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The
year 1925 was a busy time in the boomtown of Punta Gorda,
the County seat of a new County. Charlotte County, with a
population of 2,500, had been created only 4-years earlier.
Ft. Myers had a new Kiwanis Club that saw this area as yet
un-served by Kiwanis. A committee of Ft. Myers Kiwanians came
to Punta Gorda and met with several community leaders. The
next visit, the organizing committee enlisted the support
and advice of more community men.
Formation of the Club moved ahead and the goal of 25 prospective
members was achieved for a new charter. The charter was presented
at a banquet Dec. 22, 1925 at the elegant Charlotte Harbor
Hotel to the Club's first president, John T. Swinney of the
First National Bank. The new Kiwanis Club began to initiate
programs of community improvement and youth service. It sponsored
Boy Scout Troop-5 from 1926 to 1988. Troop-5 disbanded but
reactivated in 1991. The troop is the oldest troop in the
Southwest Florida Council. Its activity with Scouts led to
another major project in building the "Scout House"
in Gilchrist Park (Now called Bayfront Center YMCA). It later
was enlarged to become a meeting place in the 1950's where
the Club held its weekly meetings. The Charlotte Harbor Hotel
was often used for very special meetings such as installations,
etc., during the 1920's, 30's and 40's. The Club "bell"
is still being used to call our meetings to order and was
donated by the first Club president. In 1962 our Club founded
the Port Charlotte Kiwanis Club who then sponsored the Port
Charlotte Sunrise Club in 1983.
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