Foley Kiwanis Club honors three members with Legion of Honor

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 3/16/20

FOLEY - The Foley Kiwanis Club honored three longtime members with the Legion of Honor: Terry Rudberg, who has been a member for 35 years, Joe Bischoff, who has been a member for more than 50 years, …

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Foley Kiwanis Club honors three members with Legion of Honor

Posted

FOLEY - The Foley Kiwanis Club honored three longtime members with the Legion of Honor: Terry Rudberg, who has been a member for 35 years, Joe Bischoff, who has been a member for more than 50 years, and Dean Hansen, one of the charter members, who passed away on Feb. 29. Along with receiving the Legion of Honor, Rudberg was also announced as the Kiwanian of the Year.

“These are the kinds of people that you want to be involved in this club, they’ve been around and seen everything, created everything,” said Russ Morrison, president of Foley Kiwanis. “We have two here we want to recognize, and one who is unfortunately no longer with us, but who was a backbone of the club for almost 68 years. They’ve all been like brothers to each other, and they never let this club go down. It got short on members, but it didn’t get short on things it was doing. They’ve all got a passion for working in the community and they’ve got a passion for helping children, and what better way to do that than being a Kiwanian.”

The Foley Kiwanis Club is extremely active in the community: supporting Foley High School’s Key Club; Tour de Foley, a joint project between the Kiwanis and Foley Lions Club; and its signature project, the Annual Foley Christmas Parade. At the Foley High School, there are approximately 60 students currently in the Key Club, and the Kiwanis Club is looking to get the kids even more involved with events in the future. They’re hoping to hold a social one evening where the Key Club members, along with their parents and families, can get together to meet the Foley Kiwanis Club members and learn more about the club.

“Sure we joke in this club, we have a good time, but we’re focused on Christian ideals and on the children in the community, they’re the most important thing,” said Rudberg. “I’d love to see them be successful, and what we can do to help them become successful is very important to me. There’s other things that we do for the community, but the kids are what we focus on. It gives me a good feeling to do something good for them, and when we see them succeed it makes me so proud to be a Kiwanian.”

Though they normally help groups, the Kiwanians help on an individual basis as well. Some things the Kiwanis Club has done are help buy a new pair of brand-name shoes for a student who was paralyzed from the waist down and was embarrassed by the old shoes he owned; help a single mother of five place her children in school activities and sports of their choosing, including baseball, basketball, and swimming; and hand out free snow cones to children and volunteers each year during the Baldwin County Special Olympics.

“Doing the snow cones is such a treat for those kids, as is the Christmas parade,” said Bischoff. “Again, it’s the kids, and it’s taking care of things that need to be taken care of. They could do the Special Olympics without the snow cones, but over the years we’ve probably served over 100,000 to the attendees. And the parade is the same thing. Just to see the smiles on people’s faces, it makes everything worth it.”

The Kiwanis District Convention will be coming to Gulf Shores this year from Aug. 14 - 16 at the Gulf State Park. Families are being encouraged to attend, and free time will be given for families to enjoy the area. Kids activities will also be available. Anyone can visit www.kiwanisal2020.com for more information on the convention or to register.

“I want to know what you guys are doing that keeps someone in this club for 50, 60, or 70 years,” said Bob Brown, Kiwanis Governor 2019-2020. “It says to me that the work that you’re doing is something meaningful, because people would not stick around that long if they didn’t think you were doing the kinds of things that will make a difference.”

The Foley Kiwanis Club meets every Tuesday at noon at Vallarta Mexican Restaurant (1145 South McKenzie Street, Foley). Interested parties are welcome to drop by and see what the club is all about.