Obviously we must have members and have them actively participate to accomplish anything. During our history, the lowest membership was 8 and the highest has been 41. All but one of the early members were LSU faculty and staff. The one “outsider” was Arno Easterly who was the CEO of Campus Federal Credit Union, and we have had one or more CFCU staff as members ever since. Now we are split among active faculty and staff, those who have retired from LSU, and folks working outside of LSU.
Over the years, we’ve had representation from more than 30 academic and administrative departments ranging from A to Z (Agricultural Economics to Zoology). A couple of months after chartering, we inducted our most colorful member, Paul Young, who has been our eldest member, had outlasted 3 wives, and helped us sell Christmas trees almost until age 90 when he moved away in 1989. Others who joined in the late 1970s and early 1980s and remained active for many years included Olin Dart (1977), C. J. Naquin (1979), Buster Schilling (1982), Lurry (Duz) Hamilton (1983), and Robert (Bob) Grodner and Dan Fontenot (1984).
In 1982, we expanded to include nearby business owners who had interests in the LSU community. Gil Toural ran the Tiger Town Pharmacy in the building on the corner of Highland Road and Chimes Street at the LSU gates later occupied by The Chimes restaurant. Along Chimes Street behind Pleasant Hall, Sandy Sanders owned Tiger Town Jewelers and Ross Willis owned the College Supply Bookstore.
We have had members from Campus Federal Credit Union since the beginning including Arno Easterly, John Milazzo, Lurry (Duz) Hamilton, Blaine Grimes, Cindy Lejeune, Hollie Bishop, and Megan Galatas. Brian Ainsworth is still active as of 2024 as well as new member Zachi Soliman.
In 1984, Marshall Grodner initiated several milestones for us. First, of our club’s many lunchtime waiters, he’s the only one we managed to recruit. Second, when he joined as a law student, he became our first graduate student member. Third, since Bob Grodner had joined a few months earlier, Marshall became part of our first father-son team. That trend continued with Paul Liuzzo, Joe Liuzzo’s son, in 1986 and Mark Grodner, Bob’s other son, in 1994. Marshall also was our first lawyer and was followed later by Bruce Craft, Aaron Brooks, Richard Bullock, Erik Kjeldsen, Fred Kroenke, Della Hayes, and Don Price. Then in 2005, after many years of recruiting, the addition of Mary Grodner, wife of Bob and mother of Marshall and Mark, expanded the record participation of the Grodner clan to four.
In April 1992, Fatemeh Malekian from the Pennington Biomedical Center became our first female member and has been followed by many other women who have made significant contributors in the club. Fatemeh later transferred membership to the Early Risers Kiwanis Club when she joined the faculty at Southern University. We have had several other members from Pennington but none currently.
Our best recruiters of new members have been Fatemeh Malekian, Joe Liuzzo, and Brian Ainsworth (7 each), Bob Grodner (6), Marshall Grodner (5), and Gary Kelly, Art Roberts, and C.J. Naquin (4 each). As of January 2024, at least 170 people have been members of our club.
History #02 – Members
Kiwanis Club of Louisiana State University
Obviously we must have members and have them actively participate to accomplish anything. During our history, the lowest membership was 8 and the highest has been 41. All but one of the early members were LSU faculty and staff. The one “outsider” was Arno Easterly who was the CEO of Campus Federal Credit Union, and we have had one or more CFCU staff as members ever since. Now we are split among active faculty and staff, those who have retired from LSU, and folks working outside of LSU.
Over the years, we’ve had representation from more than 30 academic and administrative departments ranging from A to Z (Agricultural Economics to Zoology). A couple of months after chartering, we inducted our most colorful member, Paul Young, who has been our eldest member, had outlasted 3 wives, and helped us sell Christmas trees almost until age 90 when he moved away in 1989. Others who joined in the late 1970s and early 1980s and remained active for many years included Olin Dart (1977), C. J. Naquin (1979), Buster Schilling (1982), Lurry (Duz) Hamilton (1983), and Robert (Bob) Grodner and Dan Fontenot (1984).
In 1982, we expanded to include nearby business owners who had interests in the LSU community. Gil Toural ran the Tiger Town Pharmacy in the building on the corner of Highland Road and Chimes Street at the LSU gates later occupied by The Chimes restaurant. Along Chimes Street behind Pleasant Hall, Sandy Sanders owned Tiger Town Jewelers and Ross Willis owned the College Supply Bookstore.
We have had members from Campus Federal Credit Union since the beginning including Arno Easterly, John Milazzo, Lurry (Duz) Hamilton, Blaine Grimes, Cindy Lejeune, Hollie Bishop, and Megan Galatas. Brian Ainsworth is still active as of 2024 as well as new member Zachi Soliman.
In 1984, Marshall Grodner initiated several milestones for us. First, of our club’s many lunchtime waiters, he’s the only one we managed to recruit. Second, when he joined as a law student, he became our first graduate student member. Third, since Bob Grodner had joined a few months earlier, Marshall became part of our first father-son team. That trend continued with Paul Liuzzo, Joe Liuzzo’s son, in 1986 and Mark Grodner, Bob’s other son, in 1994. Marshall also was our first lawyer and was followed later by Bruce Craft, Aaron Brooks, Richard Bullock, Erik Kjeldsen, Fred Kroenke, Della Hayes, and Don Price. Then in 2005, after many years of recruiting, the addition of Mary Grodner, wife of Bob and mother of Marshall and Mark, expanded the record participation of the Grodner clan to four.
In April 1992, Fatemeh Malekian from the Pennington Biomedical Center became our first female member and has been followed by many other women who have made significant contributors in the club. Fatemeh later transferred membership to the Early Risers Kiwanis Club when she joined the faculty at Southern University. We have had several other members from Pennington but none currently.
Our best recruiters of new members have been Fatemeh Malekian, Joe Liuzzo, and Brian Ainsworth (7 each), Bob Grodner (6), Marshall Grodner (5), and Gary Kelly, Art Roberts, and C.J. Naquin (4 each). As of January 2024, at least 170 people have been members of our club.
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