Kay Anderson honoured by Kiwanis Foundation of Jamaica
KAY Yvonne Anderson has been awarded the 2015 Frank Melhado Award for dedicated service through Kiwanis to various Jamaican communities.
She was awarded recently at a function held at the Caymanas Golf Club.
Anderson, a distinguished lieutenant governor of excellence, and recipient of the Order of Distinction (Officer Class), started her trek through the annals of Kiwanis history in 1989 as a charter member of the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston (KCNK), Jamaica’s first chartered all-female club.
An artist and teacher, she served in all club positions except treasurer, and straddled service in up to three new clubs for many years. She served as president of the New Kingston club in 1998/1999, during which year the club was awarded distinguished status and won multiple service awards.
The Kiwanis movement in Jamaica completed 51 years on March 24, 2015, and the man who took on the mantle of leadership of the first Kiwanis Club in Jamaica as charter president of the Kiwanis Club of Kingston was Frank Melhado. He served as president from March 1964 to December 1966, presiding over the chartering of four other clubs in Jamaica and along with Kiwanis Club of Nassau, also co-sponsored three clubs overseas. He passed away in 2003.
In 2006, the Kiwanis Foundation of Jamaica established the Frank Melhado Award to recognise the contributions made by Kiwanians in Jamaica to the development of the movement and the community. Each year, Kiwanians are nominated and one worthy Kiwanian selected.
Anderson has readily shared with other clubs in and out of Division 23 East her education and training skills. Among other things, she developed a reading and homework project at Balcombe Drive All-Age School; was also club builder and Kiwanis advisor for several preparatory school Builders and Key clubs; and designed and rendered the Donor Tree for the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston’s Tropical Learning Centre, which remains a beacon at Hope Zoo. As club president, she helped with the provision of the AZT drug for pregnant women with HIV to the Ministry of Health and the accompanying educational component at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital. This innovative programme has since become a cornerstone of the Government’s fight against HIV/AIDS.
The fully equipped Kiwanis Reference Room at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts is also her handiwork.
Anderson’s contribution to the Kiwanis movement and her achievements have been recognised with: distinguished president (KCNK) 1998-1999; distinguished secretary and Kiwanian of the Year (KCNK) 1999-2000; distinguished lieutenant governor of excellence (Division 23 East) 2007-2008; distinguished lieutenant governor (Division 23 East) 2009-2010; Frank Summerhayes Award for best bulletin; the Kiwanis International Award for Leadership; 20 Ruby K awards; the Mel Osborne Award, The Godfrey Dyer Award, and the Hixson Fellowship.
On August 6, 2014, she was awarded the Order of Distinction, Officer Class for outstanding community service and contribution to the field of education by the Government of Jamaica.
