The North Shore Kiwanis Club of Long Island, Inc

The History

The club was chartered on December 31, 1968, and was the first new Kiwanis Club in Nassau County in three years. We were sponsored by the Roslyn Club, through the efforts of Allen Miller, a charter member, and the LG Josh Adelstein.

The first officers were President Dan Sweeney, 1st Vice President Frank Troccoli, 2nd Vice President Bill Blackmore, Secretary Jim Hebron, Treasurer Ed Stockbridge, and Associate Secretary Tom Burns. The Board of Directors consisted of Bob Smith, Gene Stefano, Bob Blackburn, Hank Bhansen, Ray Lee, Mike Caggiano, and Jim Van Norman.

The club met every Thursday night at 7:15 PM at the Harbor View Inn located on an old barge next to the Glenwood Landing Power House. It was like having our own clubhouse because Vice President Frank Troccoli was the owner. An efficient committee structure was set up with lively and very well run meetings, thus making us the hallmark in the division, as we still remain! Our success can be attributed to the talent and experience of Dan Sweeney as Master of Ceremonies and parliamentarian. Our first Charter Night was held at the Swan Club on March 6th, 1969, and was very well attended by dignitaries from the LI North Division.

On October 2, 1969, the club, by resolution, voted to incorporate and this was approved on January 9, 1970. Dan Sweeney remained president until March 1970, at which time he resigned to meet the requirements to run for LG of the LI North Division. Frank Troccoli completed the presidency for Dan Sweeney.

Our first fundraiser was held at the Harbor View Inn on April 18, 1970. The Inn was closed to the public while we held a private cocktail party for a few personal friends and ourselves. Admission was $3.00 and the wives made all the food. The door prizes and raffle prizes were all donated. This event was such a great success we continued it the following year.

In October, 1973, we moved our meeting place to the Swan Club, whose beautiful setting continues to be the home of North Shore Kiwanis every Thursday at 7:15 PM.

Some K Family Milestones

We chartered the North Shore High School Key Club on April 28, 1970, with Dr. Ben Stark as the advisor and about 12 members. We installed the officers for the club and invited the parents to attend this ceremony. To date, our North Shore Key Club has more than 75 members, and has won New York State as well as International recognition for their community service programs.

We chartered our Builders Club in 1997 with 12 members and currently have a membership of 35. They share the same advisor as the North Shore Key Club, Kiwanis President 2008-2009, Julia Salat.

The K-Kids was formed in 1998 with a membership of 50 elementary students. Leslie McCarthy, Past President, is the Kiwanis liaison to the Connolly School K-Kids Club. Today it is a very strong club, developing leadership abilities and community service skills. We chartered another K-Kids Club in the Sea Cliff School in September 2008. Distinguished Past President Olga Scileppi is the Kiwanis liaison. This club currently has more than 25 members who have fantastic spirit for community service. In 2008 we chartered our first Circle K with CW Post College. To date, we have all 5 K’s united, thus completing the Kiwanis family.

In 2008, the Hug-A-Bear project was started by DPP Tom DeStio. Teddy bears are given to children who have experienced a pediatric trauma. Our Key Club assists with this very special project.

Our Fund-Raisers

We began in 1979 with the Kiwanis Telemetry Fund Drive for the Sea Cliff ambulance company with Jim Dunne as the chairperson. This project took 2 years to complete and successfully terminated after raising $16,000 under the presidency of Arthur Hubbs. We received the Distinguished Award from New York State for the best single service project for 1979-1980.

The Sea Cliff Mini-Mart started in October, 1971, and is traditionally held on the first Sunday in October. This event became our Club’s biggest single source of community funds. Currently, Hap Ajamian is the chairperson of this event.

Annually, NSK and the NS Key Club ring the bell for the Salvation Army, to raise funds for this outstanding organization. Both clubs have won recognition from Nassau County for this work.

The Pancake Breakfast started out at the Sea Cliff Firehouse on March 15, 1970. This event was led by Bill Kern and was a great success. In later years, the event was chaired by the late Distinguished Past President Tom Nobile. The event has since been named in his honor and is currently chaired by Charlie Davies.

The Nassau to Suffolk Bicycle Challenge, a fund-raiser for KPTC, was initiated by member Tom DeStio. View Site

The NS Key Club sponsors a walk-a-thon for Juvenile Diabetes as well as a Relay for Life to raise funds to fight cancer.

And More

The North Shore Club has sponsored a number of other Clubs including those in Jericho-Syosset, Peconic River, Central Park, the Quad & Bethpage, and Glen Cove, and has co-sponsored the Woodbury Kiwanis.

Among our Distinguished Members are: Jim Hebron, Past Governor of New York District and India, 1980-81. Five Past Lt. Governors: Dan Sweeney, 1970 – 1971; Jim Hebron, 1974-1975; Doc Aral, 1978-1979; Jim Dunne, 1981-1982; Lawrence Benedetti, 2007-2008. Distinguished Past Presidents and Hixon Award recipients: Arthur Hubbs, and Jim Hebron. A recipient of the KPTC Fellow and Kaiser Award is President Julia Salat. And DPP Tom DeStio is also a KPTC Fellow for the work he has done for the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center.

Serving the Community

We are members of the North Shore Inn Committee and the Mutual Concerns Organization. We currently have 5 members on the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center The club is very active assisting our senior citizens and Saint Christopher-Ottilie Children’s Home. Annually, we award scholarships for more than $10,000 to our North Shore High School students. We also have a Student of the Month Program that recognizes an outstanding NSHS student for each of 10 months. At the end of each year we honor those NSHS students who have earned more than 500 hours of community service during their 4 years at the high school and are graduating with Community Service Distinction.

Awards and Accolades

We have received the Round Robin Award for every year of our existence, thanks to original Chairperson Lee “No Socks” McNaughton. This success continues to be carried on by PP Ernie Franck.

KWIPS, our news publication, has won numerous awards at the annual Kiwanis New York State Convention.

The North Shore Kiwanis Club has also been very successful at the New York District Convention in winning the Scrapbook Contest, the Bulletin Contest and has received recognition for its single service projects. The Single Project for 2003/2004 was “Walk for the Cure,” completed jointly with the Key Club. At the 2003/2004 Key Club Convention, this project placed first in New York State in the Gold Category and first overall in all four categories. That is the highest award for any Key Club to win at the New York State District Convention.

The North Shore Kiwanis Club is dedicated to making a difference in the community, with an emphasis on children. The Kiwanis Motto: “Young Children, Priority One.”