Kiwanis Club looking to start chapter in Greene County

By Editor | March 24, 2026 |

Mary Zeronas, Governor from the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District came to Carrollton last week to speak to prospective Kiwanis Club members at a meeting to start a Kiwanis Club chapter in the Carrollton/Greene County area. (Carmen Ensinger/River County News)

By Carmen Ensinger

Efforts are underway to get a Kiwanis club started in Greene County and a meeting was held in Carrollton at the United Methodist Church Hall last week to introduce the concept to prospective new members.
Chuck Frost, of Winchester, has been a member of the Winchester Kiwanis Club for 32 years and is currently the Secretary of that Club. He will be the Club Coach for the new club proposed for Greene County.
For those unfamiliar with the Kiwanis Club, it is a service organization founded in 1915 in Detroit, Mich. By some local business owners.
Over the years, it has grown into a global organization of volunteers with over 550,000 members across 80 countries who are dedicated to improving children’s lives through local service projects and fundraising.
Members join for networking, community service and camaraderie, paying dues that vary by club. They raise money through community events and projects to support local and global causes.
“It is a global organization, but every Kiwanis Club does it’s own thing,” Frost said. “But, at the same time, we all have the same guidelines and rules that we follow. The headquarters are in Indianpolis.”
At one point, Frost was Lieutenant Governor over the District from Quincy to Jacksonville and from Mt. Sterling to Beardstown.
“At that time, the Governor of the organization said to me, ‘find a town that it is underserved by Kiwanis,’” he said. “So, I looked at the other towns that had a viable population and we went through all the demographics and I kind of decided that Carrollton looked like it had the bodies and it had a lot of activity, a vibrant square and it wasn’t too far for me to come down and help.”
Then, someone suggested that instead of just making it a Carrollton Kiwanis Club that it should be a Greene County Kiwanis Club – a club that would encompass all of Greene County from Roodhouse, White Hall, and Greenfield all the way over the Eldred and every small village in between.
After all, the Kiwanis Club’s main goal is to help children and there are children in every community. The County has three school systems that the Kiwanis could become a part of.
“At the grade school level, the Kiwanis has what they call the Builder’s Club,” Frost said. “Then at the high school level they have the Key Club and at the college level they have the Circle K. It just gives students at every level an opportunity to serve and learn how the rules work.”
Winchester High School has a Key Club which is very active. In fact, they are responsible for the annual Christmas lighted parade.
“They stared out as just a leadership club within the school and then they came to talk to us at one of our meetings,” Frost said. “And we said, ‘boy, they are doing just what the Kiwanis are doing.’ We had always had a hard time getting a liaison between the school and our Kiwanis Club and then the Superintendent, who was also a Kiwanis Club member, said he would help. He found a faculty member that would help organize the Key Club. That has been five or six years ago.”
As for what the Kiwanis Club does in Winchester, Frost said they sponsor a monthly food pantry and at Christmas time they prepare food baskets for needy families in the community. They also assist with other projects in the community.
“I am happy to be here in Carrollton tonight and look forward to growing this club and serving the children in Greene County,” Frost said. “I just want to say that I want this to be a Greene County club because we want to include everyone from the surrounding communities who want to join.”
In order to form a club, they must have 15 members. They currently have around 8, so they are looking for more people to join. Anyone who would like to know more information about the Kiwanis can call Frost at 217-473-8034.