Kiwanis Club of Blue Ridge has a new president, Bill Echelburger.
“I got very involved like three years ago,” Echelburger said of his involvement with the group. “I came in, I was a member for a couple of years and just went to meetings and did the grunt work and stuff, and then decided it’s such a great organization.”
Echelburger has been a Kiwanis Club of Blue Ridge member for six years.
For the past four years, Echelburger has helped with the annual rodeo, haunted house and raffle.
“I’m good friends with all of these people (Kiwanis members),” he said. “They’re just a great bunch of people.”
Born and raised in Iowa, Echelburger moved to Florida in his thirties.
Then, 14 years ago, he decided to build a second home in Cherry Log.
Blue Ridge is now his permanent residence, and he has been a member of the Blue Ridge United Methodist Church for eight years.
“My wife sits on the (Fannin County) Family Connection board, so we’ve gotten very, very involved when we got up here, and we love the city (Blue Ridge). ... I love this town. I can’t say enough good things about the people.”
As far as his new role as president, Echelburger said he plans to implement another large fundraiser.
“We’re going to come up with a different formula for one and try and think outside the box a little bit,” he said.
He added that he’d like to expand the scholarship program, highlight Thursday night bingo and complete more community service projects.
When comparing Blue Ridge’s club to others, Echelburger said, “We’re known quite well in our community, Kiwanis community, for doing a lot of good things.”
“We do so much good for this community that some people don’t know, especially the outsiders that’ve just came in.”
Echelburger added that he’d like to get the club’s name out a little more, and not just to the locals, in order to raise money.
“We hit on the locals all of the time,” he said. “If I was a local, I’d almost be tired of, you know, trying to raise money for certain things because there’s so many good causes around here to raise money for, so we’re trying to get our little piece of pie, along with everybody else.”
All funds that the club raises stays at the club, Echelburger emphasized.
“The club has been doing a phenomenal job for years,” he said.
The club currently has around 56 members, Echelburger said, and anyone interested in joining should visit the Kiwanis Club of Blue Ridge website at www.blueridgekiwanis.org or their Facebook page under “Kiwanis Club of Blue Ridge.”