NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Kiwanis International members from around the world today elected Paul Palazzolo, of Springfield, Ill., to be the service leadership organization’s 2009-2010 president during their 94th annual convention in Nashville, Tenn. Also elected was Sylvester Neal, Auburn, Wash., president-elect, and Alan Penn, Medina, Ohio, vice president. Palazzolo, Neal and Penn take office Oct. 1, 2009.
Kiwanis International is an international organization of member-volunteers who give more than six million hours and more than US$100 million each year to help change the world one child and one community at a time. More than 5,500 international Kiwanis club delegates and guests attended the meeting
Palazzolo, auditor of Sangamon County, Ill., and a licensed real estate broker, is past-distinguished president of the Kiwanis Club of Springfield-Downtown, Ill., served as governor of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District in 1994-95, as district secretary and district treasurer and as president of the district foundation board. He is a life member of Kiwanis International and a Diamond-level George F. Hixson Fellow, Tablet of Honor recipient and Heritage Society member of the Kiwanis International Foundation. He served as a Key Club distinguished governor in 1983-84 and was recognized with Circle K’s Opal Award by the 1999-00 president of Circle K International. He holds a degree in finance from the University of Illinois.
Neal, a retired Alaska state fire marshal, has belonged to the Kiwanis Club of the Valley, Auburn, since 2003. He is a former member of the Kiwanis clubs of Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, and was Kiwanian of the Year four times. He served as governor of the Pacific Northwest District in 2002-03, and is a life member of Kiwanis International.
Penn, a faculty member in the education department of the University of Akron, is a member and past-distinguished president of the Kiwanis Club of Medina Breakfast in Medina, Ohio, and a former member of the Kiwanis Club of Lakewood, Ohio. He served with honors as governor of the Ohio District and was the district’s Key Club administrator for four years. He also serves as executive director of the Ohio District Kiwanis Foundation. He is a George F. Hixson Fellow, Tablet of Honor recipient and Heritage Society member of the Kiwanis International Foundation.
Globally, Kiwanis International addresses children’s issues through worldwide initiatives. Kiwanis is a family of more than 600,000 adult and youth members in 70 nations and geographic areas that serve children and communities. Any community need can become a Kiwanis service project, especially if the need involves children, who Kiwanians believe should have the help and the right to lead healthy, successful lives.
Posted
Jun 30 2009, 11:12 AM
by
Chris Hayworth