Pompano Beach West Kiwanis Club’s Community Service Award honoring Meredith McCleary

meredith-McClearyPompano Beach West Kiwanis Club’s Community Service Award honoring Meredith McCleary

By Marie G. Johnson

         On Saturday, January 17, 2015, from 12 noon until 2 p.m., at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, 520 MLK Blvd., Pompano Beach, Fla., the Pompano Beach West Kiwanis Clubs will be honoring recipient with their Community Service Award.

Kiwanis is celebrating 100 years of Service and Meredith McCleary is one of their honorees. McCleary has taken the lead on promoting the ‘ELIMINATE PROJECT’, which is the Kiwanis International Project.

She has been a member of Central Broward Kiwanis Club since the early 1990’sand she was among the first wave of females allowed to join the all male group.  Meredith worked then with the Broward County School System as a Director of Vocational, Adult and Community Education.

As a recognized International Director of Adult and Community Education, she traveled to China with her Corporate partner Alamo Rent-a Car to present the unique qualities of building partnerships between business and industry.

She was among the first females to become Broward Public School Directors – of color; and President in Division 23 of Kiwanis.

It was these experiences which led her to continue her pursuit of greatness with Kiwanis. After retiring in 1996, she continued to establish partnerships and collaborations to build better communities one child at a time.

Since her retirement over the last nearly 20 years, she has found passion in International travel as a participant and as a travel agent.

“Travel is a lifelong learning; a bridge to international understanding and building acceptance and it all begins within. One person and one step at a time’, says Meredith.

Over the past four and half years she has devoted Kiwanis energies to fulfilling a promise made by the former Club President Bloneva Bullard (now deceased) to support the International cause of “eliminating Maternal Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) in the world through fundraising for Project Eliminate.

Her club was one of the first to develop the venue for fund raising within Division 23 and led the way for international donations and recognition. To date the club has more than met its self-imposed goal and will continue until the last day to champion the cause.

In addition to Kiwanis, Mc-Cleary is an active member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. an international sorority committed to promotion of “exemplary service’; a member of The New Mount Olive Baptist Church and professional organizations promoting travels to Africa and the Africa Diaspora.

She travels world-wide and glows at the opportunity of helping others make that life-long dream vacations to destinations around the world.

She remains active in her City’s issues and various com-munity projects directed toward culture, heritage and civil rights activities. A strong support of her Alma Mata Tuskegee (Institute) University, she continues to send support for the school whose teaching and philosophy contributed to her career and life achievements and success.

She identifies that her greatest influence has been from her mother and family members who were creative, innovative and stressed success, spiritual guidance and community service. Her hobbies include travel to far away – quiet places, safaris and projects which helps others to share the many blessings she has received.

McCleary is rather the quiet spirited person. When asked for a quote that would be a sufficient rallying charge exclaiming her  commitment to helping, she softly said, “I believe in the Golden Rule you should treat others as you would like others to treat you. It is one of the oldest and lasting things that my family presented to me.”

     Pompano Beach West Kiwanis Clubs Community Service Award Banquet will be held Saturday, January 17, 2015, from 12 – 2 p.m.  at the E. Pat Larkins Community Center, 520 MLK Blvd., Pompano Beach, Fla., for more information contact President Marie G. Johnson, Pompano Beach West Kiwanis Clubs at (954) 609-0639

 

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*