Late member embodied club’s spirit, goals and  purpose for 25 years

(Sept. 30, 2021) To honor the legacy of Ralph Chinn, the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City is establishing a memorial scholarship for the 25-year member and two-time president who died in late August.

Public Relations/ Press Chairman Dave Landis said there was no indication that his longtime friend was suffering from severe health issues before his on Aug. 24.

“I didn’t have any inclination that he was sick,” he said.

Days before departing, Chinn was honored by the Kiwanis Club with a quarter-century award.

“He did receive his 25-year service award in his home before his passing [that was] fittingly presented by member Marcus Page, whom Ralph sponsored to join the club,” he said. “Normally, it would have been a publicized picture of the presentation of the award, but circumstances didn’t allow for that.”

Last February, just before the coronavirus pandemic closed the door on large gatherings, Kiwanis held its traditional pancake breakfast fundraiser.

“When we used to have the pancake breakfast, Ralph was the man that did the kitchen,” he said.

In 2020, Chinn turned the breakfast’s back-of-the-house operations over to Landis.

“He just said, ‘I’m older now, I want to pull back a little bit,’ and then I took over the pancake breakfast,” he said. “I was the one in charge of the kitchen, not Ralph.”

While Landis was able to fill Chinn’s void at the pancake breakfast, his larger footprint remains empty.

“Ralph was so integral to the club,” he said. “He was very knowledgeable about Kiwanis rules and the things we had to abide by in meetings.”

Due to Chinn’s long service and procedural expertise, he also served as special counsel to incoming club presidents.

“Ralph could almost quote everything,” he said. “He kept us straight.”

Landis also credited Chinn for establishing an Italian dinner fundraiser in conjunction with Denovo’s Trattoria in Ocean Pines.

“Denovo’s helped us the first couple of years when we could still use the [old Ocean Pines] country club, but that kitchen was really worn down,” he said.

In time, Denovo’s owners Bob and Kelli Beck moved the Sunday dinner to their establishment.

“Ralph made sure Bob and Kelli became honorary members of Kiwanis,” he said.

Club members hold fond memories of Chinn and his wife, Wilma, operating the check-in table at weekly Kiwanis meetings.

“Ralph would make the coffee every week because he got there before everybody else,” he said. “Ralph was really a hard worker.”

Although plans have yet to be finalized, Kiwanis officials are hoping to hold a memorial for Chinn soon.

“We’re thinking of having a memorial open to the public,” he said. “We just wanted to give people a chance to get together outside of the club.”

Since Chinn’s passing, current Kiwanis President Steve Cohen has been deluged with inquiries from old friends and acquaintances.

“He said, ‘It’s amazing how many people have contacted him and said that they were friends with Ralph,’” Landis said.

Anyone wishing to support the Ralph E. Chinn Memorial Scholarship should mail checks payable to the “Ocean Pines Kiwanis Foundation,” to Kiwanis Club of Greater OP-OC, 239 Ocean Parkway, Berlin, MD 21811.

“Every year we have scholarships we give out and we’re going to name one in his honor,” he said.

If sufficient support is garnered, the scholarship would be perpetual.

“He was a really good man and he’s sorely missed,” Landis said.