Kiwanis final Student of the Month was Durant High School senior Mitchell Palmer.
Palmer has earned a 4.0 GPA and thus was named to the Oklahoma National Honor Society, the National Society, and the Choctaw Nation Youth Advisory Board. Yet he finds time to serve as captain of the DHS soccer team and runs cross country track. He was awarded the Champion of Character through his sports activities. Other school service involves being Executive Vice President of the Student Council and working on the school’s media team.
In addition, Mitchell achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout project was to build a soccer field for the Durant Boys and Girls Club. Community service focuses on heritage, families, and faith.
Upon graduation, Palmer plans to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University to major in aviation.
Palmer was presented a certificate for being chosen DHS Senior of the Month and received a gift certificate. Attending with him were his parents Calvin and Monica Palmer and DHS High School Principal Cheryl Conditt. Mitchell will be added to the many qualified candidates to be selected as Kiwanis DHS Senior of the Year 2025 and Bryan County Senior of the Year 2025. Announcement of the $ 1,000.00 scholarship winners will occur in May. The Kiwanis Spiritual Aims Committee will also be awarding $1,000.00 scholarships.
Kiwanis does more than recognize students in our community. Annually, a Citizen of the Year is named to highlight an individual who has made an impact on local citizens through “volunteerism, leadership, outreach, and betterment.”
Janet Reed was awarded this year’s Kiwanis Citizen of the Year. Reed has devoted herself for the past nineteen years to the Durant area Chamber of Commerce. Under her leadership, our community has thrived economically, and this growth has enabled non-profits organizations to grow. The most well-known force of change comes from Reed’s development of Leadership Durant, a year-long “master class” to hone leadership skills. This training will impact Durant and Bryan County for generations to come.
Filling the abyss left by Ms. Reed’s retirement is newly selected Kara Byrd as Chamber of Commerce CEO. Byrd earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and has served on numerous boards such as Main Street Board, Lake Texoma Board, and Leadership Durant Team. Her plans to continue growth for Durant is a mapping service to clarify the Chamber’s mission and purpose. Current and new business members of the Chamber will have access to benefits such as ribbon cuttings, events, newsletter, new website, community calendar, and Coffee Networking. The new Leadership Durant mentoring team will accept new applicants in July.
Another April speaker was attorney Heather Burrage. Ms. Burrage is a graduate of SOSU and the University of Oklahoma School of Law. Her speciality is general litigation and establishing wills, trusts, and estate planning for her clients. She explained the advantages and disadvantages of wills and trusts. Kiwanians learned valuable information about revocable and irrevocable trusts, power of attorney, and guardianships.
Unifying the business theme for April was speaker Larry Adams of the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center. Mr. Adam’s earned a Master of Business degree from SOSU. There are 400,000 small businesses in Oklahoma. The OSBDC offers free one on one business advice with a focus on manufacturing. This service connects clients to financial help through banks and REI Oklahoma. Last year twenty new businesses were started with the help of OSBDC. Mr. Adam’s believes, “Education turns a skill into a business.”
For every speaker for Kiwanis, the club makes a donation to the Kiwanis International Project to end neo-natal tetanus. Every donation saves fifteen lives.
