As the 2015-2016 Key Club International President, I had the distinct pleasure and great responsibility of leading the world’s largest high school service organization. This role gave me unparalleled insights and access to the challenges to which the leader of a civic organization in today’s society must rise. I have worked with dozens of Kiwanis International Trustees and executive officers and thoroughly understand the skill sets needed to lead Kiwanis in such a way that supports and benefits its service leadership programs, and in turn, itself. This understanding qualifies me to confidently state that Dr. Barbara Thompson is the most committed, most capable, and unequivocally most qualified candidate to be the next Vice President of Kiwanis International.
Above all else, one great quality of Barbara Thompson’s defines all of the others: she cares. To Barb, sincerely caring is no laudable achievement or remarkable effort; it is simply the standard to which she completes every task in her many roles as Kiwanian, educator, counselor, and friend. A few short weeks into my time as President, Dr. Thompson asked me what my dreams were for Key Club on a walk through downtown Indianapolis. I shared, and we conversed. Months later, she remembered each and every thing I had stated in that conversation--not because she wished to impress or felt obligated. She remembered because she cared. Barb fleshed out ideas and goals with the Key Club Board in the morning and enjoyed a lively dinner and game of laser tag the same night. She was the first to arrive and last to go--on many days, she left us teenagers in the dust.
Barbara Thompson guided our board with a wise and gentle hand. She never once overstated her role but continually understood her responsibility. I consider her to be my greatest aide and mentor through my year of leading Key Club International.
As Woody Allen famously asserted, 80% of life is just showing up. Kiwanians, Dr. Barbara Thompson always shows up. She shows up and gets incredible things done, doing it all with a warm smile and a servant’s heart. She will work with you, fight for you, learn about you, and listen to you. She will be your strongest advocate and closest friend. Barbara Thompson will do the 80% of showing up--she will never, however, stop there.
Kiwanis International needs leaders with the purity of heart and strength of purpose that are exemplified in Dr. Barbara Thompson. Kiwanis International needs Barbara Thompson as its next Vice-President. It is my distinct pleasure to offer my unqualified endorsement of her candidacy; I implore you to consider doing the same.
Rip Livingston
2015-2016 Key Club International President
Stanford University
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Few Kiwanis members have instilled in me such a passion for the organization and its global mission as has Barb Thompson. Barb understands the importance of growing a younger, more diverse membership base for Kiwanis International. More than that, she’s already committed herself to building one in Missouri-Arkansas. During her term as Governor, Barb worked more closely with members of the many Kiwanis Service Leadership Programs than any Governor with whom I’d previously interacted; that’s how she and I first met and became friends. Her rhetoric of familial unity was inspiring, and could be matched only by the conviction with which she tirelessly carried out every item on her lengthy “To Do” list. Barb never lets a stakeholder stay silent, a stone go unturned, or a project be left unfinished. She is passionate, driven, and poised.
Matt Harper
I see no better candidate than Barb Thompson for Kiwanis Vice President.
David Green Mo-Ark District of Kiwanis International
Governor, 2001-02; Secretary-Treasurer, 2006-2012
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Randy McDanielFlorissant Valley Kiwanis Treasurer, Past President Director of Finance, City of Florissant
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Dave HilliardPresident & CEO Wyman
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Dr. Rance Thomas Professor Emeritus of Sociology/Criminal Justice President, North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice
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Dr. Barbara Thompson's nomination for the office of Kiwanis International Vice President by the Missouri-Arkansas District follows a natural trajectory of her service to the region. Dr. Thompson has a heart to serve Kiwanis International on a global level because when she is a member of an entity, she is entirely committed. I observed her commitment while serving with her as assistant superintendent of the Hazelwood School District. As a member, then board member, then vice-president, then president, of the Florissant Valley Kiwanis Club in Florissant, MO; Lieutenant Governor of Division 7; and ultimately Governor of the Mo-Ark District, Dr. Thompson embraced international by-laws and made sure that they were used to guide the clubs and the region. Her immersion in Kiwanis International has led her to attend International Conventions, not only in the United States, but in other countries, as well. Finally, I would like to add that anyone who knows Dr. Thompson will affirm that she is a servant leader who embodies all six objects of Kiwanis.
Zella Williams
Immediate Past President Service Committee Chair Florissant Valley Kiwanis Club Florissant, MO
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I have had the pleasure and honor of working closely with Barb since the day she was elected Governor-Elect. I told her that I was planning on running for the position the next year and that I wanted to "shadow" her. For the next five years, we worked side by side for the Missouri-Arkansas District on many different endeavors. She lives Kiwanis; she emulates the objects of Kiwanis as much as anyone I have ever met in our great organization, always thinking of others before herself. She lives our defining statement, as she is driven in her purpose to improve the world one child and one community at a time. She will make an outstanding International Vice President.
Gene Bartley
Governor 2011-2012
Missouri-Arkansas District