KIWANIS CLUB OF ALLEN, TEXAS

Sally Terrell

Club President 2001 - 2002

I served the Kiwanis Club of Allen as their president several years ago. I was persuaded to join Kiwanis from my friends who were members at the time. Funny how these friends quit attending Kiwanis after they got me to join. I guess they were upholding the "David Olson Request" to find their replacement if they had to leave the club. The only problem was that they did not tell me what they were up to!

I've been asked to provide some highlights of my term as president. It's interesting how I seem to have forgotten most of that year . . . But, I do recall that we had to relocate our meetings to Ted & Larry's [a sports bar on Bethany at Hwy 75]. Our new meeting place was a small, darkly lit room. It was a real challenge for many members to keep attending during that time. The one moment that really stands out occurred shortly after 9-11. Our guest speaker was a Muslim cleric, and I suppose the purpose of our invitation was to provide him with an opportunity to introduce many of us to the Muslim culture. The custom of our club is that the President provides the guest speaker with a gift and a handshake at the conclusion of the speech. So, with a coffee cup in my left hand, I smiled and offered him my right hand for the "shake." I swear the man actually jumped backwards, and loudly informed me that he was not allowed to touch women. All I could think to say was, "Well, can you at least take the coffee cup?" This was a very insulting moment for me. I was embarrassed for myself, for our club, and for the poor person who invited this guy to speak to us. It's really something I will never forget. He didn't touch me because I was unclean.

Several years ago I began a new career in real estate. It's rewarding and very time consuming. My new career often interferes with my attending the weekly Kiwanis luncheon, but I promise that every Thursday at noon I am thinking about the club.

I want to thank everyone who helped me during my Presidency and especially want to thank Anita Rushing. She was a great asset to me and to the club.