Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe announces 2017 honorees
The Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe’s Distinguished Service Awards luncheon will celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary on May 3 by recognizing Catoosa County resident Mary Carpenter and for Walker County the Gilbert family of LaFayette.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes the outstanding career, community and civic contributions made by the honorees and the positive impact they have on bettering our community. Kiwanis is an international service organization dedicated to helping change the world one child and one community at a time.
“The beauty of the Distinguished Service Award is that we bring the community together to celebrate their accomplishments. It really is a feel-good event that our club members look forward to organizing.” Club president Kim Brunner said.
Mary Carpenter is from Columbia, The Distinguished Service Award luncheon allows the club to showcase the international service mission of Kiwanis International and the local programs and projects that are sponsored by the club. Individual tickets are $35 each, corporate table for eight is $350. Reservations are needed to attend and auction items are also being collected. Contact Chris McKeever by phone at 706-861-2860 or at chris@6thcavalrymuseum.com.
Tenn., and has been in the banking business for 35 years, moving to Catoosa County in 1993. She worked at Northwest Georgia Bank, Gateway Bank and currently serves as vice president and director of culture and marketing at First Volunteer Bank.
Carpenter’s list of volunteer and civic accomplishments are great and include raising over $100,000 for Communities in Schools through its 5K run, chaired the Walker, Catoosa and Dade United Way campaign, served as chairman of the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce in 2015, has taught the banking class for Junior Achievement at Graysville Elementary for 14 years, was a 2016 Dancing Star of Northwest Georgia to benefit Alzheimer’s Association then emceed the event in 2017. Special Olympics and the Sundress Ball have also benefited from her leadership and fund-raising expertise. Carpenter has selected the Performance Learning Center as her beneficiary of half of the silent auction proceeds raised at the luncheon.
The legacy of the Gilbert family is deep-rooted in North Georgia, dating back to 1914 when Walker County Bank opened for business on the square in LaFayette with C.C. Gilbert as the bank’s cashier. In January 1932 The Bank of LaFayette and Walker County Bank merged, retaining the name of the older Bank of LaFayette. C.C. Gilbert served as executive vice president then was elected president in 1939 and held that position until his death in 1953. He was followed as bank president by his sons Bob D. Gilbert and Charles M. Gilbert. C.C.’s grandson, Dave Gilbert, is chairman of the board and CEO of the bank today. Another grandson, Henry Gilbert, is president of the bank.
The family’s community and civic support also has a long and distinguished legacy having supported over eighty local, state and national charities that promote health, education, economic development, aid to women, children and seniors, scholarships, safety, local libraries, Boy Scouts and the YMCA. Of particular note is the LaFayette Empty Stocking Fund which Ethel Gilbert helped to establish and the family has selected it as their charity to receive half of the silent auction proceeds from the luncheon.
Kiwanis Club member Chris McKeever met with Dave and Henry Gilbert to learn more about the family’s history. “When I met with Dave and Henry about the family’s philanthropy, there was so much family history and how the extended Gilbert family had positively impacted not just LaFayette and Walker County but also the development of Fort Oglethorpe after the Army Post closed. I had a hard time keeping up with all they had to say.”