About Us

The structure of Kiwanis is built from the club level up to Kiwanis International. A club operates according to International Policies, but also with its own traditions and local policies. The name “Kiwanis” means “we trade” or “we share our talents”. It was coined from an American Indian expression, Nunc Kee-Wanis.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kiwanis International is made up of all the Districts across the world. It is led by a board of trustees, which sets the policies for the entire organization. An executive director, answering to the board of trustees, heads an administrative staff of about 100 people.

Clubs are administratively collected in a unit known as a Division. A Lieutenant Governor heads the division and is the local representative to the Governor. Our club is part of Division 1-South (1S) which includes clubs in the following counties of Northwestern Ohio: Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Paulding, Putnam, Williams, and Wood. A division usually meets several times a year. These meetings are hosted by a club in the division and are open to all members.

Several divisions are collectively organized into a District, each headed by a Governor. Districts are sometimes divided along state boundaries. This is true of Ohio. The Ohio District holds an annual convention and a Mid-Year Education Day. All members are eligible and encouraged to attend.

There are hundreds of thousands of members in the world committed to the children in their communities.