Buzz Trexler

Bruce Watt presents Bill Proffitt with the George F. Hixson Fellowship award at Alcoa Kiwanis.

Several years ago, Alcoa Kiwanians were gracious enough to let me into their fellowship to break bread and serve, but the invitation came during a time when I was also moving into ministry, and it made it difficult to serve. So, I had to bow out after about a year or so.

Recently, they extended an act of grace by letting me return — just in time for the civic club’s 55th anniversary.

On Monday, as they were celebrating 55 years of service, I watched and listened as charter members told stories of how the club came into being and how much they enjoyed serving their community. It reminded me of why nearly 20 years ago I felt drawn to join this community as managing editor of The Daily Times.

Vera Watson, who led the effort to recap the club’s 55-year history, told the group, “We’ve had a number of firsts: first in community, first in service, and I don’t know how much money we have given to the community.” Watson chided T.O. Hester, who joined the club in 1956, for being at the international convention in 1961 when delegates discussed allowing women to join, but voted the measure down. Women were allowed to join in 1987 and Watson, who joined Alcoa Kiwanis in 1989, noted she was the sixth female member at the time.

Bart Peak, who was a charter member in 1954, told the group, “I was recruited by two of my friends who I worked with at ALCOA,” recalling that of the 29 charter members, 18 of them were from the Aluminum Company of America. Peak explained that club rules prohibited more than two members from a single occupation, apparently seeking a diverse group. “So, we had to come up with creative occupations,” given the great number of metallurgists and engineers working at the plant.

Peak said that in the early days the lunchtime club met at Spike’s Restaurant, which was located at the current site of Shoney’s on Alcoa Highway at Wright Road. He recalled that another civic club decided that it, too, wanted to meet at Spike’s on the same day and time. The restaurant manager sought to accommodate both groups by putting up a partition. Peak recalled that the noise level from the other club was so high that Kiwanians couldn’t hear the speaker. Not long afterward, the Kiwanis program was a demonstration of what was then new audio technology known as stereophonic sound. The recording: A train roaring along the railroad tracks. The other club moved.

Ken Paxton, also a charter member, recalled that the birth of Alcoa Kiwanis was somewhat seeded by the Maryville club. “Maryville Kiwanis thought it was important to get people from ALCOA involved in Kiwanis,” Paxton recalled. “I don’t know of anything I would have rather been involved in, in terms of civic clubs.”

Some of the civic service actions recalled by Hestor included doing janitorial work at the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville and recycling aluminum, the latter of which was alternated with Maryville Kiwanis.

And then there are the pancakes.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the pancake breakfast through all the years,” Hester said.

Alcoa Kiwanis is known for its annual pancake breakfast where hundreds are served in a fairly systematic fashion, to say the least. Paxton recalled the early days of cooking for the community.

“Our first pancake system was at Alcoa First Methodist,” he said. “We cooked the pancakes on a stove in their kitchen, which had four burners.” At some point, Alcoa ingenuity apparently kicked in and an aluminum plate was fashioned to fit over the four burners and served as a full griddle.

Pancakes haven’t been the only fundraising ventures, Paxton said. The club has held video auctions, sold fire extinguishers and even brooms. Club members would ride down the road with brooms sticking out of car windows. The longtime member related one broom-selling visit where a man answered the door and a woman could be seen in the background. It was an easy sell, Paxton said. “I need a broom,” the man said. “That’s my mother-in-law and she needs a new one to ride on.”

The service, humor and somewhat self-deprecating attitude of club members — the single clap given to recognize a fellow club speaker or achievement — makes me feel quite at home, as does the club’s mission: “Serving Children of Blount County and the world … one child at a time.”

And so many who have served the club and the community for so long provide an example of humility in service, as was evidenced by Bill Proffitt, who on Monday was presented with the George F. Hixson Fellowship award. In announcing the award, Bruce Watt noted that Proffitt has not only been a longtime member of Alcoa Kiwanis, but also has a history of civic involvement.

“Talk about being shocked,” Proffitt said following the presentation. “I was looking around to see who would’ve deserved such an honor.”

And with that, I’ll give a “CLAP!”