Two men have been recognized by the Lawrence Kiwanis Club for their community involvement.

Former Lawrence Mayor and City Commissioner Erv Hodges and Dolph C. Simons Jr., editor of the Lawrence Journal-World and chairman of The World Company, were presented with the club’s Substantial Citizen Award for 2005 during the Kiwanis luncheon meeting Thursday at the Lawrence Country Club. About 60 Kiwanis members and guests attended.

“You always wonder why or how you’re selected for this kind of award,” Hodges said. “But I have been blessed with family and friends who let me do what I want and support me in making Lawrence a better community.”

The Substantial Citizen Award allows the organization to recognize people who aren’t necessarily in the limelight, Kiwanis member Bonnie Kern said.

Recipients are selected mainly for their willingness to unselfishly serve the community over a long period of time, she said.

The Lawrence Kiwanis Club has given the award since 1960. Seventy-eight people have received the honor.

“This is a tremendous honor,” Simons said. “I’m complimented to be here with Erv. What an example he has set for the community and the country.”

The Lawrence Kiwanis Club honored Erv Hodges, left, and Dolph C. Simons Jr. with the club's Substantial Citizen Award. The two were honored Thursday for their record of service to the community.

A retired lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps, Hodges served as a city commissioner from 1997 to 2001 and was mayor in 1999-2000.

Hodges is involved with several boards and organizations including the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center governing board and the Sertoma Club. He is chairman of the Douglas County Memorial of Honor Foundation.

Simons, also a former Marine, is a member of numerous boards including the board of trustees of Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

A former director and officer of the American Newspaper Publishers Assn. and a former director of The Associated Press, Simons has been the president of the William Allen White Foundation, the Kansas Press Assn. and is a former trustee of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo.