Connor is the son of Jim and Linda Boss,  with a 3.974 grade point average. While in high school Connor has played golf for three years, participated on the Quiz Bowl team for two years, and played basketball for one year. He has also participated in the robotics program and competed in the Alternative Energy Vehicle Race. Connor has been a member of the National Honor Society for the past two years as well as being a member of the Charlevoix High School Academic All-Conference Team. Connor will attend Michigan State University where he plans to study electrical and computer engineering.

It’s time to clean the cobwebs out of the Kielbasa wagon and fire-up the grill. Our first fund raiser of the Summer is here. The Club will be serving Kielbasa at the Annual Charlevoix Trout Festival this coming week-end (Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 10th, 11th and 12th. We still need workers for most shifts but especially Saturday night and anytime on Sunday.

Rita Orlowski (left with her grand-daughter Joelle Beaudoin and Mary Helen Riggle (Right) pictured with her sons, Jim John and his wife Rose were honored by the Charlevoix Kiwanis Club with the Kiwanis Community Appreciation award. They were selected by the Club’s Humane and Spiritual Committee.  Rita an Mary Helen are first recipients of this award.

Rita Orlowski was a Founder and on the first Board of Directors of the Rainbow Shoppe since its inception in 1983. She still is active with them today. She has been active with St. Maary’s Catholic Church, the Diocese in Gaylord, the American Red Cross, the Charlevoix Historical Society, Charlevoix Hospital Guild, Grandview Facility, American Legion Auxiliary, the Charlevoix Senior Center, the Congregational Church Food Pantry, the Community Christmas Project and of course the planting of petunias.

Mary Helen Riggle was instrumental in starting the food pantry at the First Congregational Church. With some assistance from the Department of Social Services and area churches it grew into a Pantry that has served hundreds of families over the course of twenty-eight years and is still going strong today.The story told is that she started the pantry with one can of pineapple and then the area churches stepped in with providing food items as well.
Mary Helen has also been a big supporter of the Community Christmas project which helps families in need in our area. She also was instrumental in the creation of and finishing the quilt which still hangs today in the First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall.

In 2006, Bill Lovett was looking for another program that might help younger children as a continuing part of Young Children Priority One. lAfter much discussion, it was decided that a parenting workshop for young parents or those who were expecting children would fill an important need. Bill determined that J. J. Miller, past International Kiwanis chairperson for YCPO had moved to Gaylord, and she joined ud in planning the program. She arranged for Wil Bleckman, MD, a past International President of Kiwanis, who created the YCPO program to come to come to Charlevoix and be the keynote speaker. The workshop was held in March of 2008 at the Christian Reformed Church in Charlevoix. 65 parents and grandparents attended the workshop and 25 children were cared for in a nursery and preschool classroom during the workshop. It worked very well, and is another example of the Club’s partiicaption in the Young Children Priority One program.