Feature
A Kiwanis heart
Fulfilling a promise to his beloved wife, 2008-09 International President Don Canaday carries on, building clubs, recruiting members, and touching lives
Story by Amy Wiser
Open Don Canaday’s high school yearbook, and next to his photo, you’ll find a blunt description:
“He doesn’t say much.”
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On their July 4 wedding anniversary, Don and Linda Canaday posed inside their Fishers, Indiana, home.
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Donald R. “Don ” Canaday
2008-09 Kiwanis
International President
Born : 1934, in West
Frankfort, Illinois
Career : Indiana Guard
Reserve and United States
Army, executive director
of the Indiana Continuing
Legal Education Forum, Executive Director of the
Kiwanis International
Foundation, retired
Spouse : Linda was a charter
member of the Kiwanis
Club of Northeast
Indianapolis, member of
Kappa Delta sorority
Children : Six
Grandchildren : 17
Activities (curent
and past ): Member of
his church fundraising
and budget committees,
Scoutmaster, president
of Veterans Day Council,
state and regional president
and national trustee of the
Association of the US Army,
national vice-president of
the Association of Retired
Americans, and USO Council
Honors : 23 military
awards and decorations
Hobbies : Golf, bridge,
and US Civil War history
Other : Don is a fantastic
cook, most known for creating
the family Thanksgiving
spread and for his biscuits—so light, it’s claimed, the
grandkids must hold their
hands over their plates lest
the biscuits float to the
ceiling.
Years in Kiwanis : 39
Curent club : Kiwanis
Club of Meridian Hills,
Indianapolis, 21 years
Past Kiwanis offices :
Distinguished charter president
of Meridian Hills club,
distinguished lieutenant
governor, Indiana District
governor, Ambassador
for the Worldwide Service
Project’s iodine deficiency
disorders campaign
Kiwanis honors : Life
member status, Hixson
Fellow (Diamond-level 11),
Tablet of Honor, Heritage
Society charter member |
Yet on June 27, Don stood in the wings of an Orlando Convention Center stage ready to address
an audience of thousands. Raised in a coal mining community where bleak expectations
often smothered youthful aspirations, Don already had a string of extraordinary achievements
behind him: decorated military officer, successful businessman, passionate volunteer. On that
Friday afternoon in Orlando, he would realize another milestone: unanimous confirmation as
2008-09 Kiwanis International President. At his side, holding his hand, was the “love of my life,” his wife, Linda. It was an exultant moment. Ahead, in the coming year, lay challenges, excitement, adventure. They would experience all of it together.
Sadly, this past July 16—less than three weeks after her Orlando introduction as 2008-09 First
Lady—Linda Gale Canaday died of complications from surgery. The assignment ahead now
seems difficult, but Don says he’ll experience all of it with her in his heart—together.
That’s the heart of a Kiwanis leader.
“When people ask me ‘why
Kiwanis?’ I say: ‘As an individual,
you may become aware of a need
or a problem, and as only one person,
you feel helpless to do anything
about it. But when we gather
together under the banner of
Kiwanis, we can, and we certainly
do, make a huge difference.”
If he wasn’t a talkative teenager,
it’s likely because Don’s focus
was on helping his family. His father,
a coal miner, held several jobs
to keep the family in food, shelter,
and clothes. Don, who was the oldest
son among six children, likewise
kept a number of odd, often
labor-intensive jobs. Among them:
delivering newspapers, hauling
coal, and sacking groceries.
At age 20, Don was drafted into
the United States Army, where, he
thought, he would complete his required
two years and move on with
his life. But life and the Army had
other plans for the young private.
Two years turned into a 25-year career,
23 awards and decorations,
and a rise to the impressive rank of
Brigadier General.
Life and the Army also had plans
for Don in Kiwanis.
As a lieutenant colonel at Fort
Wainwright, Alaska, Don was
summoned one day by his full-colonel
boss.
“He told me how proud he was
to have (Army personnel) as members
of the local Rotary, Lions Club,
chamber of commerce, and the like.
But there was no representative in
Kiwanis,” Don explains. “And did
I have any objections to being a
member of Kiwanis?”
Which really wasn’t a question
so much as a strong suggestion.
“I had no idea what he was talking
about, but if he wanted me to
be a Kiwanis member, I was going
to do it!”
So, in March 1969, Don joined
the Kiwanis Club of Chena-
Fairbanks, Alaska, and enjoyed it
immediately. In fact, as he moved
around the United States throughout
his military career, Don always
sought a club to join, settling the
past 22 years in the Meridian Hills,
Indianapolis club, which he built
and served as its charter president.
“Kiwanis members give of their
time, talent, and treasure for the
benefit of others. That’s the Kiwanis
heart. There literally are millions of
people who have the Kiwanis heart
but aren’t Kiwanis members—because
they haven’t been given the
opportunity to become members.”
More than 2,000 members. 101
clubs. Those are Don’s most recent recruitment and club-building
stats—and you can bet they’ll continue
to climb. In other words: Don
knows a thing or two about what
it takes to get new clubs off the
ground and to find—and keep—new Kiwanis members.
“I’ve made every mistake you
can make,” he admits, “But I’ve
learned from those mistakes.”
Indeed, more than 30 years of
trial and error have led Don to discover
tried-and-true recruitment
and new-club building tactics and
an integral ingredient to success.
“I build clubs around the uniqueness
of Kiwanis,” Don says. “And
that uniqueness is in what we
do to support schools and children
through Circle K, Key Club,
Builders Club, K-Kids, Bring Up
Grades (BUG), and Terrific Kids.”
He’s a fan of the BUG and Terrific
Kids programs—which he piloted
in his home district as a lieutenant
governor and encourages all new
clubs to adopt as their first project.
“When I explain BUG, people
get excited about helping kids who
normally don’t receive positive recognition,”
he says. “It’s an inexpensive
program, it’s not manpower
intensive, and it has an immensely
positive impact on many children
while, at the same time, promoting
Kiwanis in the community.”
It’s also key to signing on school
superintendents as charter members
during new-club-building efforts—setting in motion a strong
system of networking, prospective
member referrals, and credibility
that results in clubs chartering with
high membership totals. High charter
numbers, he says, greatly increase
the club’s chances at remaining
alive, active, and growing.
“People join Kiwanis for many
different reasons,” he says, “but
they stay for the same reason: They
like what their Kiwanis club is
doing to make an impact in their
world—whether that’s somewhere
around the world or in their own
community.”
“As Kiwanis members, we just
go about our business fulfilling the
needs of children. Often, we don’t
realize how deeply we’ve touched
someone’s life.”
Don recalls an occasion when he and his wife, Linda, were waiting
for a table at a restaurant in northwest
Indiana. They struck up a conversation
with another couple and
invited them to share their table.
As the conversation continued, the
man noticed Don’s Kiwanis pin.
“I believe Kiwanis saved my
life,” he told Don.
He went on to describe what it
was like to grow up on the streets
of Gary, Indiana, and how most
of the people he knew from childhood
were either dead or in prison.
He talked about how his fate was
different, because a Kiwanis club
hosted a Little League program in
which he had participated. Because
Kiwanis members encouraged him
to stay in school. Because Kiwanis
gave him a scholarship to attend a
trade school, which afforded him
better job opportunities, which resulted
in a better life as an adult.
“The members of that Kiwanis
club who raised that little bit of
money for a scholarship and who
gave that little bit of their time to
the community probably never realized
how deeply they touched
that little boy’s life—and other children
as well,” Don says.
“The thing that excites me the
most about Kiwanis is when I
look at a thriving club that’s been
around for 10 to 20 years. I think
about the lives the members have
touched and the lives they’ll continue
to touch. That’s a very gratifying
feeling.”
And that’s why Don has invested
so much of his own time, talent,
treasure, and heart into building
Kiwanis clubs, increasing membership,
and teaching others to do
the same.
“We’re going to build our membership.
We’ve got to,” he says.
“Too many children are being denied
the benefits Kiwanis clubs
bring to communities—but we’re
going to fix that. We’re boosting
our service by building clubs.
“The most important thing you will get out of your membership
in Kiwanis is the opportunity
to see a smile on the face of
a child and realize that without
you and your Kiwanis club, that
smile would not be there.”
It’s a simple notion that speaks
volumes, from a man who didn’t
have much to say. |
