity Catholic School
Builders Club meets
 2^nd Friday of the month,
School Gym @ 1PM.

• St. Martinville Senior High Key Club meets every Thursday in the school library @ 11:20 a.m.


               • Ask about Key Leader!

   MARCH BIRTHDAYS   
 Vicky Martin (Pat) 3/10 • Henry Lagarde (Carol) 3/20
Ben Breaux 3/22


 The March birthstone is the Aquamarine.
If you can picture the cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean, you will understand why the birthstone for March is named Aquamarine.  Derived from the Roman word "Aqua," meaning water, and "mare," meaning sea, this pale blue gem does indeed resemble the color of seawater.  The ancient Romans believed that the Aquamarine was sacred to Neptune, the god of the sea,
having fallen from the jewel boxes of sirens and washed onto shore. 
Early sailors wore aquamarine talismans, engraved with the likeness of Neptune, as protection against dangers at sea. 
The association with water led to the belief that the Aquamarine was particularly powerful when immersed.  Water in which this gemstone had been submerged was used in ancient times to heal a variety of illnesses of the heart, liver, stomach,
 mouth and throat.  Aquamarines were also used to reverse poisoning and to aid in fortune telling. 
The Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family.  Beryl is a mineral that crystallizes within large grained igneous rocks on the earth's crust.  It varies in color from clear to vibrantly colored gemstones such as the Emerald.  Beryl was used as far back as 2,000 years ago to correct vision, and it continues to be used today in the manufacture of eyeglasses. 
It is a very hard mineral, making the Aquamarine a durable gemstone for use in jewelry. 
Aquamarine varies in color from blue-green to a light sky blue, but gems containing green are often heat-treated to remove this less desirable color.  The majority of Aquamarines, unlike other gemstones, are flawless.  It is a relatively abundant gem, the largest deposits being in Brazil, but other sources are in China, India, Australia, Africa, and the United States. 
A gift of Aquamarine symbolizes both safety and security, especially within long standing relationships
and is the gemstone of the 18th wedding anniversary. Some people say that the Aquamarine reawakens love in a tired marriage, so if you want to bring back that spark in your partner's eyes, you might consider this gem as a gift anytime!

   MARCH ANNIVERSARIES  
 Pat  and Vicky Martin 3/13  •  Audrey and Wallace Allen 3/23

THOUGHT/QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
    Give what you have. 
     To someone, it may be better
           than you dare to hope.
                                        -- H. W. Longfellow

The First Object of Kiwanis:  To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life.

Kiwanis Education #40:  Each Kiwanis club in good standing is entitled to two voting delegates to each International convention and three voting delegates, two of whom must be the club president and president-designate, to each district convention. An alternate for each delegate also may be elected and will assume the delegate’s duties if the delegate is unable to serve.

THIS WEEK: 
     Margaret Richard brought her cute as a button granddaughter, Megan Richard, to the meeting with her.  Jean announced the birth of another grandchild – Roman Christopher Potier, weighing in at 6lb. 13 oz.   Congrats Jean and Ben! 

Our regular monthly board meeting was held with the following business taken care of: 

President Dennis distributed committee assignments.

Gerry announced that the Solar Sun Ring company has agreed to give us 100 refurbished solar rings for the cost of shipping only.  This will warm the pool for Every Child A Swimmer and the panels can be reused every year.

President Dennis has again asked for volunteers for President Elect and stated that election of officers is upcoming.

A letter from the Evangeline Boy Scouts was read and discussion followed about the lack of United Way funding this year.

Relay for Life was mentioned and Peggy stated that our club donates $300 to Relay.  Jean recommended that if individuals wanted to contribute, she would be willing to collect their monies.

The minutes of the last board meeting were read and approved.

The financial report was presented and no discussion was held.

Gerry reported on a conversation with Ray Pellerin concerning an idea for a canoe trip down Bayou Teche from Port Barre to Morgan City.  Ray is requesting the support and manpower of the St. Martinville Kiwanis Club along with other Kiwanis clubs up and down the bayou.  The response from the board was favorable.

Annie reported on the loss of our “ice chest” containing the fish for our “Lot of Fish to Fry” game.  President Dennis is working on a solution for those people whose stringer of fish was in the ice chest. 

President Dennis reported that our next regular meeting is on March 11 at 7:00 a.m. and greeter will be Jean and prayer will be led by Gerry. 

Hearing a motion and second from the floor for adjournment, and hearing no objection, President Dennis adjourned the meeting.

Remember: We have a lot of fish to fry... in Kiwanis!
Click on the jumping fish for all the details.

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