By Nick Buglione
The vote, which took place among the New York District delegates at Kiwanis' annual convention on Aug. 24, puts Mancuso at the helm of more than 300 of the community-service clubs located throughout New York, encompassing some 10,000 members.
Mancuso, who announced his bid for governor last February, ran unopposed. His one-year term will begin in October 2003.
"They elect you a year before you actually take office so it gives you time to plan and maximize your performance," said Mancuso, an assistant district attorney for Nassau County. "This next year, I'll spend planning, visiting various places and so on and putting together a program for the following year."
Fellow East Meadow Kiwanis member Tom Gallagher will serve as Mancuso's lieutenant governor when he takes office.
"I'm going to be responsible for appointing 50 chairpeople for administrative and service functions. I'll be responsible for the scheduling and organization of the district convention and our mid-year conference," Mancuso said, explaining some of what his job will entail.
Mancuso will also oversee operations of the various Kiwanis-sponsored groups such as the Key Club in high schools and the Circle K Club in various colleges -- which total almost 11,000 members in New York.
"In all of these areas, I have administrative responsibilities, I'll have to put together a budget," he said. "As governor, you're also a member of the International Council, which has its headquarters in Indianapolis. I can expect to be visiting Indiana on a regular basis."
Despite the great responsibility associated with the job, Mancuso, who once served as East Meadow Kiwanis president from 1992 to 1993 and lieutenant governor of the Long Island South Central Division in 1996, welcomes the challenge.
"It's a significant responsibility, but it's also an opportunity to be a service to others on a grand scale," he said. "This is a great, maybe once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity. It's the sort of thing I get pleasure out of doing."
On top of Mancuso's to-do list is to bolster Kiwanis' ranks on the state level. "I want the district to be better run, more active and more populated than when I started," he said.
Attracting new members shouldn't be a problem for the East Meadow Kiwanis member, considering that he's part of the largest Kiwanis club in New York State. The East Meadow Kiwanis totals 170 members.
"The hope is every year we grow and have a greater ability to service our communities," Mancuso said. "I grew up in volunteer service, so I got a lot of good habits, and I know how to go about things the right way."
According to Fred Frankel, current president of the East Meadow Kiwanis, having a local man serve as governor will give downstate clubs an advantage.
"It will be great for us. With the exception of one, all the governors in the last 10 to 15 years have been from upstate, and they tend to focus on the upstate clubs," Frankel said. "Long Island clubs tend to get lost because we're small. What Peter will end up doing is making Long Island a known groups of clubs."
Mancuso joined Kiwanis 15 years ago at the urging of fellow attorney and friend Steven Eisman. At that time, Mancuso had started a private law practice and thought joining the club would afford him greater networking opportunities.
"The reasons you join are often very different than the reasons why you stay," said Mancuso, who is married with two children, Stephen and Cathy.
Founded in 1915 in Detroit, Mich., the Kiwanis Club is an international organization consisting of service- and community-minded individuals. Over half a million people from 80 countries are members.
The name "Kiwanis" is derived from the Native American language Otchipew word "nunc kee-wanis," which means "we have a good time" and, in other uses, "we make a noise."
