Kiwanis Club

The Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills has had several interesting speakers over the past few weeks.

At the Oct. 21 meeting, guest speaker Honorable Susan Hicks, the Clerk of Superior Court of Moore County, gave an overview of the various divisions of the office. The Superior Court is the hub of all judicial proceedings, and the many departments handle things ranging from criminal offenses to name changes. The Clerk's office strives to provide Moore County citizens with professional and accurate record keeping.

Audrey Moriarty, archivist for the Givens Memorial Library and Tufts Archives, gave a talk and slide presentation on the history of Pinehurst on Oct. 28.

At the Nov. 4 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, President Leigh Baggs spoke about how she was exposed to Kiwanis at a young age.

She discussed the goals and objectives, which include membership growth and visibility. Since the club's fundraising efforts are all for children's programs, it is looking for a "signature" project that can make a large impact.

At the Nov. 11 meeting of the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, Eric Alpenfels, director of the Pinehurst Golf Academy and Golf Instruction at the Pinehurst Resort, addressed the members with a talk on improving one's golf swing.

Alpenfels has been part of the Pinehurst family since 1985 and his expertise has earned him recognition from Golf Magazine as one of the "Top 100 Teachers in America," Golf Digest as one of "America's 50 Greatest Teachers," and U.S. Kids Golf as one of the "Top 50 Teachers for Kids."

In partnership with Dr. Christina, the Pinehurst Golf Academy is conducting research to pioneer development of new practice techniques and innovative drills.

For more information on the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills and the informative programs, call Susan Holmes at (910) 255-0131.

Browns Backers

The Cleveland Browns Backers of the Sandhills meet at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, at The Bell Tree, 155 NE Broad St., Southern Pines

The Browns will play the Kansas City Chiefs.

For information, call Fred at (910) 295-6480.

For further information, visit www.brownsbackersofthesandhills.com.

Pinehurst Rotary

The Pinehurst Rotary Club met on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at the Pine Crest Inn with presidentelect Bob Desjardins opening the meeting and leading the club in song with "God Bless America."

The program for the luncheon meeting was a presentation by Don Sweeting, executive vice president of Pinehurst Resorts.

Sweeting, a Rotarian himself, spoke on upcoming events at the resort, including the Rotary International Golf Tournament to be held in August 2011.

Sweeting said that the event will host at least 250 Rotarians from many different countries around the globe. Ray Taylor, a member of the Pinehurst Club and past district governor, will coordinate the event and receive help from other local Rotary Clubs, which will assist in making the event run smoothly for all participants.

He spoke on the improvement of the resort's golf business in 2009 compared with 2008 numbers. He then spent considerable time on the topic of the Men's and Women's U.S. Open, which will be held at the Pinehurst No. 2 Course in 2014.

He explained how the course will be prepared for the men's event as well as the following women's event and said he expects both tournaments will be hosted with little complication, as the resort is well prepared with its planning and experienced staff.

After the meeting, several Pinehurst Rotarians left to distribute third-grade dictionaries at Academy Heights School. The distribution of dictionaries to all Moore County third-graders is an annual project that the club has held for several years.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis

Deputy Mike Kantorowski, of the Moore County Sheriff's Department, spoke to the Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club on Dec. 1.

Kantorowski spoke primarily of the changes in law enforcement, especially the training that officers receive today. He stated that all officers now receive the same training, which helps to increase the efficiency of working between different departments.

Kantorowski also showed the various weapons that the department is authorized to use when necessary. In addition to the normal sidearm, which is a .40-caliber Baretta pistol, he displayed and demonstrated a Taser pistol, which he indicated is one of the best weapons law enforcement officers have been given. The Taser has the power of 50,000 volts, and an effective range of 25 feet, which will very temporarily paralyze a suspect, giving an officer five seconds in which to secure the individual. The gun also has a built-in record-keeping system of each time it is used.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis meets each Tuesday at noon at the Seven Lakes Country Club.