The August 18th meeting was called to order by President Myra Kremin at Taboon, kicking off with the Pledge of Allegiance, an invocation, and the always-entertaining happy fines. Members with new vehicles were reminded of the club’s fine for new wheels, belated birthday wishes were extended to July honorees Leticia, Carina, and Marco, and August birthdays Scott O. and Bob S. were celebrated with a round of Happy Birthday.
Myra also shared perhaps the most memorable fine of the evening — a parking citation issued in Montevideo for a Honda that turned out not to be hers, despite sharing a similar license plate number. After some digging, a photo of her registration cleared things up and the $70 ticket was dropped. The moral of the story: those specialty plate characters don’t always make it through when an officer runs your plates.
Updates
A quick and well-deserved shoutout went to Tony, Alba, and Myra for representing the club at Dodger Day on August 8th at Heartwell Park. Alba reported that the event was a huge success — roughly 1,000 kids showed up to receive free books, the Dodgers Foundation put on a fantastic spread for the community, and the World Series Trophy was on hand for photos. It was hot, but the energy made it well worth it.
Gema Vega who will be Lt. Gov. in a year, is with Myra. Those other two men are guarding the trophy.
Marco and Carina handled Lydia House in August and reported a great evening. They served up the crowd-favorite chicken dinner along with carrots and potato salad to six families — about 36 people in total — who were warm and grateful as always.
The club’s eyeglass collection drive in partnership with the Downtown Long Beach Lions Club has been a standout effort, with 219 pairs collected through August 1st. A special shoutout to Tony, who single-handedly contributed around 50 pairs. The drive will continue through one more month, so if you have old glasses sitting around at home, bring them in. The board will decide next month whether to continue the program for a second year.
On membership, the club currently sits at 25 members with dues set at $250 per person for the coming year. A few additional members are expected to come on board in October, so the numbers are looking up.
And some welcome news — Merle Anderson is out of the hospital and back home, and is looking forward to rejoining the group soon.
Upcoming Events
Kiwanis Dodger Game
Date: Tuesday, September 8th, night game
Matchup: Dodgers vs. the Reds at Dodger Stadium
Perk: First 50–60 attendees get access to the outfield for photos
Carpooling available — see Tony for details and flyer
Steve Rick Benson Installation
Date: Tuesday, September 15th, noon
Location: The Grand
Club member Steve Rick Benson will be installed as President of the other Long Beach Kiwanis Club — come out and show your support!
September Meeting
Date: Tuesday, September 15th (moved from the usual date due to the installation dinner)
Installation Dinner
Date: Tuesday, September 22nd, 6pm
Location: The Grand
Cost: $40 per person — bring your check; Stephen would appreciate payment in advance
Vegetarian plates available upon request
Sign-up sheet is still circulating; deadline is the September meeting
October Meeting
Date: Monday, October 20th
Location: For the Child (address to be announced)
Christmas Party
Date: Tuesday, December 1st
Location: Virginia Country Club
Theater Night
Date: Thursday, January 28, 2027
Location: Long Beach Playhouse
Show: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Tickets: $40 per person
Tickets will be available for distribution at the September meeting
Special Guest Speakers
Key Club
The club was thrilled to welcome three guests from the Key Club family: Lieutenant Governor Achi Ozoude of Division 13 South, and Triciamae Lazo and Kevin Rivera, President and Vice President of the Rancho Dominguez High School Key Club. Achi, whose home club is Soto Academy, oversees 11 Key Clubs across the division and shared some ambitious goals for the year: 400 members, 5,000 service hours, and $5,000 raised for the pediatric trauma program. To help reach that fundraising target, the division is currently running an online See’s Candy Drive through August 31st — the clubs you’d be supporting are Jordan and Retro. Tony has the link, so reach out to him to get involved before the deadline.
Triciamae and Kevin, both juniors, spoke warmly about why they joined Key Club — community service drew them in, and the camaraderie kept them hooked.
Chaperones Needed
Key Club is putting out a genuine call for adult chaperones for their upcoming events. Most are weekend service projects, and the club is required to have adult supervision on hand. The biggest event on the calendar is the Fall Rally in November, which draws 200–250 members and runs all day. It’s a meaningful commitment but by all accounts a rewarding one. The club will cover the cost of your background check. If you’re interested in getting involved, contact Tony.
Brad Kaiser, a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, brought a timely and eye-opening presentation on financial fraud — and made clear right from the start that this wasn’t a cybersecurity talk. The most important takeaway? Most fraud doesn’t happen because someone hacks into your accounts. It happens because someone gets you to willingly engage — clicking a link, answering a call, responding to a text. That distinction matters, because it means awareness and habits are your best defense.
Brad walked through the many forms fraud can take, from phishing emails impersonating Microsoft or the IRS, to impersonation phone calls, to recurring unauthorized charges quietly bleeding from your accounts month after month. He noted that AOL email addresses are a known red flag for scammers, who recognize them as likely belonging to older, more vulnerable users — a good reason to update your email if you’re still on one. His practical advice: set up alerts on every financial account you have, verify anything suspicious by calling the institution directly (never through a number provided in the message), and when in doubt, don’t touch anything.
Brad shared a couple of memorable real-life examples from his career. In one case, a client received multiple calls claiming her daughter had been arrested and needed $5,000 in cash immediately — Brad stopped it each time simply by insisting they call the daughter first. In another, a client was convinced a $50,000 check was legitimate; Brad suggested she deposit it and wait a week before spending it, knowing full well the funds would never clear. She walked away skeptical, then came back after the check bounced — furious at the bank, not the scammer. These aren’t edge cases. They happen constantly, and they happen to smart people.
He closed with a useful resource for California residents: privacy.ca.gov, a free state portal where you can opt out of having your personal data shared or sold. And in a moment that proved everyone was paying attention, Brad jokingly offered to “send a link” with more resources — and was immediately and unanimously shot down by the room. That, he said, was the final exam. Everyone passed.
The August meeting was a full evening by any measure — from Myra’s only-in-real-life parking citation to a sobering but essential conversation about financial fraud, with a roomful of enthusiastic Key Clubbers in between. It’s a good reminder of what makes this club tick: showing up for the community, supporting the next generation of leaders, and looking out for one another. With the Installation Dinner, the Dodger game, and the See’s Candy Drive all just around the corner, there’s plenty of opportunity to stay engaged between now and September. We’ll see you on the 15th!
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Last Updated: August 23, 2026 by kiwanisadmin
August 2026 Meeting Recap
The August 18th meeting was called to order by President Myra Kremin at Taboon, kicking off with the Pledge of Allegiance, an invocation, and the always-entertaining happy fines. Members with new vehicles were reminded of the club’s fine for new wheels, belated birthday wishes were extended to July honorees Leticia, Carina, and Marco, and August birthdays Scott O. and Bob S. were celebrated with a round of Happy Birthday.
Myra also shared perhaps the most memorable fine of the evening — a parking citation issued in Montevideo for a Honda that turned out not to be hers, despite sharing a similar license plate number. After some digging, a photo of her registration cleared things up and the $70 ticket was dropped. The moral of the story: those specialty plate characters don’t always make it through when an officer runs your plates.
Updates
A quick and well-deserved shoutout went to Tony, Alba, and Myra for representing the club at Dodger Day on August 8th at Heartwell Park. Alba reported that the event was a huge success — roughly 1,000 kids showed up to receive free books, the Dodgers Foundation put on a fantastic spread for the community, and the World Series Trophy was on hand for photos. It was hot, but the energy made it well worth it.
Marco and Carina handled Lydia House in August and reported a great evening. They served up the crowd-favorite chicken dinner along with carrots and potato salad to six families — about 36 people in total — who were warm and grateful as always.
The club’s eyeglass collection drive in partnership with the Downtown Long Beach Lions Club has been a standout effort, with 219 pairs collected through August 1st. A special shoutout to Tony, who single-handedly contributed around 50 pairs. The drive will continue through one more month, so if you have old glasses sitting around at home, bring them in. The board will decide next month whether to continue the program for a second year.
On membership, the club currently sits at 25 members with dues set at $250 per person for the coming year. A few additional members are expected to come on board in October, so the numbers are looking up.
And some welcome news — Merle Anderson is out of the hospital and back home, and is looking forward to rejoining the group soon.
Upcoming Events
Kiwanis Dodger Game
Steve Rick Benson Installation
September Meeting
Installation Dinner
October Meeting
Christmas Party
Theater Night
Special Guest Speakers
Key Club
The club was thrilled to welcome three guests from the Key Club family: Lieutenant Governor Achi Ozoude of Division 13 South, and Triciamae Lazo and Kevin Rivera, President and Vice President of the Rancho Dominguez High School Key Club. Achi, whose home club is Soto Academy, oversees 11 Key Clubs across the division and shared some ambitious goals for the year: 400 members, 5,000 service hours, and $5,000 raised for the pediatric trauma program. To help reach that fundraising target, the division is currently running an online See’s Candy Drive through August 31st — the clubs you’d be supporting are Jordan and Retro. Tony has the link, so reach out to him to get involved before the deadline.
Triciamae and Kevin, both juniors, spoke warmly about why they joined Key Club — community service drew them in, and the camaraderie kept them hooked.
Chaperones Needed
Key Club is putting out a genuine call for adult chaperones for their upcoming events. Most are weekend service projects, and the club is required to have adult supervision on hand. The biggest event on the calendar is the Fall Rally in November, which draws 200–250 members and runs all day. It’s a meaningful commitment but by all accounts a rewarding one. The club will cover the cost of your background check. If you’re interested in getting involved, contact Tony.
For details about Kiwanis Youth Protection Policies & Procedures, download the informational PDF.
Or visit the Kiwans International website to learn more about Youth Protection & Background Checks.
Brad Kaiser — Financial Fraud Awareness
Brad Kaiser, a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, brought a timely and eye-opening presentation on financial fraud — and made clear right from the start that this wasn’t a cybersecurity talk. The most important takeaway? Most fraud doesn’t happen because someone hacks into your accounts. It happens because someone gets you to willingly engage — clicking a link, answering a call, responding to a text. That distinction matters, because it means awareness and habits are your best defense.
Brad walked through the many forms fraud can take, from phishing emails impersonating Microsoft or the IRS, to impersonation phone calls, to recurring unauthorized charges quietly bleeding from your accounts month after month. He noted that AOL email addresses are a known red flag for scammers, who recognize them as likely belonging to older, more vulnerable users — a good reason to update your email if you’re still on one. His practical advice: set up alerts on every financial account you have, verify anything suspicious by calling the institution directly (never through a number provided in the message), and when in doubt, don’t touch anything.
Brad shared a couple of memorable real-life examples from his career. In one case, a client received multiple calls claiming her daughter had been arrested and needed $5,000 in cash immediately — Brad stopped it each time simply by insisting they call the daughter first. In another, a client was convinced a $50,000 check was legitimate; Brad suggested she deposit it and wait a week before spending it, knowing full well the funds would never clear. She walked away skeptical, then came back after the check bounced — furious at the bank, not the scammer. These aren’t edge cases. They happen constantly, and they happen to smart people.
He closed with a useful resource for California residents: privacy.ca.gov, a free state portal where you can opt out of having your personal data shared or sold. And in a moment that proved everyone was paying attention, Brad jokingly offered to “send a link” with more resources — and was immediately and unanimously shot down by the room. That, he said, was the final exam. Everyone passed.
The August meeting was a full evening by any measure — from Myra’s only-in-real-life parking citation to a sobering but essential conversation about financial fraud, with a roomful of enthusiastic Key Clubbers in between. It’s a good reminder of what makes this club tick: showing up for the community, supporting the next generation of leaders, and looking out for one another. With the Installation Dinner, the Dodger game, and the See’s Candy Drive all just around the corner, there’s plenty of opportunity to stay engaged between now and September. We’ll see you on the 15th!
Category: Events, Recaps Tags: Meeting Recap
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