06/26/2024
Alabama District’s 2021-22 Distinguished Governor Scott Sims nominated for the Marc Litwack Legacy of Leadership Award
Scott Sims, 2021-22 Distinguished Governor of the Alabama District of Kiwanis, has been nominated for the 2024 Marc H. Litwack Legacy of Leadership Award.
Sims — who is a candidate for a trustee position on the Kiwanis International board at this summer’s Denver convention — was nominated by Rebecca Riley, 2012-13 president of Key Club International.
This annual award honors the life and dedication to Kiwanis of the lifelong Key Club supporter and New Jersey Kiwanis Governor Marc Litwack, who died in 2023. The Marc H. Litwack Legacy Leadership Fund was created and operates under the Kiwanis International Children’s Fund. He directed that his estate gift support Key Club leadership development.
Letters supporting Sims were submitted by Riley; Marla Hines, Alabama District Administrator for Key Club; and Rip Livingston, 2015-16 president of Key Club International. All three are from the Birmingham area.
Livingston values Sims’ support
Rip Livingston from Alabama, who served as Key Club International Trustee in 2014-15 and International President the next year, said Sims was “my coach and cheerleader” who spent hours preparing him for caucuses and speeches.
“The thoughtful care with which he delivered feedback and guidance provided a great deal of emotional and moral support, critical for a teenager facing the pressures of such an election. I owe much of my Key Club success to Scott.”
He added, “Scott’s ebullient personality and wise counsel made him a sought-after mentor among district board members, governors and adult leaders alike.”
Livingston also knew Litwack and, while president of Key Club International, spoke often with him.
“Marc impressed upon me the value of intergenerational service and commitment, which is the cornerstone of Kiwanis and Key Club’s shared impact.
“Scott embodies this value. His own service to Key Club — as a youth member turned adult adviser — and later Kiwanis leadership speaks for itself,” Livingston said. “Marc Litwack’s example of lifelong service lives on in Scott, and I am proud to support his nomination.”
Riley’s memories
Rebecca Riley has known Scott Sims her entire life because he and her father were college roommates and best friends. When she began her journey toward Alabama Key Club governor and president of Key Club International in 2012-13, “Scott would be there every step of the way, a fixture at conventions, assisting with campaign prep, and showing up in a thousand more uncountable ways,” Riley recalled.
“While I may have heard about this thing called ‘Key Club’ when I was young, it was not until I was much older that I would come to appreciate the enormous importance it held in Scott’s life ... how, in his words, it ‘changed the trajectory of my life’ — and how he has been giving back to the K-family from his debt of gratitude ever since,” Riley wrote.
The Litwack connection
More than 40 years ago, Sims was a high school sophomore holding his first District Key Club office, K-Relations Chair, when he first met Marc Litwack.
“It was obvious that this New Jersey travel agent had a profound love for Key Club,” Sims told Riley, and he was a mentor to many Key Club leaders. Sims was elected lieutenant governor (1982-83) and Alabama Key Club governor (1983-84), as well as serving as Walker High School Key Club president for those two years.
They lost touch after Sims entered college, followed by law school, career, marriage and family. But in 2021, while Sims was Alabama District Governor, Litwack called to congratulate him. They reconnected and had several calls. Litwack talked about his estate gift and how it would make an impact.
In her nomination letter, Riley said that “Marc Litwack’s legacy to Kiwanis and to the world was one of service, leadership, extraordinary friendship, and lifelong commitment. Scott Sims is one of the rare few who also embodies these singular qualities.”
Marla Hines, Key Club Administrator for Alabama, got to know Sims when two of his four children sought offices beyond their school Key Clubs. His daughter Caroline served on the Key Club District Board and as district secretary, and son William achieved governor. William became president of Key Club International, as did two others from Homewood High: Rip Livingston and Rebecca Riley.
“Over a five-year period from 2012 to 2017, our district had three International Presidents,” she said, “and all of them were from the Key Club sponsored by Scott’s Kiwanis Club (Homewood-Mountain Brook).”
The administrator, who has worked at the district level of Key Club for 20 years, said every Key Clubber “notices his positive attitude and ‘can do’ willingness to go above and beyond to help others. His story is one of unconditional love for others, and he commits to helping young people in any manner that is needed. Scott is exactly the type of leader we need to promote, exemplify and celebrate.”
As District Governor when clubs were trying to recover from the pandemic, Sims set goals for increasing membership, she said, but he also “developed realistic strategies to make it a reality.” That helped Key Clubs to also focus on these goals and ultimately helped their growth, too.
She met Litwack a few times and believes he “found a way to take his personal gifts and incorporate them into his passion (serving others).” Sims shares those characteristics, Hines said.
The Marc Litwack Legacy of Leadership Award for 2024 will be presented during the Key Club International Convention in Atlanta, July 10-14.
