Kiwanis celebrates Barbara Gladden

The Shafter Kiwanis Club honored Barbara Gladden with the 2024 Community Service Award last month in appreciation of her nearly 50 years of dedicated community service.

A Shafter native, Barbara is a selfless servant who works not for recognition but out of a genuine passion for helping others, club members said during the ceremony. Her deep commitment to making Shafter a better place for families and a special community for everyone to call home is truly inspiring.

Arlie Smith, a longtime Kiwanis Club member who has known Gladden for five decades, said she is well deserving of the honor because of her strong involvement in the community. He highlighted her pioneering role as one of the first coaches of the girls' soccer team at Shafter High.

"Back in the late '70s, if you wanted to play soccer, you had to go to Bakersfield. But under her tutelage and with her husband's help, she started the AYSO [American Youth Soccer Organization] Region 262. They ran it for 10 or 12 years for the communities of Shafter, Buttonwillow and Wasco," Smith said.

Gladden is a board member of the Shafter Historical Society, has held several positions with the Shafter Woman's Club, is a docent at the Shafter Depot Museum and serves as a deaconess at Valley Bible Church in Shafter. Along with her husband, Mickey, she served on the "Chain Gang Crew" at Shafter High football games for 20 years.

She is a devoted supporter of the Shafter High Generals and rarely misses a football game. She also attends basketball and soccer games and other school sports events whenever she can. Barbara has a profound love for Shafter and is proud to call it home. All her children graduated from Shafter High School, as did she and her husband, both members of the Class of 1969. Her parents were also Shafter High graduates.

"She supports everything in Shafter, whether it's the parade or the Distinguished Young Women's Program, she's involved in all of it. Any event that needs people to help or support it, she's there. She always makes herself available," Smith added.

Gladden said she was surprised but honored to receive the award. "There are so many people in the community that do so much, so to be recognized as one of those is so special." She said she enjoys serving in any way she can and finds great satisfaction in it.

"When I retired, I was afraid I would be bored, and I wanted something to look forward to and a way to contribute back to the community that I care about immensely," Gladden shared. "All my working career was throughout Kern County, but by retiring, I can focus on where I live."