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Two amazing women: two amazing Kiwanians
Serving the children of the world keeps their calendars full--and they wouldn't have it any other way
By Kasey Jackson
We’ve all met at least one. That one woman who does it all without ever dropping the ball. We can’t quite figure out how she does it, and we don’t pretend to know. But we all wish, just for a moment, to have a bit of her juggling skills.
For Jane Erickson and Pat Hawkins, juggling isn’t just an art; it’s a passion. For them, Kiwanis isn’t another meeting they have to attend every week. Kiwanis service is something they want to do, something they look forward to doing, and has become an enduring part of their lives.
Jane Erickson | Pat Hawkins
It’s hard for Jane Erickson to pick out just one moment that defines why she’s a Kiwanian. There simply are too many to count. And she’s happy about that.
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 Jane Erickson will serve as the first female Kiwanis International Foundation President
in 2007-08.
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“I have been blessed with many ‘Kiwanis moments,’” says Jane, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Bellevue-Offutt, Nebraska. “In fact, I try to see a Kiwanis moment in each project I participate in.”
Like the moment when a teary-eyed, red-faced young woman told Jane during a Key Leader event that Jane had changed her life forever. Or the myriad moments that happened while hanging out with a bunch of fifth-graders during a long day at camp.
But, if she has to pick just one (and she doesn’t want to have to do that) there is this:
It happened in 2004 shortly after the birth of her sixth grandson. While she was holding him, she asked her daughter: “Do you remember all the times your husband and your brother-in-law have teased me and given me a hard time about all the time, talents, and money we invest through Kiwanis? They always ask me why I do it.
“This is why,” she told her daughter. “Because I pray that every precious little child will be held by grandparents who love him or her as much as we do; that every little child will have parents who love him or her like you and your husband love this little boy. I dream that every child will go to bed with food in her tummy and a safe roof over his head. I dream that every child will have books to read and a kind person to read to them. I dream of children being helped in schools and mentored by loving adults who want them to succeed. I dream that every child will be happy, healthy, and safe. That’s why I do it!
“There’s power in the dream that we, as worldwide Kiwanians, can make that dream a reality for our children. My Kiwanis moments fuel me to continue working passionately for our children.”
And she’s doing just that. To celebrate 20 years of women in Kiwanis is to celebrate women like Jane who have made a difference in countless children’s lives. It’s a time to celebrate the strength and bravery of the first women who entered a room of all men and sat down alongside them. It’s a time to look back and thank all the women who blazed the trail so others could follow. And if anyone is blazing a trail in Kiwanis today, it’s Jane Erickson. Jane didn’t merely jump on the bandwagon. She’s one of the brave women leading it.
Jane will serve as President of the Kiwanis International Foundation for 2007-08—the first woman in that role. She previously served officer positions on the foundation board and is a past club president, governor, and lieutenant governor.
“The first thing you notice about Jane is her passion for Kiwanis, which emanates from her deep sense of commitment to children,” says Bellevue-Offutt Kiwanian Dan Flanagan. “She has a broad view of how Kiwanis can address children’s issues worldwide. She motivates people. She leads well and has tremendous organizational skills when tackling projects. I can’t say enough about her. She is a model Kiwanian. When I bring visitors to Kiwanis, I point to Jane Erickson as an example of what Kiwanis is about.”
Indeed, Jane leads by example. She’s worn many hats. But if you know her, you know she’s most proud of her accomplishments not only as a Kiwanian, but as a person, a woman, a daughter, a mother, a wife, and a grandma. And still, through all the memories she has built over the years both with her personal family and her Kiwanis family, it’s times spent with young children that stick with her most.
One such memory came during a camp event. Jane says she was tired after a long day, but still had to hand out trail mix to about 100 sweaty fifth-graders. After she dispensed the treats, she noticed two young boys sitting alone, so she joined them. She asked how their week at camp had been, and they told her they had fun; and then, they ran off to join the others. A bit later, Jane says, one of the boys returned and whispered: “I really like it here. I learned I AM somebody. I learned that I AM important, and that I can do anything I put my mind to. I’m really glad I’m here. Thank you, Mrs. Kiwanis.”
“I was humbled by his comments and still was thinking about that as the two boys returned with something in their hands,” she says. “They remembered me saying I liked raisins, so they saved them out of their trail mix just for me. They said they had kept them in their pockets until they could bring them to me. They thanked me for letting them come to camp and then presented me with very sticky (and lint-covered) raisins. I thanked them for their thoughtfulness, ate a couple raisins, and told them I’d save the rest for later. The moral: It’s never too hot or too much work to support a child in his or her time of self-discovery—even if it means eating a few sticky and lint-covered raisins along the way.”
Pat Hawkins: ‘I hope you dance’
To say Pat Hawkins has made a massive impact on the Kiwanis family is just the tip of a very, very large iceberg.
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Pat Hawkins was 2006-07 governor of the Indiana District. Her husband, Gus, is a member of the Highland, Indiana, Kiwanis club.
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Cavia Mead stands with Pat Hawkins during the 2004 Key Club International Convention in St. Louis. |
And to say that the Kiwanis family has made a massive impact on Pat Hawkins? Well, that’s the understatement of the year.
The relationship between Pat and Kiwanis goes both ways. And it’s hard to tell who has benefited more.
Pat’s work in Kiwanis started and continues with a strong focus on Key Club. When Pat joined Kiwanis in 1991, she quickly became the Kiwanis Club of Highland, Indiana, advisor to Key Club.
“Key Club energizes me,” says Pat, who is a past Indiana District governor. “Working with our awesome young people gives me hope for the future of Kiwanis. I have met some of the most talented, accomplished, giving people who are still teenagers, but care and give more of their time than any three adults.”
It was five years ago, during a Key Club International convention in Anaheim, California, that Pat’s life—and her family—changed forever. A seed was planted that would one day make her extended Kiwanis family part of her personal family.
“Almost five years ago, my son Kyle and I met Cavia and Marjorie Mead from Kingston, Jamaica,” she says of her trip to that convention. “Cavia had won the Builders Club oratorical contest, and Kiwanis International brought him and his mom to the Key Club International convention so he could speak during a general session. We quickly became friends. Over the next two years the friendship grew. After discussing it with Marjorie and Cavia, we invited Cavia to attend high school in the United States and go home for the summers. That is what was happening until his mother passed away in March 2006. Cavia hadn’t seen his father since the age of 4, and the end result is that we have (formally) adopted him. What started as a Kiwanis-family friendship has become an addition to our personal family.”
This story might be one for the books, but it’s just one unforgettable moment of many her family of six has shared. And many of those moments have been Kiwanis-family moments. At one point, Pat notes, she and her husband were Kiwanians, one son was in Builders Club, and a daughter and another son were in Key Club. “We had our own inter-club when we traveled,” she jokes.
Like Jane Erickson, Pat’s “Kiwanis moments” are many. But one particular moment happened a few years ago at Camp Riley in Martinsville, Indiana. Pat and a group of Key Clubbers were visiting the camp for children living with disabilities. Pat sat down next to a teenager in a wheelchair.
“The young man, Joe, was about 16 at the time, and he couldn’t use his hands,” Pat says. “I remember thinking Joe could’ve been my son. He was the same age at the time.
“I asked Joe if he wanted me to help him eat, and he said ‘that would be great.’ I fed Joe his lunch, and when we were done eating, Joe had a tear in his eye. I asked if I had done something wrong or hurt him, and he shook his head no. He looked up and said ‘Thank you.’ I replied, ‘No big deal.’ Joe looked at me again and said, ‘Yes, it is a big deal. You are the first person who has ever fed me who wasn’t family or paid to do it.’
“Then I had a tear in my eye—actually several,” Pat admits. “I knew that if Kiwanis provided me with opportunities to make that kind of difference in a young person’s life, I would be a Kiwanian for life.”
Pat, who has served in numerous leadership positions both within and outside Kiwanis (including as the first female president of her Kiwanis club) can talk your socks off about Kiwanis, Key Club, Service Leadership Programs, her favorite service projects, her Kiwanis “moment,” and more. But when asked about being an amazing role model, an amazing woman, and an amazing Kiwanian, she has a more difficult time.
“I don’t think of myself as amazing,” she says. “To me, an amazing woman is Mother Teresa or someone like Karen Scheeringa (this year’s World Service Medal honoree). An amazing woman is someone like Marjorie Mead (Cavia’s biological mother) who, with little to no resources and no help from family, raised a son with wonderful values and compassion.
“An amazing woman is someone who doesn’t give up easily and doesn’t blame others for her circumstances in life. An amazing woman gives of her time, talents, and ‘treasure’ to help others achieve greatness. As I tell my children and those with whom I interact in Key Club: When you get the choice to sit out or dance, I hope you dance.”
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