Anything you want to know?

Scott,

Great question. We have put together a ton of ideas and informaiton on www.kiwanisone.org  or you can link to it on the kiwanis.org site under "partnerships".  If you have other quesitons we have a staff member Elizabeth Warren who can assist.  She can be reached at ewarren@kiwanis.org

Rob

This is a great idea.  We may even be able to do better than that this year as we are strongly considering an electronic voting option that would require no ballots.  Either way, I will forward your suggestion to our elections committee for their review on how to make our elections as green as possible.

Mario,

Background checks are performed of any officer or volunteer who participate or attend any of our events or activities involving children or young people.  The check is designed to protect our children from predators and people who might cause them harm,  From time to time we do have background checks that surface issues that are totally unrelated to protecting children.  Those are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  

To answer your question more directly, someone is not automatically excluded from leadership in Kiwanis for behavior that is unrelated to protection of children.  It is be possible for someone to have a unrelated felony conviction in their background and still be considered for certain leadership positions.  Those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis so that all relevant factors can be considered.  

Mario,

Now you are talking about something different, and I could not agree with you more.  Kiwanis should protect its reputation by only extending an invitation to those people that meet the character and integrity standards of Kiwanis.  If a club discovers that a member behaves in a way that is inconsistent with these ideals, it has the power to revoke that membership.  Kiwanians are members of clubs, and clubs are members of Kiwanis International.  Kiwanis International counts on local clubs to maintain these standards for their clubs,  

As a membership organization our leaders are all elected by the members that they serve.  In the event that someone is elected who should not be serving, there is a process to remove someone from office and/or membership.

If the person is an International Officer, I would recommend a written communication to the International President outlining the concerns.

If the person is a District Officer, I would recommend a written communication to the District Governor outlining the concerns.

With all that said, there are many different opinions about how to handle a situation where someone has been convicted and has served their time.  Some will tell you that if a person has served their time as has been rehabilitated, they deserve an opportunity to join and serve.  Others will hold a much different view and not allow anyone who has been convicted of a crime participate as a member or serve as a leader.  I can't tell you what the right answer is, but I do think that each situation should be evaluated individually.

If you believe there is someone in leadership who should not be allowed to serve based on something in their past, you should formally notify the appropriate Kiwanis leaders at both the clubs level and at whatever additional level they are serving.

Feel free to contact me by e-mail at robparker@kiwanis.org if you have any further questions.

Rob