Governor Kristin presented the club with the New England and Bermuda District of Kiwanis International 2024 District Publication Award at the club meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024.

Kiwaniscope, the club’s (now) award-winning weekly newsletter, was judged on 15 criteria in three categories: general appearance, content, and distribution.

Governor Kristin is pictured with Bob Uzenoff, who accepted the award on behalf of the club.

Kiwanis photographs by Jim McMorris.

Governor Kristin recognized Assistant Secretary Dan Gilbert on behalf of the Kiwanis New England and Bermuda District with the Governor’s Exemplary Club Assistant Secretary Award at the club’s meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Dan earned the award for consistently completing monthly club reports, an important behind-the-scenes report that allows us and Kiwanis International to quantify the good work that we do. That’s how we know that last year, Kiwanians completed more than 7.7 million hours of service and conducted more than 1.3 million projects.

Dan is an involved and active contributing member in many ways but you may not have known about this aspect of his service. Congratulations and well-deserved, Dan!

Kiwanis photograph by Jim McMorris.

By Harvey Luft

On Saturday afternoon, Weston Kiwanis members Harvey Luft and Bob Uzenoff kicked off a season of collaboration with the Weston Women’s League. The WWL’s Trunk or Treat event was a fantastic Halloween celebration held in the parking lot of Weston Intermediate School. Schoolchildren from our town and their parents attended, enjoying fun activities and plenty of candy.

The Weston Women’s League expressed their gratitude for our assistance, as reflected in the email from co-presidents Christine DeCampos Paglierani and Veronica Chavez Lancin that we received, below:

Photographs by Christine DeCampos Paglierani

Renowned Twilight Zone scholar and pop culture historian Arlen Schumer (author/designer, Visions from The Twilight Zone and The Silver Age of Comic Book Art) spoke at the Kiwanis Club of Weston meeting last Saturday, October 26.

Arlen’s background is in graphic design (RISD), art direction and copywriting in New York City advertising agencies. His book The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, won the Independent Book Publishers Award for Best Popular Culture Book, ABC’s 20/20 named him “one of the country’s preeminent authorities on comics and culture,” the BBC said his works on The Twilight Zone were “a cut above the rest, full of passion and erudition”. Comic Book Artist magazine called him “one of the more articulate and enthusiastic advocates of comic book art in America.”

Arlen also signed hardcover copies of his brand-new book of essays on The Twilight Zone’s greatest episodes, The Five Themes of The Twilight Zone.

Kiwanis photograph by Bob Uzenoff.

Weston resident Ross Colbert awed Kiwanians, guests, and supporters at the Kiwanis Club of Weston meeting on Saturday, October 19, 2024. Ross recounted his participation in the 2024 Mongol Derby – the Longest Horse Race in The World this past August. The race is 1,000 kilometers (621.73 miles) across the Mongolian steppes and wilderness, riding for 9-10 days and navigating only by GPS. The course recreates the horse messenger system developed by Genghis Khan in 1224.

Ross, now a recognized equestrian endurance rider, is also an avid surfer, skier and mountain biker and loves any extreme outdoor adventure. His participation resulted in more than satisfying his self-challenge to finish, he raised over $15,000 for Breakthrough T1D™ (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) through the generosity of individual sponsors and donations to his website, https://www.2024mongolderby.com/.

Ross, dressed in his deel, traditional Mongolian national costume, shows The Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue. The stainless steel statue of Genghis Khan on horseback is the world’s tallest equestrian statue is located about a mile from the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog, 34 miles east of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where, according to legend, he found a golden whip. The statue is symbolically pointed east towards his birthplace. It is on top of the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, a visitor center, 33 feet tall with 36 columns representing the 36 khans from Genghis to Ligdan Khan. [1]

Photograph contributed by Amy Colbert.

Video from MONGOL DERBY The longest & toughest horse race in the world 7th Aug – 17th Aug 2024 accessed 2024-10-23.

[1] after https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_statue_of_Genghis_Khan accessed 2024-10-23.