(Mission Times Courier, San Diego, CA). There are Kiwanis members, and then there are Kiwanians. The difference is in their dedication, and one man who certainly fits the description of a Kiwanian is local dentist Doug Grosmark.

On the morning of Friday, June 1st, Hearst Elementary School took some time to honor the longtime Hearst Partner in Education and advisor of their K-Kids club. Dr. Doug has had his dental practice open in Del Cerro for a decade and a half now, and in that time, he has given back to the community through his involvement with Hearst Elementary and the Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club. “That’s longer than any teacher has been here,” noted Hearst teacher and K-Kids faculty advisor LeeAnn Leyden.

Doug was already two years into his partnership with Hearst Elementary when Kiwanian Dave Wright approached him in 1994 about starting up a K-Kids club (K-Kids is a Kiwanis-sponsored community service organization for elementary school students). Dr. Doug agreed to serve as the advisor to the club, and thus was born the Hearst Elementary K-Kids club, the first of its kind in California. In the years since then, hundreds of local students have come through the K-Kids club, attending meetings and learning what it means to give back to the community. K-Kids maintain the "Proud to be an American" planter box in front of the school's main office, collect canned goods for military families overseas, create holiday greeting cards for senior citizens, and whatever else needs to be done to make this world a better place!

In addition to recognition from school principal Robin Stern and Mrs. Leyden, Doug was also given a musical tribute by the school’s 5th-grade chorus. They chose to honor him with the song “Instrument of Peace,” in light of Doug’s service and the ideals of Kiwanis. Student Tim Jander, whose parents are both members of the Lake Murray Kiwanis Club, gave a speech of his own. He thanked Dr. Doug for his years of service and also carefully reminded all in attendance of the mission statement of Kiwanis. "Kiwanis," he said, "is an international organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time." Doug Grosmark is an example of this Kiwanis ideal.

True to form, however, Doug tried to deflect the applause, choosing to thank the Hearst students, parents, and community for supporting him and the K-Kids club for so long. Still, there was no question about the true guest of honor during the fifteen-minute outdoor ceremony. The entire student body turned out for an assembly to thank one of the most dedicated volunteers in the school’s history.

As for Dr. Doug, he summarized his accomplishments with just a single tongue-in-cheek sentence: “Fifteen years, and I’m still in elementary school.”