by Elka Worner
When they joined the Kiwanis Club, ash trays lined the bingo tables, the Greatest Generation ran the show and women weren’t allowed. The next four decades changed all of that.
Two weeks ago, at the Hermosa Kiwanis hall, four Kiwanians were honored for more than four decades of service in the Hermosa Beach chapter.
“I gained another family by joining the Kiwanis Club more than 41 years ago,” said honoree Paul Amarillas, who served as club president in 1988.
The award ceremony had the air of a roast, and recipients rivaled Comedy and Magic Club acts.
Local attorney Brad Baker, dressed in his trademark Hawaiian shirt, was recognized for 40 years of service. Baker said he was eating lunch at the Gem Café when longtime Kiwanian Mike Frandzel recruited him for the organization. He joined the club in its heyday when the Greatest Generation served as mentors. “The World War II vets really understood what service was,” he said.
Baker admitted he has not been able to attend many lunch meetings lately because of his 55-hour a week work schedule.
“Every time I show up for lunch, I try to calculate what it really costs me,” he said. “I think this one’s like $7,000.”
Baker said he knew of no other Kiwanis group that had raised more money and done more community outreach.
“The thing I think I get the most mileage out of being a Kiwanian is I get to rag on all the Rotarians,” he said.
“Whenever I’m in a deposition or something and all of a sudden they say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m part of the Rotary Club,’ I’m going, ‘We’re calling a halt to this deposition.’”
Amarillas said he and his wife Yvonne were at a restaurant pondering how they could get involved in the community, when Kiwanian Frandzel overheard their conversation. He invited Amarillas to a lunch meeting.
“He couldn’t invite Yvonne because there were no women,” he said, as the audience at the award ceremony booed in unison. Kiwanis allowed women to join in 1987, two years before Rotary voted to admit them.
“They only recruited men,” he said. “I thought it was a gay club.”
“So you joined,” Kiwanis President Rick Koenig quipped to raucous laughter.
The third honoree, Cary Bichlmeier, was recruited when he was 19 years old.
“They didn’t think I was going to stick around with these older coots,” Bichlmeier said after receiving his plaque for 43 years of service.
He said his mom taught him to give back to the community.
“It’s something that hit me to the core,” he said of the Kiwanis mission. “An organization that doesn’t have a particular charity or cause in mind. It’s just ‘what does the community need?’”
The insurance agent said when he was president in 1984, he came up with the idea for the Christmas tree lot, a big fundraiser for the organization. They started with 100 trees, which grew to 2,000, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Baker said the organization gives to 50 different charities and awarded 44 scholarships last year. “Of course, they were $2 each,” he said. “But the numbers look good.”
Before the Christmas tree lot, bingo fundraisers were popular. That was in the 1980s before smoking was banned indoors. Baker remembered “all the little old ladies puffing away on their cigarettes” while the numbers were called. “You came out of there and your eyes were watering,” he said.
Hijinks and pranks were part of the fun, Baker said.
Back in the day, whenever a member addressed a meeting, he would slip a wet napkin under their chair. After a while there were so many members with wet butts, he switched to dry napkins.
A sense of comradery also made the meetings memorable.
“The thing the club did historically is they had fun,” Bichlmeier said. “We had a lot of parties. We enjoyed each other’s company, which I think was really one of the highlights.”
Baker said while there was humor and fun in abundance, it might not be enough to attract a new generation of Kiwanians, especially with so many other service organizations to choose from.
“Everyone is so isolated now with their cell phones, and with their computers. They’re not getting as much interactive touch with people, and I think Kiwanis would be an excellent solution to that.”
Also honored, but not in attendance, was Earl Feyes. He was recognized for his 41 years of service and his dedication to Project Touch, an after school program for at-risk youth.
“He took care of business. He knew our business, and he did it well,” Amarillas said.
Koenig praised all four honorees for their lifelong commitment to Kiwanis.
“They are natural born leaders, pragmatic and hardwired to lead others,” he said. “They’re invaluable to our organization.” ER
