Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 October 2012
The Key Ring
The official publication of the of
Georgia District
KEY CLUB INTERNATIONAL
Join the
Georgia District to get
EXCITED for
DCON! Georgia District Rally Saturday, January 12, 2012 Kiwanis of Griffin Center Griffin, GA
Governor’s Address Greetings, Key Clubbers!
I’d like to congratulate you on an amazing start to the school year. As projects are slowly getting underway, it is time to take action! Remember to use the time we have left in the year wisely. Three months of school have gone so quickly; it seems that the school year had just began. I hope that your Trick-or-Treats for UNICEF all turned out well, and I hope you saved as many lives as possible through your efforts. I ask that each of you remember your fundraising goals throughout the year. The club goal for fundraising for the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes was set at 400 dollars at the beginning of the year. This is not the maximum, however; please aim higher than the 400 dollars. As one of my favorite sayings goes, aim for the moon. If you miss, you will land among the stars. The district goal this year for the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes is 20,000 dollars and the amount of money needed to complete the renovation of the Learning Center is 150,000 dollars. Again, project ELIMINATE is entering one of its most crucial years. It is your turn to eliminate an entire disease and end the suffering of a huge amount of children all over the globe. Our district goal for project ELIMINATE is 10,000 dollars and our club goal is 150. I hope each of you utilized Trick or Treat for UNICEF to its full potential, as it is a major source of donations. Thank you all for your participation in the Georgia Leadership Training Conference held at Six Flags over Georgia this past August. I could not have hoped for a better turnout. The passion for service could be felt in the room, and it truly made it one of the best Training Conferences the Georgia District has ever seen. I hope to see all of you again at our other district events. Our next district gathering will be held in Griffin, GA on January 12th. This event is called the Georgia District Rally. This event is open to all club members in the state of Georgia. Here, we will elect next year’s lieutenant governors as well as build leadership abilities through fun icebreakers and personal time with your division. I hope that all of you attend this event that serves as a pep rally for district convention, which will be the following March. If you have not already, begin collecting money to use as funds for the Georgia District Convention. This is an amazing weekend filled with fun, service and learning. Included in District Convention will be a talent show, a dance, informational forums, the chance to meet people from all over the state, and scholarship opportunities. Key Club takes on a whole new shape at the District level. Bonds will be made that will last a lifetime. You will also have the chance to run for an executive office. You can be the next Georgia District Secretary, Treasurer or Governor. All you have to do is take a chance! I’ll see you in January! In Friendship and Service, Gabe Newbern Georgia District Governor
Treasurer Wendy LAM Key Clubbers and Faculty Advisors, Now that we’ve gotten the school year rolling, and our clubs are more passionate than ever, it’s time to focus on dues! Dues are essential for the operation of Key Club, as Key Club could not function without dues. Vital club resources would not be available and District Convention would certainly not be possible. This year, Key Club International has installed a new online membership center to pay dues and will go online October 1st. The new update center is very user friendly and will make adding and removing members so much easier. You will need the following information from each member: First name, last name, email address, and graduating year. If you have any questions about login information, you can contact Membership Services at 1-800-Kiwanis. My goal for this year is to attain at least 90% of all membership dues paid on time. This can be reached through a closer, more personal relationship between Lt. Governors and advisors, in addition to greater communication between clubs regarding due dates. As a reminder, Early Bird dues are now due on November 1st, and dues on time are due December 1st. I hope that you will all help me achieve this goal and make this year a year worth serving! As a fellow friend in service, if you have any questions regarding the new membership center or Key Club, please don’t hesistate to contact me at treasurer@gakeyclub.org. In service, Wendy Lam District Treasurer
Secretary Ashley BROCK Now that we’ve been back in school for forever, it’s really easy to get so busy that you just sleep and do homework all weekend. It is important to make sure you don’t forget about service! We’re really making a difference in our communities, and I know none of you want to miss out on that. Whenever you feel like you’re running out of ideas for service projects or fundraisers, contact your lieutenant governor. They’re a great resource for you throughout the year. If you haven’t yet, now is the time to start planning Key Club Week, which is the first week of November, and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF! It was great to see so many of you at the Georgia Leadership Training Conference at the end of August, and I hope to see such a great turnout for our other district events this year. Go ahead and put the Georgia District Rally, which is on January 12, and District Convention, which is March 1-3, on your calendars. They will both be fun, exciting, and informative events! If you have any questions about anything, you can contact me at any time at secretary@gakeyclub.org. Serving with love always, Ashley Brock District Secretary
In this issue...
Highlights from... Georgia Leadership Training Conference
A message from your INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEE
Service is Key...
The school year is off to a great start!
Updates from Georgia District COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Georgia Leadership Training Conference
Certain things just go together. Peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, and Brad and Angelina are all matches made in heaven, but nothing goes together better than Key Club and Six Flags! On Saturday, August 25th, 2012 the Georgia District held its annual Georgia Leadership Training Conference at Six Flags over Georgia. The turnout was impressive, with Key Clubbers representing their clubs and divisions from all over the state. After registration that morning, Key Clubbers headed to the Crystal Pistol Music Hall for the general session. The session began with exciting icebreakers that gave everyone the chance to break out of their shells and meet Key Clubbers from other clubs. The District Board presented informative presentations on topics of everything Key Club, from Key Club 101 to the Key Ring, GSYH, The Eliminate Project, DCON, ICON, and even the new Georgia District Mascot, the Georgia Jellyfish! Following the General Session, Key Clubbers split up into divisions at the Peachtree Pavilion for divisional meet-
ings, where clubs had the chance to meet their lieutenant governors, learn valuable information on the duties of club officers, and finally share lunch with their division! To call GLTC to a close, clubs competed for the spirit stick, the newly coveted prize of division pride, enthusiasm, and friendly competition. Although the fun and excitement of GLTC had ended, clubs had a great deal of information to take back with them to their home clubs. The Georgia District hopes that club officers left this event feeling confident about their fulfilling their duties as presidents, vice presidents, secretaries, and treasurers of their home clubs in order to start the new school year off strong. Following the end of the event, Key Clubbers were free to enjoy the park for the rest of the day. The swarm of Key Club shirts raised many questions among park visitors, giving Key Clubbers the chance to spread the word about the oldest and largest youthled service organization in the world!
International Trustee Greetings, Georgia District! I hope you are all having a fantastic time serving your homes, schools, and communities thus far, and this is merely the beginning! We’ve now gotten into the swing of school starting, and hopefully, you all are getting your Key Club year fully into swing as well. With the onset of school, it is now time to recruit your members! Just remember that the early bird dues deadline has been moved to November 16; however, the on-time dues deadline remains the same at December 1, 2012. With the new Membership Update Center, there are a multitude of issues that have been seen from clubs across Key Club International – fear not, though! If you’re having issues, you can view the online tutorial here or, if you are still having problems, contact Member Services at 1-800-KIWANIS. Please do know that Member Services is extremely overwhelmed currently, so just be patient in their responses with you all. Additionally, there are many service opportunities in the fall months for everyone to take advantage of. First and foremost, November is Prematurity Awareness Month with our preferred charity, the March of Dimes! Be sure to get out and fundraise or host an event to benefit this outstanding charity in November. If you’re hosting a service project and would like materials to distribute to your attendees regarding our preferred charities and sponsors, please contact the following: Hershey’s Track & Field Games: htfg@hersheys.com Nickelodeon: david.bruson@nick.com Children’s Miracle Network: rprescott@cmnhospitals.org March of Dimes: teamyouth@Marchofdimes.com The Eliminate Project: campaign@TheEliminateProject.com With all of the aforementioned service initiatives in mind, you’ll also have a multitude of opportunities during the holiday season to help spread the joy of the season, including projects with your local Salvation Army and Good Samaritan Ministries chapters. In the midst of all of these events, be sure to have a good time as well! Being an active, involved servant leader can be a lot of work, so be sure to balance it with some free time as well. If any of you ever have any questions regarding Key Club, you can always contact your local Lieutenant Governor or me (at colten.meisner@ gmail.com). I look forward to hearing about all of the wonderful things that are happening in Georgia! Yours in service,
Colten Meisner Key Club International Trustee Georgia, Indiana, and New Jersey Districts colten.meisner@gmail.com
SERVICE is KEY
Division 2 Holds First Presidents Council Meeting By Katie Fuller During the first few months of school, div ision two has been hard at work. September 15th, we had our first Presidents Council Meeting. Each school was represented, and we had a great time. We shared service ideas, came up with new projects, worked on a way to build K-Family relationships, and just had a ton of fun. All of the schools have had great attendance at their first few meetings and are off to an awesome start on their service proj-
ects. Calvary Christian School collected over 140 pairs of socks to donate to Valley Rescue Mission for people in this area. Brookstone has hosted science lessons for students at Fox Elementary School and got to share the importance of working hard in school. Callaway High is working on the Coats for Kids Project, to donate coats to local children. Harris County High is beginning to work on the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF project and starting to volunteer at the local school fall festivals. Shaw High School worked with the Feed the Valley Kids Café to serve treats and facilitate games and they volunteered at the Walk to Cure Multiple Sclerosis. As a division we have begun to plan a Christmas project for the boys at the local Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Home and a division wide project that would bring all of our schools together. We have had a busy year so far, and I hope that Division Two continues to grow and keep this passion for service.
Deerfield-Windsor High Key Club Hosts Car Wash By Cierra Fountain Like many other schools in Division 3, Deerfield-Windsor School Key Club has already started raising money for Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes’ by gathering their brushes, soap, buckets, and high hopes to hold a car wash. Their car wash was incredibly successful, raising $1000 dollars. While the Key Clubbers were washing and scrubbing, the local Dougherty County Sheriff, Kevin Sproul, stopped by to show his support and give the Key-Clubbers a motivational speech along with a big thank you for their support of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes! So a big congratulations and thank you is due to the Deerfield-Windsor
High School Key Clubbers. Other clubs can benefit from following the DeerfieldWindsor Key Club’s initiative. I’m certain that their dedication will be appreciated by the Youth Homes.
Coffee High School Celebrates
SERVICE
Coffee High School is having an incredible first semester by participating in a variety of service projects that are really making a difference in their community. All of these clearly demonstrate their commitment to the values of Key Club
By Denise Fountain
international: leadership, character building, inclusiveness, and most certainly, caring. Below are just a few of their recent service projects, which are great ideas for clubs looking for inspiration.
Key Club Members Help at the Health and Safety Fair Members of the Coffee High School Key Club participated in the annual Health and Safety Fair in October. The event helped raise awareness about health issues and provided blood work services to a variety of people in the community. Coffee High Key Club helped blow up balloons, paint faces, make bracelets and spread cheer to children that were present at the fair. Key Club Reads to the Children of Coffee County Children at Satilla Elementary have enjoyed some very special visitors: members of the Coffee High School Key Club, Patrick Jackson and Rich Miles. The boys spent time with the children, reading aloud to them and volunteering at the center. Patrick read the story “Where is My Cat?” and Rich read the story, “A Very Brave Witch.” The event is part of the Reach Out and Read project that all Key Club members in Coffee County participate in throughout the school year. We are proud to participate in such a program which allows Key Clubbers to interact with elementary students and encourage them to read. Coffee High Key Club Members teach about Internet Safety Coffee County High Key Clubbers went to business classes at Coffee Middle School to teach Internet Safety. They presented a PowerPoint on five rules of Internet Safety: Don’t give out personal info, never meet with someone that you’ve met online, don’t believe everything that you read, tell your parents if you come across anything that makes you uncomfortable, and keep your passwords confidential. Focusing on today’s social media sites that most kids use, Key Clubbers discussed with the students the importance of thinking before they post pictures or text because once it is in cyberspace, it can’t be deleted—just because you delete it of Facebook or your cell phone does not mean it is gone. The Key Clubbers did an awesome job with their presentation. Mrs. Peavey stated “They did an excellent job teaching the material on a level that the students could understand.”
Outstanding
SERVICE at Bulloch High
Serving Teachers by Kaitlin Merck
By Teeda Niemann
Bulloch High School in Division 13 has had some awesome service projects this year! During the fall, Bulloch HS participated in the fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by selling pumpkins. They will also be attending and helping at the Kiwanis Pancake House at Ogeechee Fair, a project that is perfect for strengthening their K-family relationship. During the Christmas holidays last year, Bulloch HS Key Club had their “Pre-K Christmas Project.” The club members brought in gifts such as mittens, gloves, coffee mugs, calendars, stationary, etc., for the Pre-K students to “buy” as gifts for their parents. Key Club assisted with wrapping the gifts and also provided stockings full of goodies for the Pre-K students. Bulloch High School has many other fantastic upcoming service projects for the year. One upcoming project will be in November which donations of necessities will be sent for the military. Another project will be during the Christmas holidays, where Key Club members bring in gifts for military families. The rest of the year is set out for fundraising for the Children’s Miracle Network and Keeping Bulloch Beautiful in the spring. Congratulations to Bulloch High School on a fantastic year of service!
Key Clubbers always work so hard to serve our communities outside of school by helping out at a local homeless shelter or cleaning up parks, but Habersham Central High School also considers those who serve students every day. During preplanning, Habersham Central does not allow teachers to have their kids with them at school. Unless they pay for daycare, which can get very expensive, most teachers do not have another place for their children to stay, so members of Habersham Central Key Club decided to run an inexpensive daycare for teachers that have young children. Each member was assigned a day to plan, dedicating each day to a different theme. The children enjoyed science day, animal day, international day, and make-and-take day. Working with about 10 children each day, the Key Clubbers were exhausted by the end, though everyone had a blast! The money that was raised from the daycare will go to the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes. In order to continue fundraising and helping teachers, Habersham Central Key Club plans on opening the daycare for every teacher planning day.
One Street at a Time By Sara Johnson Recently, the Key Club of Tift County High School participated in the “One Street at a Time” community recycling effort, led by County Commissioner Melissa Chevers. 13 of the 48 members of the community that participated in this project represented the Kiwanis family. The group met at Beulah Hill Baptist Church at 8:00 that morning and by noon had cleaned 17 different streets in the surrounding area, and most of the waste was recycled! Each person had a certain material (glass, paper, aluminum, etc.) that he or she was responsible for gathering, while others gathered “trash” which could not be recycled. All in all, 23 trash bags and 3 trashcans were filled. Commissioner Chevers was so appreciative of Key Club’s involvement that she even presented a certificate of appreciation at the club’s next meeting. Key Club member and Public Relations officer Anna Johnson stated, “It was definitely a huge success. Everybody had a smile on their face! I never realize that gar-
Clothing Banks
bage could bring the community together!” And that is perhaps what was most remarkable about this project; it was a joint effort of several different community organizations, including civic clubs and churches, as well as independent volunteers. This “One Street at a Time” campaign serves as beautiful example of what can be accomplished by working together. Key Club should always strive to work not just in the community, but with the community.
Snake Day at Elachee By Steve Shin
Working with a local clothing bank is a great way to help out the needy in your community while keeping your local Key Club involved. The clothing bank is a place where those in need go to receive free clothes, though the stock is not limited to only clothes, but also shoes, toiletries, bags, toys, and even food. This project is usually hosted by a local church, and they always welcome volunteers to come help distribute the clothes. Volunteers may also be assigned to different tasks, such as directing people to different locations or ensuring that visitors abide by the limits. Working with local clothing banks is just one of the many ways that your Key Club can stay involved in your community.
By Logan Allen
The Elachee Nature Science Center is a non-profit educational center in northeast Georgia. Each year, Elachee hosts Snake Day, an enormous event for helping children learn about all things reptilian. Students at the Chestatee High School Key Club volunteered this year to help out Elachee for Snake Day, taking up a variety of tasks including cleaning, greeting, face painting. Key Clubbers spent over six hours helping out! With a record-breaking attendance of over 1800 people in this single busy day, Key Clubbers and other volunteers alike had their hands full. Snake Day had a large variety of live native and exotic snakes and reptiles. With entertaining reptile themed activities such as face painting and crafts, children were excited to learn all about snakes!
Connecting the K’s...
By Lucinda Hollberg
Recently the Newton, Eastside and Alcovy High School Key Clubs set up a back-to-school picnic within the community. Along with the high schools, Oxford College’s Circle K and the Conyers Kiwanis were in attendance. The picnic began with three icebreakers that allowed members of each school’s Key Club to get acquainted with each other. In addition, the group discussed future projects to help continue strengthening the bond between K-family groups. Newton, Eastside and Alcovy partner with the Conyers Kiwanis to ensure annual picnics throughout the year. A strong K-Family relationship is essential to the success of any Key Club, Circle K, or Kiwanis club.
Adopting a road with South Forsyth Key Club By Jae Won Shin South Forsyth Key Club has begun another great year of service with Adopt-A-Road—a service project coordinated with Keep Forsyth Beautiful. By adopting Pendley Road, South Forsyth Key Club has pledged to clean up the road every month. Meeting promptly after school, the club has organized a ride system to get everyone that helps out to Pendley Road. There, we distribute neon green vests, orange trash bags, and white latex gloves for the safety of our Key Clubbers.
Although we expected a low turn-out, this event was a great success! Who would have thought that there would be so many enthusiastic Key Clubbers picking up trash alongside Pendley Road? With about 30 members at the clean-up, the job was finished in a third of the time as usual–an impressive feat for High School students. Hopefully, this service project is an indication that this will be a strong year for South Forsyth Key Club!
Key-ping up with Division 4 By Mark Garren Division Four is livening towards service as the school year propels forward into a new year of service. Key Clubs across Division Four are encouraging new Key Clubbers in an inexhaustible strive for service through service projects and cooperation with other members of the Kiwanis Family. With a renewed passion towards excellence, Division Four commemorates all Georgia Key Clubs for their continued efforts to build better homes, schools, and communities. This past month, Key Clubs throughout Division Four began fundraisers and service projects in a pursuit towards extending service globally. In particular, several clubs in Division Four should be recognized for their efforts in fundraising for both the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes and humanitarian efforts in the Philippines through the Threads of Hope Foundation. Selling “Threads of Hope” bracelets has allowed clubs in Division Four to fundraise several hundred dollars in less than two months for the LaGrange Campus of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes. All Key Clubs in the Georgia District are highly encouraged to participate in this noble pursuit by ordering a shipment of the bracelets to be sold at their schools. Generally, fifty-percent of the proceeds go towards the beneficiaries of the Threads of Hope Foundation, while the remaining funds may be directed to district projects such as the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes and the Eliminate Project. If your club is interested in a simple, easy to setup service project, it should consider
writing letters to military personnel and their families. Every day, hundreds of thousands of military personal are stationed in the high seas and abroad – away from their homes and families. Luckily, a simple gesture of good will in writing to our soldiers is an easy to organize service project that achieves great personal satisfaction for both members and the recipients of the letters. To begin writing thank you letters and notes of appreciation to U.S. soldiers, sailors, and airman, determine how your club will compose the writings and find a channel through which the notes will reach their recipients. One well-known method to sending care packages and other notes of appreciation to military personnel is through the United Service Organizations (USO). This semester, I highly encourage each club in the Georgia District to consider programs such as the USO Holiday Boxes and others in giving back to those individuals who make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, security, and livelihood!
Committee Chairs District Projects Chair Andrew Akers The current goal for the Georgia She r i f f ’s Yo u t h Homes is to raise $20,0 0 0 during the remainder of the Key Club year to assist in the construction of a learning center at the Lagrange Campus. Over the year a local clubs goal should be to raise $400 of this, but they are always encouraged to raise more. There are many ways of reaching this goal. Fundraising events can range from selling bracelets or even holding a carnival that the children for the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes can attend. Working alongside local businesses can make raising this goal much easier. They will often support local high school activities, when approached directly, but try to ask for donations from businesses prior to December for tax deduction purposes. All clubs are recognized at the District Convention in March for their work raising money. In addition to fundraising for the Youth Homes, it is important to attempt to interact with them. There are five campuses across the state that clubs can contact and plan events with. The locations are: The Boys Ranch in Hahira, Cherokee Estate in Dalton, Pineland Campus in Lagrange, Herrington Homestead near Swainsboro, and
Mountain View in Chatsworth. All types of events can be held with the Youth Homes, not just visits. It is always important to try and involve those who we are supporting. The Georgia District is proud to continue “Living the Legacy,” working alongside the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes to raise $20,000 during the remainder of the Key Club year to assist in the construction of a learning center at the Lagrange Campus. We have set a goal of $400 for each club, though you are encouraged to raise more. There are a variety of ways to reach this goal, from selling bracelets to holding fundraising events such as a carnival that can involve the children from the Youth Homes. Businesses that support local high school activities usually are happy to help with fundraising when approached directly. All clubs are recognized at the District Convention in March for their work raising money. In addition to fundraising for the Youth Homes, it is important to interact with them. There are five campuses across the state that clubs are welcome to contact and plan events with. These campuses are: The Boys Ranch in Hahira, Cherokee Estate in Dalton, Pineland Campus in Lagrange, Herrington Homestead near Swainsboro, and Mountain View in Chatsworth. The Georgia Sheriffs Youth Homes can be included in a variety of Key Club events, not necessarily just visits. It is important to try to include those who we are supporting in order to not only raise money for them, but to also build a lasting relationship between the Georgia District of Key Club International and the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes.
Major Emphasis Projects Chair Sergio Cruz
This year, Key Club is proud to work with the ELIMINATE Project as its Major Emphasis project for the third year in a row. It is very important that we all do our part as Key Club members to rid our world of maternal-neonatal tetanus through fundraising for this project. The Major Emphasis Committee along with many members of the District Board are working on fundraising ideas that will make it easier to reach our goals as a district. This year, we plan to incorporate fundraising for the ELIMINATE project into the dance at D’CON, allowing us to have fun while raising money for our major emphasis project. If you have fundraising ideas that you’d like to share with the Georgia District, feel free to contact me at mep@georgiakeyclub.com. Happily serving with you, Sergio Cruz
K-Family Chair Paul Hwang
My goal as the K-Family chair is to continue st reng t hening the relationship between Kiwanis and its many other sects. Currently, The K-Family committee is working to keep Kiwanians informed and involved in statewide Key Club events. My hope is that these plans
will successfully bring Key Club closer to the other branches of the K-Family. The current focus of the K-Family committee is reaching out to Kiwanis and Builders clubs to ensure that they are up-to-date on local and statewide Key Club events. To help make Builders Clubs better known within our local communities, K-Family Committee members are encouraged to start at least one Builders club in their own community. It is important to reach out to middle school students, as involving them in the K-family early will encourage them to become active members of Key Club, Circle K, and beyond.
Public Relations Committee The Public Relations committee has continued to work to have the name “Key Club” become well-known to everyone. The goal of the Public Relations committee is to reach out to potential members of Key Club, in addition to keeping cur-
rent members informed. Current projects of the PR committee include a campaign that aims to inform local Key Club members about the duties of the District Board and even encourage them to become a part of it.
Learn more at theeliminateproject.org
Editor Sign-Off
Dear Key Clubbers, Thank you for reading the October edition of the Key Ring! I appreciate the Georgia District’s dedication to service and its devotion to the core values of Key Club, for without it, there would be no reason to write articles for the Key Ring. With that being said, thank you to all of you who submitted articles. Without your articles, the Key Ring could not serve its purpose.
There will only be two more Key Rings released before District Convention: one in December and another in February. The due dates for articles for these Key Rings are November 15th, 2012 and January 15th, 2012, respectively. You may send articles about your club’s most notable service projects, fundraisers, etc.. Your article should be at least 250 words in length and should include at lease one full-color, high-resolution photograph. Thank you so much for your contributions! Yours in Service, John Stenzel District Bulletin Editor
Contact the GA District GBrad Malone
Gabe Newbern
John Stenzel
District Administraor
District Governor
District Bulletin Editor
brad.malone@gakeyclub.org
governor@gakeyclub.org
editor@gakeyclub.org
a Kiwanis-family member keyclub.org 3636 WOODVIEW TRACE INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46268 • 317.8755 • US AND CANDA: 1-800-KIWANIS