Paul's Perspective - December 2025
Fellow Kiwanians,
As the year 2025 comes to a close, I want to extend my heartfelt wishes to all of you for a happy and healthy Christmas, Hannukah, and a joyful New Year.
This year has been a successful one for our organization. Notably, our clubs, such as Camarillo, have shown genuine interest in establishing an Aktion Club within their community. Additionally, the Thousand Oaks Club is actively planning an open house event to launch a new club. This group aims to attract younger professionals from the businesses in the Conejo Valley area. Finally, in January a group of members from our division will be visiting the Santa Paula Schools, as well as the City Council and Chamber of Commerce to pursue opening a new Santa Paula Kiwanis Club. We aim for success, hoping it will inspire others.
For those interested in joining us or assisting us as we meet and welcome new Rising Star Club members there is a flyer available in this newsletter. We welcome the expertise and support from all clubs within our division, as we work toward these shared goals.
The recent DCM hosted by Simi Valley in Ventura was a tremendous success. We appreciate Andy Mack and the Ventura Club’s support as they helped coordinate the meeting location at the ARC in Ventura. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and the Aktion Club provided a memorable program. I would like to thank all the dedicated individuals who worked so hard and showed such care for their communities. Special recognition goes to Nancy Martin for her outstanding devotion to this group; her commitment is truly appreciated. Thank you, Nancy, you are wonderful. We had an impressive turnout, with 50 people in attendance. We ended the wonderful evening singing Christmas Carols together, and shared in so much laughter which added to the festive spirit of the event.
We are very close to resolving matters regarding the Division funds. I understand that many members are eager to see this issue settled, and I share that desire. It appears that we will have answers soon.
My sincere thanks go to all the Kiwanis Clubs that contributed to my Signature Project, Jackets and Jammies. At last count your generous donations included over 350 items received. What an accomplishment; I’m so proud and grateful for all of your support. Our communities will enjoy a cozy, warm winter season for sure. In fact, due to all of the clubs’ generous donations, a second pre-Christmas distribution was able to happen at Adelante of Conejo Valley. Each of your efforts and contributions have defined our stated Kiwanis mission statement: “Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.”
Since the start of the year, our district, CNH, has welcomed 217 new members. In our division, congratulations to Moorpark for inducting four new members, and to Simi Valley for inducting two. These are encouraging numbers—let’s keep up the good work.
As we begin 2026, I remain at your service and look forward to continuing to support all our clubs and members. Thank you for always reaching out, I appreciate your emails, phone calls, support and conversations.
Sincerely,
Paul Lopez
Paul Lopez,
Lieutenant Governor 2025 - 2026