MATTHEW BURNETTE, Staff Writer

On the night of June 19 in 1975, a group of roughly forty people gathered at the old Holiday Inn to start the Manchester Kiwanis Club.

Kiwanis is an international service club that started in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. Each individual club decides what type of service they want to provide for the community they are based in.

The Manchester chapter has devoted most of their efforts to helping children across the city and Coffee County.

Some of the projects the club has been involved in include working with the HeadStart program in Noah and holding clothing drives and holiday parties at the school as well as building a playground, starting a Key Club, a student-led organization that provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership, at Coffee County Central High School and working with the Just Say No organization at the elementary schools.

They have also donated funds to organizations such as Good Samaritan and Storehouse Food Pantry and books to the Manchester Coffee County Public Library in addition to funding scholarships at CCHS.

According to Dr. Prater Powell, a charter member of the Manchester Kiwanis Club, the biggest impact the club has had has been on the youngest of Manchester’s residents.

“Of course, we’re at our fiftieth anniversary now so a lot of those children are adults, some of them still leave here and some of them don’t of course, but I think our biggest impact has been being able to work with children, particularly needy children for the most part,” said Powell. “Being able to work with the youth and help them make decisions that would be good life decisions to make.”

When asked about his favorite memory from his time with Kiwanis, Powell, one of three charter members still involved with the club along with Jerry Reed and Bobby Cummings, cited good times at some of the fundraising events they have held, but ultimately said he most enjoys the reactions they get from those they have helped.

“Being able to work with the students and see the smiles on their face, particularly at Christmas time or when we were able to work with them at the HeadStart programs at the centers and seeing how much those kids enjoyed somebody coming in and thinking about them and believing in them and working with them and bringing in shoes and jackets and candies,” he answered.

The Manchester Kiwanis Club currently has around 20 active members, adding three in the last few months. When the club first started, the national organization had stricter rules for members, according to Powell.

“The national organization wanted you to try to have individuals from different facets of the workforce. Not all lawyers, not all doctors, not all schoolteachers, not all businessmen,” he explained. “Early on, that was the case, but that’s not happening anymore. We work with anyone that wants to join us. It doesn’t matter what their occupation is or what they do.”

Powell said he did not recall exactly who came up with the idea to start the club or who invited him to join, only that they were glad to get it started.

“Someone that was happy to organize the club at the time asked me if I’d like to be a member,” he recalled. “At that time, I was probably at Coffee County Junior High teaching and coaching out there, and so I was asked if I’d like to join the club, and I did.”

The Manchester club currently meets the first and third Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. at Emma’s Restaurant. They have a 50th anniversary celebration planned for June 7 at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center where anyone associated with the club over the last 50 years is invited to attend.

Powell, a four-time president of the club, says he still likes meeting with his fellow club members.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “We have good fellowship, and we always have a meal.”

As far as the legacy that the club has left in Manchester and Coffee County, Powell says he hopes its their availability to help when needed.

“I think our big impact has been knowing the fact that if a school or a school system needs funds or if an organization is in need of funds for clothing or for food, we’re there to help if we possibly can.”