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Brief History of the Kiwanis Club of Kingston, New York
The Kingston Kiwanis Club is part of the Hudson River Division of the New York District. There are 28 Divisions and a total of 10,000+ members in the New York District. The Hudson River Division with 350+ members has 7 clubs: Kingston, Beacon‑Fishkill, Catskill, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Saugerties and Ulster. Kingston Kiwanis is the largest with approximately 80 members.
The Kingston Club was sponsored by Poughkeepsie Kiwanis. The installation and charter presentation was held at the Cuneo Hotel, Lake Katrine, on 21 April 1921. Since then, the Club has sponsored the Catskill, Saugerties, and Ulster Clubs. During its first 3-4 years, Kiwanis met at the YMCA on Broadway and then at the Van Berg Restaurant, which later became Feye's Bar and Grill, at 286 Wall Street. The Club continued to meet there until the Governor Clinton Hotel was built in 1927. It met at the Hotel until it closed in 1977. From then until March 2004 it has met at the Holiday Inn and then met at the Hillside Manor Restaurant until July 2006 when it moved to the Skytop Steakhouse where it now has its weekly meetings.
Regular luncheon meetings start at 12:10 each Thursday throughout the year except on special occasions, like Thanksgiving, when we meet jointly with the Rotary Club on the preceding Wednesday. No alcoholic beverages are permitted at regular meetings.
Monthly Board of Directors meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Ulster-Greene ARC on Albany Avenue, Kingston. All members are invited to attend.
The primary mission of Kiwanis Club is to provide meaningful community service and to develop good fellowship. We do this by providing scholarship funds to deserving graduates who are continuing their education. Additionally, the Club provides funds to selected projects throughout the year and participates in service projects that are approved by the Board of Directors.
We also sponsor a Kiwanis Key Club at Kingston High School and a Builders Club at J. Watson Bailey Middle School.
The major fund raisers of the Kiwanis year, which starts on 1 October, are a musical comedy called Kiwanis KAPERS. ( It is the responsibility of every Kiwanian to participate in the KAPERS unless excused by the Club President. Each member is also responsible for the sale or purchase of 10 tickets for the show) and our annual auction normally held in conjunction with a Valentine’s Day celebration.. There are other small fundraisers throughout the year. The Kiwanis By‑Laws dictate that any funds raised from community activities must be dispersed back into the community and cannot be used for internal administrative expenses.
The club publishes a weekly newsletter plus a calendar of events that is provided at the weekly lucheon. Additionally, each member receives The Empire State Kiwanian newspaper, Kiwanis International magazine which is published monthly and a roster of members is available upon request. | 
