Guy Miller, Berrien County Health Officer, Lisa Cripps-Downey, President of the Berrien Community Foundation, and Al Mussman, retired local businessman, presented information on The Rx Kids Program. They shared that it provides cash assistance to families during pregnancy… Read More

Dick Sammisha has been a criminal defense lawyer in Berrien County for more than 40 years. He has also been a member of Lakeshore Rotary and a past president and district governor. Dick gave a presentation on the… Read More

Our speaker for the day was Erik Webb, owner of “The Little Things Play Café.” He was accompanied by Cynthia Garcia, the café’s manager.  Erik and his wife, Britt, moved here from Chicago 9 years ago. They realized… Read More

Marla Schneider, President and CEO of Cornerstone Alliance, started her job at Cornerstone in January of 2025. Cornerstone Alliance is the longest-running economic development program in the state of Michigan (30 years). They have a large staff with… Read More

Club Secretary Ashley Schulte presented several different service opportunities available locally and internationally.  She included options from the American Empathy Project, the United Way, and Berrien County Services.  Some of the many local services included Harbor Habitat for… Read More

St. Joseph Township Supervisor, Roger Seely, and  Township Manager Denise Cook shared that St. Joseph Charter Township is a community of approximately 10,000 people on the east shore of Lake Michigan, almost directly across the lake from Chicago…. Read More

Alexandra (Alex) Newman, Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Area Agency on Aging, Region IV, has been with the agency for the past 3 years.  The Area Agency on Aging serves Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. Their mission is to… Read More

Our Speaker, Maureen Adams, Director of Berrien County Veterans Services, was named “Michigan Veteran Service Provider” of the year in 2025. She won the award for making a difference by connecting veterans with healthcare, education, and other services. … Read More

Co-owner and Chef Aravind Ale was born in India, where his love of cooking started in his family’s kitchen. He always believed in food and community and is now a co-owner of Intalia Restaurant (a combination of the words Indian and… Read More

Nick Culp, Senior Manager for Government and Communications for Holtec International, and Mick Middaugh, Director for Community Affairs and Communications, gave us an update on the re-commissioning of Palisades Nuclear Plant since their last visit to our club in March of 2025. Holtec’s original start-up day was scheduled for October 2025,… Read More

At this meeting, we gathered to finish up the Senior Care Kits. The Lakeshore Key Club Officers joined us for lunch and helped to assemble the kits. 

Mike is the 4th-generation owner of the farm. Adolph Hildebrand, who immigrated from Ukraine in 1912, started the farm with 40 acres on Garr Rd in Berrien Springs in 1927. Mike now grows apples, peaches, cherries, grapes, and… Read More

Giving comes in many forms. ISo, instead of a speaker, several Kiwanians arrived early and stayed late to assemble Senior Care Kits. Our task was to assemble the first-aid containers that will be part of a larger gift… Read More

Our guest speaker was Chris Mason, co-owner of the Watermark Brewery Co. He and his partners, Jason Shull and David Cockel, shared a mutual interest in microbrewing and opened Watermark Brewing Co. in 2016. Watermark is a community- and family-friendly business. It has recently been… Read More

Our speakers were Danielle Grandholm and Sarah Kwak, who were inspired by her daughter, Sammie, who was born with a surprise diagnosis of Down Syndrome. In their journey to find support for individuals with Down Syndrome, they launched the Rising… Read More

Lt. Jovernor Jennifer Green shared that her goal for Division 13 in 2025-26 is “Connectiveness.” She would like us to be more cohesive as a division. “It’s a lofty goal,” she said. “But we can do it!” She will… Read More

Steve Ross, owner of the accounting firm, Stephen Ross & Company,  reviewed some of the tax changes that occurred with the recent passage of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” This bill mainly made the 2017 tax cuts, enacted… Read More

Kristen talked about the Bond Proposal coming up on the November 4th ballot. The proposal will keep the District’s tax rate at 3.7 mills, the same as it has been since 2020, and will fund improvements such as… Read More

Steve Neubecker, Public Safety Director for SJ, and Emily Hackworth, City Manager for SJ, spoke on October 9, 2025. Steve told us that they now have a full Public Safety Department- every member is trained in fire and public safety. He… Read More

Scott Sanford has been with the Public Defender’s Office since its inception in 2017. He was named the Chief in March of 2023. Currently, he supervises 27 attorneys in his office. He would like to have 33 attorneys, but… Read More

Marcy is the Executive Director of “Visit Southwest Michigan.” The majority of members are Hotel owners and other business owners who focus on tourism with a targeted market on outdoor recreation and adventure, arts & cultural heritage, agritourism… Read More

CEO and co-founder James Gutner shared that the organization empowers men to thrive through community, education, and resources. James emphasized the importance of Dad being present for a stable family, as 39% of kids do not live with a… Read More

Dr. Prudy Barrett Nelson, Tom’s wife, talked about her and Tom’s 501 (c) (3) organization, “Helping Hands for Vulnerable Children (HHVC)” in Uganda. It is home to many refugees since countries at war surround it. Living situations are bleak,… Read More

Lainie Adams, shown above with President Dave, is the Director of Corporate Partnerships for LOGAN Community Services, Inc. LOGAN is a non-profit organization, based in the Michiana area, that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they and… Read More

Kiya Hudson, Welch Center Manager, was our host and guide on August 5, 2025. Kiya grew up in Van Buren County and received a degree from Lake Michigan College (LMC) in Wine and Viticulture in 2020. She shared… Read More

Greg, pictured with President Dave, graduated from Hope College and pursued graduate studies at WMU and UM. He was at Zeeland West High School for 17 years, finishing there as the principal. He took over the job as… Read More

Pam Klyn, President of the Whirlpool Foundation, reviewed many of the Whirlpool Foundation’s activities. She said that the Foundation uses a House and Home framework to guide its global giving. House means enabling comfortable, nurturing places to live, and Home, supporting resilient, thriving, and… Read More

Jim is the Owner and President of Green Earth Electronics Recycling on 4200 Niles Rd in St. Joseph. He also owns Maverick Asset Solutions in Baroda. At Green Earth, they recycle all electronics (anything with a plug, cord,… Read More

Tess Ulery, a St. Joseph City Commissioner, and Kate Ulery, Tessa’s mom, have both been integral to resuming the popular North Pier Lighthouse tours since the Heritage Museum closed. St. Joseph Today has now taken over that task and… Read More

In 2009-2010, the city’s emergency manager merged the Police and Fire Departments, causing Police Officers and Fire Fighters to become cross-trained. However, the fire school available at the time was subpar. So, Benton Harbor developed its fire school,… Read More

Edgewater Resources is a global, full-service engineering company specializing in coastal and marina engineering, established in 2010. Greg states that, as they attempt to solve engineering problems for their customers, they also consider the community’s needs and ecological… Read More

Laurie grew up in the Sister Lakes area and worked as an electrical engineer for Zenith for 27 years. Upon her retirement, she took on the role of Executive Director at Curious Kids and has been in that position for 13 years. When… Read More

Larry was drafted into the army in 1969 and enlisted for a three-year term as a cook. He went to Vietnam in May of 1971 as a 2nd Lieutenant. After Vietnam, he was in the reserves for a… Read More

Luke reviewed the purpose of SWMAR, which includes being an advocate for realtors, providing education, offering training, and ensuring oversight. He provided a review of recent national trends and then presented some local statistics. One interesting statistic is… Read More

Dan reviewed all the activities needed for maintaining the St. Joseph Harbor and River, ensuring they remain open for both commercial and recreational boating. The Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the Inner and Outer Harbors by keeping them dredged for commercial… Read More

Marla is the new President and CEO of Cornerstone Alliance. She shared that Cornerstone’s goals for the next year are: 

Amy discussed the workings of the Prosecutor’s Office, which cover: 

Katie Woodard, Lakeshore Key Club Advisor, welcomed us to lunch at the High School. Then the Key Club Officers gave a PowerPoint presentation of their activities throughout the year: 

Mick gave us a review of Holtec’s history with the Palisades Nuclear Plant. In 2022, Holtec bought Pallisades with the aim of decommissioning it. With the shift in political winds and the desire for clean energy, Holtec instead… Read More

Donna was recently appointed as the Director. WSG is a school, studio, and gallery dedicated to the fine arts of glass and metal. “We are mainly a school,” said Donna. “We have a gallery, but the sale of… Read More

Rhiannon has served as Director of the BHCA for the past five years. She informed us that BHCA is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, operating under the direction of the County. Its mission is “to collect and preserve artifacts related to Berrien County history… Read More

Glenn is the newly elected Lincoln Township Supervisor. He plans to be responsive to all the citizens of the townships. He reviewed the current state of the Township’s: 

Cathy took over the job as Supervisor in 2019. She discovered that the agreement with St. Joe for sewer treatment was set to expire in 2020. What resulted was an $8 million, 5-year Benton Township project to build… Read More

Brian has been the B.C Administrator since 2020. Previously, he served as the City Manager of South Haven for 20 years. During the pandemic, they recognized the need to update the county’s infrastructure. One area that they focused on was the… Read More

Chris is the Managing Director of Harbor Shores Community Development. Currently, development in the Benton Harbor Parcels includes 137 homes and apartments. That accounts for $ 22 million in taxable value and $565,000 in property taxes, plus city income… Read More

Bonita Mitchell is the Executive Director of “I’m Saving Myself (ISM)”, and Iris Watts is the BH Supervisor of ISM. Bonita started a program in 2001 called “I’m Saving Myself (ISM)” after an Eau Claire student committed suicide. ISM is… Read More

Al is the Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing, and Government Relations at Lake Michigan College (LMC). He told us that there are “lots of exciting things happening at LMC,” and proudly said to us that LMC was recently ranked as… Read More