New York District of Kiwanis International

The New York District of Kiwanis International has played a key role in the history of the international organization, which was founded in 1915. The charter process for the Rochester club was completed on May 1, 1916. The club's first president was attorney George F. In May of 1916, Hixson and Albert Dodge, the charter president of the Buffalo Kiwanis Club also chartered that year, participated in the first national (there were no clubs outside the United States at the time) Kiwanis meeting in May of 1916 in Cleveland, joined by members of new Kiwanis clubs from many other cities, including Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Of the 15 clubs represented at the convention, seven were from New York: Rochester, Lockport, Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Albany and New York. At that meeting Hixson was elected as the first president of Kiwanis, and Dodge was elected as the national organization's first secretary. Graham from the New York City Club was elected vice president. George Hixson
Albert DodgeDue to the election of Albert Dodge as the organization's first secretary, the headquarters of Kiwanis International was in Buffalo for the first four years of the organization's existence. Dodge served as vice president of Kiwanis International in 1919, and in that position he chaired the 1919 Kiwanis Convention in Birmingham, Ala., which was a key event in the organization's development. In 1920 Dodge was New York District Governor. George F. Hixson served as the fledgling organization's president for two years and remains the only person ever to have held the job for more than a year. During his tenure, Kiwanis became an International organization by chartering a club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Hixson played key roles in the early years of Kiwanis while the organization was transformed from a commercial to a community service organization. He remained active in Kiwanis until his death in 1967. Hixson's memory is preserved through the George F. Hixson Award, an award presented by the Kiwanis International Foundation.