The Gift to Make a Positive Change

Jeffery M. Woods is being honored as a Champion of Change for his Kiwanis International service. 

I am deeply honored and privileged to be named as a Champion of Change. I have long been committed to service as citizen soldier and a community servant.

As a member of the Kiwanis Club of Ruston, Louisiana, I have focused my service on helping kids. I feel God has given me a gift to reach out to any community to make a positive change in an individual or family, and I feel that Kiwanis gives me opportunities to use that gift.

I started a backpack program that helps disadvantaged students at our local elementary school. As a Kiwanis advisor to the Grambling State University Circle K Club, I guide the college students in tutoring and mentoring children in third through eighth grade. I’m also the Kiwanis Terrific Kids coordinator at the elementary school. We arrange speakers to talk to the students about the importance of education and establishing good work habits. Every nine weeks, Kiwanis members have breakfast with the students and reward the students who have achieved their goals with certificates and passes to movies and sporting events.

After completing a three-year enlistment on active duty at Fort Hood, Texas, I joined the U.S. Army Reserves in February 1987, and in February 1990, I was deployed for active duty with 279^th Maintenance Company, Dallas, Texas, for Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia. I completed my Army Reserves tour in July 1994. After completion of 10 years of military service, I decided to leave the military and work for the Dallas Morning News.

During my time out of the military, I missed the esprit de corps, Army values, travel and sense of belonging to one of the greatest organizations in the world. I re-enlisted in the Louisiana Army National Guard on September 19, 2000, in the Headquarters Support Company, 527^th Engineers, in Ruston as a material handling equipment operator. I was deployed to active duty again in January of 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and served seven months in-country. I was chosen among my peers to be a full-time active guard reserve soldier on April 15, 2004, for Alpha Company 527^th Engineers, Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. In August 2005, I was deployed to New Orleans in response to Hurricane Katrina, where I assisted citizens and emergency personnel, monitored the streets of the city and kept hostile situations to a minimum. I remained in New Orleans the remainder of the year to assist with clean-up and restoration.

I’m dedicated to my family, including my wife, Aldrenia, and our children: Ebony, Brandon, Tony II, Andrez and Decambrien. I thank my parents, Gardie B. and Beatrice (Miller) Woods, for instilling in me strong values, and I’m blessed to have four brothers (Gordy, Perry, Jerry, Tommy) and one sister (Maria LaTrice).

I’m also dedicated to the Louisiana Army National Guard, the Kiwanis Club of Ruston and my church family, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. I have served my community with faith and honor, and I am so grateful to be recognized as a Champion of Change.

Staff Sergeant Jeffery M. Woods is the Unit Supply Sergeant for Headquarters Support Company, 527th Engineer Company, Ruston, Louisiana, of the 225th Brigade, Camp Beauregard

Finding Avenues for Helping Others

William Beard is being honored as a Champion of Change for his Kiwanis International service. 

For a long time, I’ve been committed to helping make positive change in my community of Frankfort, Indiana—and having an impact beyond my community whenever possible. I’m cofounder of Beard Industries, which grew into a leading global distributor of grain dryers. I retired in 2002, but the past 10 years have kept me busy. In fact, they have been a chance to give more of my time to the causes and organizations that mean a lot to me and my wife, Jean.

Both before and after my retirement, for instance, my membership in the Frankfort Kiwanis Club has given me a way to serve children locally and throughout the world. I’ve been a Kiwanian since 1966, and I’ve served as my club’s president. Being a club member has given me a chance to be a part of the service projects and fundraising that allow all of us in the club to improve kids’ lives in our area. But we’ve also served kids even beyond Frankfort. When Kiwanis International formed a partnership with UNICEF in the ‘90s to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency disorders, I was proud to lead our club’s involvement. As a result, we raised $1,000 per member to ensure thousands of children half a world away would have iodized salt, which is a key factor in preventing mental disability.

Now we’re supporting the current Kiwanis-UNICEF partnership, The Eliminate Project. I’m thrilled that my club leadership and my donations to the campaign are saving and protecting mothers and babies from tetanus in more than 20 countries.

Making a difference close to home is still important. For example, I’ve been a county commissioner in Clinton County since 2004. Some of the biggest achievements during my time in office include a major improvement of the county’s emergency medical service and my involvement in a $6 million sewer and water project for the town of Jefferson and a $2.8 million storm-water retention facility to eliminate flooding in Frankfort. I was also proud to play a key role in bringing the first YMCA to Clinton County, leading a campaign to raise $4 million for the project. In fact, my wife Jean and I have been lead donors for YMCA building campaigns in Frankfort and Lebanon.  

I’m also proud to be among the founders of the Clinton County Community Foundation and made significant contributions to the foundation. We have also contributed to a fund in the Christian Church Foundation, and we’re both active members of First Christian Church and have served as deacons and elders.

All together, it’s been a pleasure to take my own successes and opportunities and make them avenues for helping others—at home and around the world. I’m honored to receive the Champions of Change award. 

William Beard is the retired cofounder of Beard Industries, a global distributor of grain dryers, and member of Kiwanis Club of Frankfort, Indiana

Volunteering and Having Fun

Bradley Blizard is being honored as a Champion of Change for his Kiwanis International service. 

As a seventh grader, I was invited to volunteer at the High Point Miracle League, an organization that provides an opportunity for children with mental and physical disabilities to participate in baseball games. Miracle League builds flat fields out of a material that makes it possible for children to run the bases even if they are in wheelchairs or on crutches or walkers. Knowing the joy of baseball myself, I thought this was a fantastic idea.

I spoke with John Gibbs, our advisor for the Kiwanis Builders Club at Jamestown Middle School. I told Mr. Gibbs about the Miracle League and of my interest in volunteering with this unique program. We both agreed that this would be a great opportunity to involve the JMS Builders Club. Mr. Gibbs, a great encourager, said, “Set up a plan, and we’ll go do it!”

I began my research on the Miracle League website. Volunteers can fill a variety of positions like DJ, announcer, scorekeeper or player “buddy.” I created a signup sheet for each position at each of the three games being played on a given Saturday morning. I sent Mr. Gibbs a copy of my spreadsheet, and he asked me to bring the project before the board and make a motion to get it approved. I made a presentation to our board, explaining what the Miracle League was about and how we could help. After my proposal, a unanimous decision was made to get involved.

The project I started three years ago is still in existence today. The JMS Builders Club has adopted the Miracle League project as an annual service project, and has helped more than 100 disabled children each year enjoy the game of baseball. Since this project has been so rewarding and enjoyable for the students in the Jamestown Builders Club, the club has plans this year to support a similar program in Greensboro: the Challenger League, which is sponsored by the ARC of Greensboro.

It’s easy to take for granted the body I use daily, the blessings I have been given and the hardships I haven’t faced. These kids and their families don’t deserve what they go through. It feels so great helping these kids find joy in a game I love. I am so thankful I got the chance to set up an ongoing volunteer opportunity so other Builders Club members can witness a smile on a kid’s face as he or she swings a bat, throws a ball or makes a play.

Now that I am in high school, I am getting my baseball teammates involved. Next season I hope to recruit players from all our area high schools to volunteer. Hey, take me out to the ballpark—the chance to volunteer and have fun never ends!

Bradley Blizard is a high school sophomore at Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, North Carolina, and member of the Ragsdale High School Key Club