Richard Wood

Richard W. Wood

Northrop Grumman - Newport News Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

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PASCAGOULA - Richard Wood of Pascagoula will lead 179 clubs and more than 6,500 Kiwanis members in Mississippi, Louisiana and Western Tennessee when he takes over as district governor for the international service organization Oct. 1.

The local club is in its 60th year and has 66 members.

Wood, who's been a Kiwanis member for 15 years, chose working with Head Start programs as his governor's project because he has a passion for children.

"We will work hand in hand with Head Start, and I'm asking every member to be involved," he said."Our major emphasis is children from prenatal to age 5 and this project fits in with that emphasis."

Kiwanis members already are involved with Head Start, but Wood will ask them to develop one new project.To that end, he is preparing letters to send to all clubs in the district and all Head Start facilities.He suggests projects such as reading to children, mentoring and donating books.

"We had a Read to Succeed project with all the elementary schools in Jackson County and it was fantastic," he said."We're excited about working with Head Start, too, and they will welcome us with open arms."

Wood, section manager in the engineering department at Northrop Grumman, was elected to his new Kiwanis position at a district convention in New Orleans.To introduce his governor's project to the members, he invited Head Start Director Billy Knight of the Singing River Education Association to conduct a workshop at the convention.

"It was well attended and there was a lot of interest," Wood said."Kiwanis members are great people and are interested in children."

In his official capacity, he will visit all 22 Kiwanis divisions within the district, preside over four board meetings, serve as spokesman for the district, manage the budget and visit individual clubs.He also will approve budgets for the Key Club, a high school version of Kiwanis, and Circle K, a club for college students.

"I will be busy.There will be a lot of traveling and a lot on my calendar," Wood said."I plan to retire from Northrop Grumman in January when I turn 65 and be a full-time district governor."

Wood was born and raised in Hampton, Va., and moved here in 1979 to work at Ingalls Shipbuilding.His wife, Eva, is a second-grade teacher.

PASCAGOULA - Richard Wood, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Pascagoula, will take over as Kiwanis district governor on Oct. 1.This district of the international service organization includes 179 clubs and more than 6,500 members in Mississippi, Louisiana and Western Tennessee.

The local club is in its 60th year and has 66 members.

Wood, who's been a Kiwanis member for 15 years, chose working with Headstart programs as his governor's project because he has a passion for children.

"We will work hand-in-hand with Headstart, and I'm asking every member to be involved," he said."Our major emphasis is children from prenatal to age 5, and this project fits in with that emphasis."

Kiwanis members are already involved with Headstart, but Wood will ask them to develop one new project in addition to what they're already doing.To that end, he is preparing letters to send to all clubs in the district and all Headstart facilities.He suggests projects such as reading to children, mentoring and donating books.

"We had a Read to Succeed project with all the elementary schools in Jackson County, and it was fantastic," he said."We're excited about working with Headstart, too, and they will welcome us with open arms."

Wood, section manager in the engineering department at Northrop Grumman, was elected to his new Kiwanis position at a district convention in New Orleans.To introduce his governor's project, he invited Headstart Director Billy Knight of the Singing River Education Association to conduct a workshop at the convention.

"It was well attended, and there was a lot of interest," Wood said."Kiwanis members are great people and are interested in children."

In his official capacity, he will visit all 22 Kiwanis divisions within the district, preside over four board meetings; serve as spokesman for the district; manage the budget; and visit many individual clubs.He will also approve budgets for the Key Club, a high school version of Kiwanis, and Circle K, a club for college students.

"I will be busy.There will be a lot of traveling and a lot on my calendar," Wood said."I plan to retire from Northrop Grumman in January when I turn 65 and be a full-time district governor."

Wood was born and raised in Hampton, Va., and moved here in 1979 to work at Ingalls Shipbuilding.His wife, Eva, is a second-grade teacher.
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Richard Wood was born and raised in Hampton, Va., and moved to Pascagoula in 1979 to work at Ingalls Shipbuilding.

His wife, Eva, is a second-grade teacher.
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Interesting fact: Wood's 18-year-old grandson, Kevin Barber, has attended six international Kiwanis conventions with his grandparents.