From left are Tess Helfers, Sandy Cobbum and Kathy Owen during the presentation of the Distinguished Club Award.

SYRACUSE — With only a handful of members a few years ago and meeting after school, the Wawasee Middle School Builders Club has grown to 47 members meeting twice monthly during Warrior Time while school is in session.

Students in grades six through eight are learning leadership skills, a prime objective, while doing community service projects and helping fellow students.

Growth in membership has been strong the last couple of years under the leadership of Kathy Owen, a retired teacher. Earlier this year, the Builders Club was recognized as a Distinguished Club by Kiwanis International.

Owen is not really sure why the club has grown so much, but believes having meetings during school hours instead of after school likely accounts for at least some of the growth. Owen, who had moved to the local area from Speedway near Indianapolis to help take care of her father, came out of retirement for two years.

First she was a substitute teacher then taught full time at WMS before retiring a second time. She took over leadership of the Builders Club during the previous school year.

During a typical club meeting parliamentary procedures are discussed, old and new business is mulled over, there is planning for community service projects, “Happy Birthday” is sang to club members celebrating birthdays and there is also a snack time. Builders Club is affiliated with Lakeland Kiwanis Club of North Webster and, like at a typical Kiwanis meeting, the gavel is banged at the start and end of meetings.

Community service projects earned Distinguished Club status for Builders Club. A current project is collecting toys at the school for the Marine Corps Toys For Tots program. In November, Builders Club collected 298 cans of food to help the Wawasee High School Key Club during its Stuff The Bus food drive.

Earlier, money was collected to help Kiwanis with a project to give young mothers and infants tetanus shots. A shoe drive was held to help the KC Recycling Depot and other projects have included making Valentines Day and Easter cards for Miller’s Merry Manor residents and selling concessions during last weekend’s craft bazaar at WMS. A membership drive is held in January and club members are asked to invite one person to join.

Builders Club is open to WMS students in grades six to eight. Students are nominated to join the club by their homeroom teachers.

The club can trace its roots as far back as when the former Syracuse Junior High School still existed, but no more specific information on dates is available. Builders Club was rechartered Sept. 10, 1993, by Lakeland Kiwanis. Sandy Cobbum is the Lakeland Kiwanis supervisor for Builders Club.

Officers for the 2016-17 school year are: Talia Kuhl, president; Rylie Bame, vice president; Tess Helfers, secretary; Bailey Smith, treasurer; Angela Drabenstott, historian; and Tate Cowan, sergeant-at-arms.

From left, Wawasee Middle School Builders Club students Ryleigh Cole, Kaley Kuhaneck, Madison McClintic, Lilly Crighton, Talia Kuhn and Ashlyn Stachowski helped with the Stuff The Bus food drive.