The Kiwanis Club of Kennewick will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Kennewick Kiwanis Foundation with an April 7 dinner event at the Red Lion Columbia Center in Kennewick, featuring keynote speaker, Steve Siemens.

Siemens is the past president of Kiwanis International and will be speaking on the “Five Stepping Stones That Build Kids.” He was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Tri-Citian of The Year banquet where he spoke about volunteerism.

Go to: kennewickkiwanisfoundation.com. Ticket prices are $75. Send an email to kennewickkiwanisfoundation@gmail.com if interested in attending.

The foundation was formed by members of the Kiwanis Club of Kennewick in the late 1990s, inspired by the leadership of Red Rutherford and Dick Petersen.

They enlisted the support of Directors Craig Liebler, Bob Marple Jr. and Ty Haberling. The board was then expanded to include Bob Kelly, Rene Norman, Tom Moak and Monte Nail. Many of these leaders are past Kennewick Men and Women of the Year, and Tri-Citians of the Year.

The foundation also offers scholarships and other services.

Fourteen scholarships are available this year. Some may be renewed for multiple academic years and the board recently approved increasing the multi-year scholarships to $2,000 annually.

Funding for the scholarships comes from donors.

This year, the foundation is awarding scholarships in memory of, or in honor of:

• Victor “Red” Rutherford, a past Kennewick Man of the Year, past Tri-Citian of the Year, Kiwanis Hixson Award winner and cofounder of the foundation.
• Donald Anderson, a past Kennewick Man of the Year and Kiwanis Hixson Award winner.
• George Jones, a past Kennewick Man of the Year, past Tri-Citian of the Year and Kiwanis Hixson Award winner.
• Henry Sauer, deceased father of Kiwanis Club of Kennewick member and past Kennewick Man of the Year Hank Sauer.
• Joan Rude, deceased wife of Pete Rude, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Kennewick.
• Rick Corson, a past Kennewick Man of the Yea, and Kiwanis Hixson Award winner.
• Walteen Corson, deceased mother of Rick Corson and member of the Kiwanis Club of Kennewick.
• Art Carson, a Kiwanis Hixson Award winner and member of the Kiwanis Club of Kennewick.
• Bob Woehler, a past Kennewick Man of the Year, a past Lt. Governor of Kiwanis and a Kiwanis Hixson Award winner.
• Dean Strawn, a past Kennewick Man of the Year, past Tri-Citian of The Year and a Kiwanis Hixson Award winner.
• Leland Haberling, a past lieutenant governor of Kiwanis, a Kiwanis Hixson Award winner and deceased father of club members Ty and Noelia Haberling and grandfather of club member Nick Haberling.
• Wayne & Maureen Bell – the current Kiwanis Club of Kennewick, president and secretary, both Kiwanis Hixson Award winners. Maureen is past Kennewick Woman of the Year. Their endowment is in formation.

In addition to funding scholarships, the foundation is raising money in partnership with the Kennewick club to establish a new playground at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.