World War II had just been concluded the preceding year, when the Kiwanis Club of Southeast Cleveland organized Brecksville Kiwanis on November 24, 1946. Brecksville was just a sleepy little town at the time with a population of 2,000. The first Kiwanis fund raiser was an Ox roast and Horse Show on the town square on Labor Day weekend, The rains came. Net for the weekend totaled $158.57! The first Horse Show was held in 1949 at the old athletic field on Stadium Drive. A Decision was made to move the show to the first Sunday in August and remains the major fund raiser for the club ever since.
The club organized Kiwanis Clubs in North Royalton in 1951, Bath-Richfield in 1953, Seven Hills in 1961, Broadview Heights in 1965, Nordonia Hills in 2001and Parma Morning Club in 2005. The Key Club at the high school and the Builders Club at the middle school remain active as part of the Kiwanis family in our city.
Early in the club's history a large parcel of land including a cabin on Parkview Road bordering on the Metropark property. The cabin was used by the Boy Scouts and other community groups for many years. In 1968 the property was sold to the Park District at a substantial profit to the club.
Fund raising by the Kiwanis club over the years has totaled of $800,000. Over all of the years of the club, scholarships to graduating seniors remains our major effort. Other recipients include the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, churches, relief funds in the city, Coats for Kids, Meals on Wheels and a myriad of other groups in the area. In 1976 as our Bicentennial project the club constructed a pavilion in what was then known as Nowaka Park on the site of Kids Place near the community center. The club received a Kiwanis International award for this effort.