Charles “Chuck” Gugliuzza of Homestead has been elected to the International Board of Trustees of Kiwanis International. Gugliuzza, former Governor of the Florida District of Kiwanis, began his new leadership role on Oct. 1.
Gugliuzza, who was elected to the three-year term during the recent 102nd annual Kiwanis International Convention in Paris, has served in numerous capacities with Kiwanis since joining the organization in 2001. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Homestead/South Dade.
Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global service organization with more than 700,000 members in 80 countries, all dedicated to helping children in their communities. Kiwanis clubs sponsor youth leadership programs for students in elementary, middle and high schools, and at colleges and universities, giving students the opportunity to learn valuable leadership skills while performing volunteer services. Last year, Kiwanis members performed approximately 150,000 service projects around the world, representing more than 18.5 million hours of community involvement.
Gugliuzza, who moved to Florida from his native Pennsylvania in 1998, was looking for a way to become involved in his new community when he began his Kiwanis career playing Santa Claus during the Christmas holidays.
“I knew that Kiwanis was right for me when I started seeing the smiles on children’s faces who had never received a gift from Santa before,” Gugliuzza said. “My wife, Emilia, who serves with me side-by-side in my service projects around the world, and I began as Santa and Mrs. Claus in 2002, and through Kiwanis, we now see over 7,000 kids each December throughout South Florida and Colombia.”
Owners of Alton Madison Property Management, Gugliuzza and his wife also run accounting and television production firms in South Miami-Dade.
