Celebrating a Great Year — and Welcoming Our New Kiwanis Leadership

On September 30, the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene gathered for our annual Installation Banquet, an evening to celebrate the conclusion of a very successful 2025–26 Kiwanis year, recognize the members who helped make it possible, and officially welcome our new officers and Board of Directors for 2026–27.

Helping us mark the occasion was our own Marty Behm, a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene who also serves as Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Idaho Division of the Pacific Northwest District of Kiwanis International. The Northern Idaho Division includes six Kiwanis clubs across the region. Marty also serves the Pacific Northwest District as Chair of its Finance Committee.

Marty formally inducted the Club’s officers and new Board and joined outgoing President Mike Lane in recognizing and thanking those who served the Club during the past year.

Passing the Gavel

Mike concluded his term as president by welcoming Kim Cummings as our new Club President. This isn’t Kim’s first time at the helm—she previously served as president and has once again stepped forward to lead our Club.

We also welcomed Jeanie Nugent as President-Elect.

The evening provided an opportunity to recognize several other members for their leadership and service.

Kathy Bush was recognized for her decades of service to our Club and for the outstanding work she continues to do in the critical role of Club Secretary.

Megan Tollackson was thanked for her service as Immediate Past President and Membership Chair, as well as her many years of dedication to the Club. Among Megan’s contributions was the introduction of our annual Service Leadership Program (SLP) Dinner, which brings our Kiwanis members together with our Aktion Club and Key Club members for an evening celebrating our partnership and simply enjoying each other’s company.

Megan also initiated the Club’s Impact Committees, which provide greater structure and focus to important areas such as membership, interclub activities, service projects and other key Club functions.

President Cummings’ Vision

In anticipation of “an amazing year ahead,” newly-installed president Kim Cummings gave a brief overview of her priorities for the Club in 2026/27:

• Install a little free library at Kiwanis Park as her President’s Project
• Increase Community interaction
• Starting a monthly “Every Day Hero” award to someone who provides exemplary service to the Community
• Partner with more Kiwanis clubs in our Division through joint meetings and service projects
• Increased volunteer opportunities for our Members by partnering with local non-profits

A Busy and Productive 2025–26

The Installation Banquet also gave us a chance to look back at just how much happened during the past year.

Our members participated in a remarkable variety of community service projects, including 2nd Harvest, North Idaho Casa gift wrapping, Wreaths Across America, Newby-ginnings‘ Adopt-a-Family program, Relatives as Parents‘ Adopt-a-Family program, the TESH New Year’s Day Fun Run, Camp Stidwell annual brush clearing and cleanup (with our good friends and partners from the Sandpoint Kiwanis Club), Meals on Wheels, Head Start Reading, hygiene-kit assembly, Taste of Coeur d’Alene (with our good friends and partners from the Panhandle Kiwanis Club) and other activities. The year-end summary conservatively estimated more than 290 hours of member service through the projects tracked by the Club.

And service was only part of a very active year.

Our weekly meetings introduced members to an impressive range of guest speakers and community organizations, while our monthly evening socials gave members opportunities to get to know one another outside our regular meetings. Members also participated in interclub events with other North Idaho Kiwanis clubs, field trips and tours, and numerous community fundraising events supporting organizations throughout our area.

That combination of service, fellowship and community involvement is at the heart of what Kiwanis is all about.

Kathy Bush also recognized those members who achieved perfect attendance, presenting certificates to the members who attended every Club meeting during the year.

Kiwanian of the Year

The evening concluded with one more special recognition.

Mike Lane and Marty Behm presented the Club’s Kiwanian of the Year Award to Matt Palmer.

Matt was recognized not only for serving another year as Club Treasurer, but also for assuming responsibility for building, managing and maintaining the Club’s website and Facebook presence, helping us better tell the story of our members, our service projects and the community organizations with whom we work.

In presenting the award, Mike affectionately described Matt as his “left-hand man.”

As we close the books on 2025–26, we have a lot to celebrate—and a lot to be thankful for. Our Club’s impact is the result of members who give their time, talents and energy throughout the year, whether they are serving in leadership, working on a service project, supporting one of our community partners, mentoring our Service Leadership Programs or simply showing up ready to help.

Thank you to Mike Lane and our outgoing leadership team for a terrific year, congratulations to Kim Cummings and our new officers and Board, and thank you to every member who helped make 2025–26 such a successful year for the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene.

We look forward to another great year of serving the children and community of Coeur d’Alene!