Havelock Civitans celebrating 50 years of service

Havelock's longest running civic organization, The Havelock Civitan Club, will celebrate its 50th anniversary at 6 p.m. Thursday at Taberna Country Club.

The group received its charter as the 1,224th club of Civitan International on March 21, 1959, at a banquet at the Governor Tryon Hotel in New Bern. The New Bern Civitans sponsored the new Havelock club.

And ever since the 38 original members were inducted into the organization, the club has grown to about 75 members and has been reaching out to help the Havelock community and living up to the Civitan creed.

Their hands have done the work of the world. Their ears have heard the cries of the children. There hearts beat for every friend and bleed for every injury to humanity.

The club chartered its first Junior Civitan Club at Havelock High School on Dec. 16, 1967. Since then, three Havelock High School students have received the $1,000 Courtney W. Shropshire Scholarship from Civitan International.

Junior Civitan Clubs have since been chartered at Havelock Middle School and Tucker Creek Middle School. According to the club, there are about 100 Junior Civitans in Havelock-area schools.

The club had all men until Bambi

McCray became the first female member and later became the first woman installed as president in 1985.

Shirley Selepes, a club member since 1987, has been the governor for 56 clubs of the state's eastern district of Civitan International.

"I put 14,000 miles on my car acting as governor going to various functions and loved every single minute of it," Selepes said.

Member Ray Vawter has also been a governor in the state.

Over the years, Havelock Civitans have had many projects, including raising money to support the Boys and Girls Homes at Lake Waccamaw.

The group has a standing program to gather found and stolen bicycles released by the Havelock Police Department and distribute them to the Boys and Girls Homes.

Members support the Cherry Point Child Development Center in Havelock financially, but also have a program to refurbish rocking chairs that are then donated to the center. Staff members use the chairs to help rock the children to sleep at nap time.

Civitans are regular contributors to the ministerial association's food pantry, which provides food to the area's needy families.

They started the award- winning Grandbuddy Program at Havelock schools in which club members read stories to children on local access cable television and tutor students in the schools.

Each year two senior students receive $500 scholarships in the name of charter member Irv Beck and member W.J. Gurganus.

The club has made regular contributions to the Coastal Women's Shelter and to area youth athletic leagues.

A big part of its support goes to the Civitan International Research Center in Birmingham, Ala., where brain research and treatment of developmental disabilities is undertaken.

The group just held its 11th fundraising golf tournament over the weekend at Carolina Pines Golf and Country Club with a record 100 players.

"This was our most successful tournament ever," said Vawter, a past director of Civitan International.

The Havelock Civitan Club sponsored new Civitan clubs in Pamlico County and Morehead City.

Susie Bare, a past director of N.C. District East, said the group's activities are too many to name.

"It's such a good club," Bare said. "There are a lot of hard working people there."

WANT TO JOIN? 

• The Havelock Civitan Club has scheduled a Seek Meeting at 11:30 a.m. April 23 at the Fleet Reserve Association on Webb Boulevard in an effort to gain new members. Anyone interested in the organization is eligible to attend.

• The club regularly meets every second and fourth Thursday at 11:45 a.m. at the Fleet Reserve Association.

• For more information, go online to the organization's Web site at www.civitan.net/havelock