Capital Key
Vol. 58, Issue 2
November 2013
What’s Inside! -Techwatch
-Icon
-Pay It Forward
-Dues
-DCON
-New I-Board
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http://www.keyclub.org/kcn/13-09-16/Key_Club_Shoes_contest.aspx
Table of Contents 4 -Techwatch
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-New I-Board
-Icon
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11
DCON
12 -Pay It Forward
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-Dues
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Tech Watch Welcome to the new column, Tech Watch. This column will have all social media and tech related Key Club News. See all the new website updates, keep track of our instagram, and stay posted on all the latest videos. Hosted by yours truly, District Webmaster, Angela Li!
Have you seen the updated (as of spring 2013) Key Club Brand Guidelines? Find information on how to design your Key-Club themed newsletters, websites, and T-shirts! Check it out at www.keyclub.org/ brandguide.
Remember to: Follow us on Twitter @KCCrabs! https://twitter.com/KCCrabs like us on Facebook at “Capital District of Key Club International” https://www.facebook.com/CapitalDistrictKeyClub
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We’ve updated the Capital District website to include all the information your club needs! Check out our beautifully redesigned site at www. capitalkeyclub.org. You’ll definitely want to look at the “Resources” tab!
Each Tuesday in December, the Capital District will be using the #duesday hashtag to highlight important information about club dues. Keep your eye out for helpful tips and advice about paying your dues.
Connect and stay updated on the Eliminate Project www.TheEliminateProject.org www.Facebook.com/TheEliminateProject www.Twitter.com/EliminateMNT www.YouTube.com/TheEliminateProject 5
Meet the New International Board You might recognize a couple of them.
Kelsie Hoppes Key Club International Trustee Districts: Michigan, Montana, California-Nevada-Hawaii
Raeford Penny Key Club International President
Rachel Benoit Key Club International Vice-President District: Western Canada
Alberto Berrizbeitia Key Club International Trustee Districts: West Virginia, Jamaica, Pennsylvania
Roshni Chandwani Key Club International Trustee Districts: Kentucky-Tennessee, Pacific Northwest, Eastern Canada
Madison Kemker Key Club International Trustee Districts: Wisconsin-Upper Michigan, New Jersey, Nebraska-Iowa Casey O’Neill Key Club International Trustee Districts: Kansas, Illinois-Eastern Iowa, Minnesota-Dakotas Maria Palazzolo Key Club International Trustee Districts: Alabama, Carolinas, New England Michelle Petersen Key Club International Trustee Districts: Capital, New York, Ohio
Renisha Daley Key Club International Trustee Districts: Utah-Idaho, Bahamas, Indiana Avery Hitchcock Key Club International Trustee Districts: Missouri-Arkansas, Southwest, KIWIN’S
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Zachary Waldorf Key Club International Trustee Districts: Georgia, Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee, Texas-Oklahoma
Eric Yoon Key Club International Trustee Districts: Rocky Mountain, Florida, Caribbean Atlantic
Did you recognize anyone? Two people from the board are from the Capital, Raeford Penny One year is a short time to change an and Eric Yoon!! Talk about Capital Pride. organization, yet alone the world. As we all wish to make the most change we can, Message from your Key Club International President, we all realize that our time in Key Club is Raeford Penny short. One of the biggest things I wish to Hey Capital Crabs, do is to prepare our organization for future growth and impact later five, ten years I hope that I find you all in good spirits down the road. I, alongside the Internaand enjoying your first weeks of school! tional Board, hope to increase communicaAt the 70th Annual Key Club Internationtion to all levels of our Key Club family, al Convention I was elected to be the 57th speaking directly to the members, and with International President of our wonderful this, helping them help the world. We organization. I joined Key Club at first to have reworked the Youth Opportunities help my local community and its issues, Fund Application, implemented monthly but I found an organization that was much emails to the members (starting in Octomore than just that. I found an organizaber), are in the current process of reorgation full of passionate members who came nizing the resources for the members, and together for the common cause of helping much more. our global community, while molding us If you have any questions about into future leaders of the world. International or just want to talk about Key A brief background on myself, I am a Club don’t hesitate to contact me! Just as rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High a note, your International Trustee Michelle School for Science and Technology, Petersen is one of the best, and very dedilocated in Alexandria VA. Outside of Key cated to Capital and Key Club. Club, I am very passionate and involved with my school, as the NHS President, Raeford Penny Honor Council Chair, and Hispanic AlInternational President 2013-2014 liance treasurer. Beyond this, I run track Key Club International year round, however not cross country raeford.penny@gmail.com because distance running is not my cup of tea! A quick little fact, I dislike running, but love track and the people I spend that Here’s a message from your International Trustee, are on the team. Some quick facts: FavorMicehelle Peterson ite – Food (spaghetti), TV Show (NCIS), Movie (Dr. No), Color (Cobalt Blue), Hey there, crabtastic Capital Key Clubbers! Football (New England Patriots, Alabama My name is Michelle Petersen and I’m Crimson Tide), Baseball (Boston Red the lucky girl who gets to serve as the Sox), Hockey (Washington Capitals). International Trustee for the sister districts The Capital District has been the backof Capital, Ohio, and New York! I can’t bone of my campaign for this office, and begin to express how excited and honored continues to be one of the inspirations I am to be able to serve alongside Capital for me day in and day out. The dedicated District members, who are known across individuals, adults, Kiwanians, and most Key Club International for their unwaverimportantly the Key Club members have ing enthusiasm for and commitment to helped me develop to where I am today. community service. My job, in short, is to The Capital district is one of the strongest make sure my assigned three districts are districts in all of Key Club and I’m proud represented during Key Club International to call it my home. Many of the issues I Board meetings and make sure they have saw us having with International last year all the help from International they need are the basis of my goals as President this to be successful. year.
Every trustee carries out that duty a little differently, but how I do it is by emailing out weekly international updates and monthly newsletters to my district boards, having weekly calls with my districts’ governors so they can share ideas and get advice, and making sure my districts are well aware of any opportunities or big changes in Key Club. Outside of that regular communication, I’m willing and eager to do whatever my district boards need, whether that’s carrying out district committee directives, contributing to publications, making promotional videos, or anything else they can think of! My biggest fear is that a member will think of me as some mysterious figurehead from International. My entire job is to serve you, the membership, as best I can, so if anything, you’re like my boss! I promise I’m not scary and I don’t bite; I just want to help build your clubs, your district, and our organization to bigger and better heights. I’ve served in the past as a club class representative, a club president, and a lieutenant governor for the Michigan District, so if anyone of any level of this organization has a question or needs some advice, I can help you out. Also, if you have a cool idea you’d like Key Club International to consider, I’m all ears! Stories of the amazing things your district does keep me motivated and inspired every day, so please keep making such a phenomenal difference in the world! If there’s ever anything I can do for you to help you better serve your homes, schools, and communities, please don’t hesitate to contact me! In the words of Kim Possible: “Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me. When you wanna page me, it’s okay. Whenever you need me, baby.” Best Wishes, Michelle Petersen petersen.michelle96@gmail.com (586) 533-6796
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ICON 2013 I
CON 2013 was a blast! One of the great things about Key Club is that we are a structured organization led by students, just like the Key Club Members. This helps make the large conventions and events that much more amazing, every moment is one that you will keep with you for the rest of your life; every story is one you can relate to; and every face is one you can grow close to. Memories are an important part of our lives, so lets make them together as Key Clubbers!
My favorite memory about ICON was when all of Capital District was watching the fireworks on 4th of July from the top of the hotel. When all of the sudden someone started the national anthem and we all sang the star spangle banner together as a district and when we finished that we all sang happy birthday to America and all cheered about our great nation and those who died protecting it. It was such a wonderful thing to have experienced, it is something I will never forget and hold dear to my heart forever. Another fun experience I had was our first night at ICON after a lot of catching up with all my other board friends who I hadn’t seen since May. Also a real nice surprise was to see my good friend from school, Miken Pinner who was the Lt. Governor before had just graduated from my school Fishburne Military School so talking to him was great. Once rooms were assigned and everyone was unpacked, we all got all dressed up in our nice suits and dresses and went on a dinner boat cruise around the Potomac River. We all had a great dinner, my friends and I went up to the top of the boat and had a photo section then we went back in side and danced on the party deck. I was upset when they made announcement saying we only had five minutes left. It was a wonderful way to start off the great week ahead of us. -Logan Amico Lt. Governor 5B
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My ICON experiences What is ICON? Also referred to as the International Key Club Convention, its is a weeklong celebration of dedicated individuals who serve their communities in order to better the world. We, as the Crabtastic Capital District were honored to host this momentous event, past July. Being the host District meant that we had a large amount of members, which obviously led to us having the most spirit. The crab hats were everywhere, and the Capital pins were a hot commodity! Our schedule always kept us busy with fun and exciting activities such as; dances, service projects, workshops and of course some free time to explore our beautiful Capital and hit the pool. With so much inspiration, passion and dedication around me, I left ICON as a different person. I never grasped the true meaning of Key Club International until I met individuals from Aruba, Jamaica, Barbados and Canada that shared the same passion and enthusiasm for service. Perhaps even more, I was inspired by the individuals from our own District that put their leadership skills to the ultimate test by running for International Office. We all held hands, with our hearts racing when they announced the new International President and the eleven Trustees. Once again, we were very proud to be Crabs, the home District of two International Board members. I might as well be speaking for all of the 1,600 attendees when I say ICON was the highlight of my summer! The amount of information I had learned to better serve my community is priceless. I cannot wait to travel to Anaheim, California next year! Disney Land; you better watch out, for the Crabtastic Crabs are coming to town! - Anastasia Lt. Governor 20A
Despite all the fun and excitement at ICON, people tend to forget that we originally chose to get together to ellect leaders and to share leadership ideas and experience. At this year’s ICON there were workshops for everyone, whether you were a general member, LTG, or District Officer.
ICON was an amazing experience, but my favorite part about it was the workshops! Not only in these workshops did I learn volunteering skills and get ideas from different clubs throughout the countries, but I also met a ton of new people and made lifelong friends! I went to three workshops- Service Projects, Icebreakers, and the Lieutenant Governor workshop! All of these were great experiences with great lessons, but my favorite was definitely the Ice Breakers workshop! The workshop had a lot of people, so it made a lot of the games even more fun! The more people, the better! My favorite icebreaker during the workshop was the one where we put a random question on a sheet of paper, and crumpled it up and threw it to someone. Then, we picked it up off of the ground and read the question to a random person. Every time we answered each other’s question, we would trade questions and move onto another person! It was a great way to learn about people and ask them super silly questions that we probably wouldn’t even know about our own best friends! Overall, ICON was a great experience, through and through, but especially with the workshops!
International Convention Highlights: • Our district was recognized as one of the top 3 fundraising districts for The Eliminate Project! To date, Key Club International has raised $781,532.00 for this good cause! Wow! $57,156 of this total came from the Capital District for the 2012-13 year! • 2 of our clubs were recognized with club awards: North Carroll High School in Division 9; Southhampton High School in Division 21; and Varina High School in Division 4C • 3 of our immediate past district officers were recognized with Distinguished Officer Awards: Bowden Saunders (Governor), Maddie Mitchell (Secretary), and Minwei Cao (Editor)! • 9 of our immediate past lt. governors were recognized with the Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lt. Governor Awards: Grace Bampton (Division 10A), Caroline Brigham (Division 22B), Ashley Carroll (Division 4C), Josie Grant (Division 9), Danielle Horridge (Division 5A), Fan Huang (Division 14), Raeford Penny (Division 20D), Sai Vedati (Division 12) and Eric Yoon (Division 20B)! • 2 of our students were elected to the 2013-14 International Board - they competed with more than 30 other students for these prestigious positions - Raeford Penny (Division 20D) was elected International President and Eric Yoon (Division 20B) was elected to 1 of the 11 International Trustee positions! They follow in the footsteps of Yein Ha (Division 20C) who served this past year as an International Trustee, and this is the third consecutive year that the Capital District has been represented on the International Board!
-Melanie Sparks Lt. Governor 11B
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ICON 2013 Cont. Through my trip to Washington, D.C. for Key Club’s 70th Annual International Convention, I had the chance to experience what being a true Key Clubber is all about. A quote from Mahatma Gandhi said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I learned at ICON that service is something more than just doing something for someone. No matter how big or small the service is you are still making a difference. Service is a lifestyle, a lifestyle where we are all coming together for one common purpose. A purpose that should be shared within the world creating a greater meaning, because everything you do for someone else makes a bigger impact in the world than you may think. Throughout the workshops at the convention I learned that everyone is a leader in their own way, leading a lifestyle of service in their homes, schools, and communities. My favorite workshops would have to be the public speaking workshop and the Key Club love workshop. I liked the public speaking workshop because it helped me get the perfect tips to helping me speak while at meetings and events. I also liked the Key Club love workshop because I had the opportunity to create close bonds with Key Clubbers from districts all around the world, making new connections that would last a lifetime. Through these connections, I noticed that everyone there was happy to be there. It was like a family atmosphere, you were loved unconditionally. From day one at the convention until the last night of the convention, I can say that I met someone new everyday. No one was shy! It made me proud to be a part of Key Club. I think of Key Club as my second family, we help each other grow into leaders by sharing our feedback and thoughts on expanding, making our Key Clubs successful. During my week at ICON I realized that...there are 260,000 Key Clubbers and I’m just one person trying to make a difference. 260,000 are a lot of big differences being made in the world. I’m so grateful and blessed to be a part of such an amazing organization. Key Club is definitely making an impact on my life and I’m sure it can make one on yours as well. - Artrell Flonnory fellow Key Clubber
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The theme for DCON has been officially announced! We’re looking forward to “The Wonderful World of Service,” a Disney-themed District Convention!
It may seem like a while away, but it is never too early to start planning. DCON 2014 will take place March 21st through the 23rd at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, the same place as last year. Plan ahead, consider fundraising and spreading the word out at your school ahead of time.
DCON 2014
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Forward The Governor’s Project Forms are now on the district website! Go under Projects, then Governor’s Project, and it is in the right margin. Remember, each club must do 3 service projects. One of the three must be a project that the club has never done before. The clubs are required to fill out a Governor’s Project form in order to get credit for doing the project. They only need to send in 3! They will email the forms to the LTGs (most preferably on a monthly report form) and then I ask that you forward the forms to myself and Claudia. Claudia and I will keep track of who is doing the Governor’s Project, so please forward any forms that you may get from your clubs!
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Why the name, “Pay it Forward”? This year, the Governor’s project is intended to bring back Key Clubbers to their roots. Pay it forward is an old term that describes the idea that one who benefits from a good deed should repay it to other people as opposed to the original benefactor. Now, this does not mean that you can’t pay someone back for something they did, but it implies that people should not be afraid to carry on a good deed to another person; people should not always pay back a good deed to resolve a debt of some sort. The concept was coined in 1916 in Lily Hammond’s book, “In the Garden of Delight.” You may also know the phrase from the movie “Pay It Forward,” which is about a kid who , after an opportunity from his teacher, tried to make the world a better place by putting into action a plan called, “Pay it Forward.”
Paying it forward in our District!
This year, our Capital District Governor’s Project is pretty abstract: do three service projects. At least one is supposed to be something that you’ve never done before, so this means that you need some new ideas! Here are some to get you started.
Key Club is all about building our home, school, and community. This year’s governor’s project helps us fulfill that by encouraging us to pursue projects that benefit local organizations in our community. This can range from volunteering at a local homeless shelter to caroling at a local hospital. One experience that I have had in my key club years has been volunteering at my local senior home. Every Tuesday night at the Sunrise Senior Living Home in Fairfax, VA is Bingo Night. These nights are filled with laughs and joy for the seniors who look forward to it the entire week. Along with other members in my club, I would go every week to help lead the Bingo Night. While one of us calls out the numbers, the rest of us could pair up with a senior and chat with them. It is always really inspiring to talk to some of these adults who have had so much experience, and have been through so much in their lives. The adults in the home enjoy these nights, and so do us as members, benefiting from all that we learn as we talk with the seniors, and spending a pleasurable Tuesday night with them. Our entire club enjoys this event as we switch off members who attend each week. It brings us as high school students closer to others in our community, breaking any institutions of age as we befriend the senior citizens in the home. Service projects that benefit local communities all have this force, uniting all parts of the community together, whether it’s a project in a senior home or other local community organization.
Club Buddies – At the beginning of the year, match up new freshman with “veteran” upperclassmen for meetings. The older kids can explain things about Key Club and hopefully help bring in new members! Soda Tabs – Have you ever had a soda tab drive? The Ronald McDonald House Charities provide financial aid to families caring for seriously injured or ill children. They accept soda tabs as donations! Seeds of Service – Although this isn’t a great project for winter, when spring comes around, bring your club outside! Go to a local park or a spot on campus and plant flowers that will grow there throughout the year. It’s a great way to beautify your area! Thank A Teacher – Show your appreciation for your schools’ faculty and staff by dedicating one meeting a year to making thank you cards for teachers. Write inspirational messages of thanks to let them know how much you appreciate what they do! First Aid Class – Offer a free first aid class for kids in your area. Find a professional who is willing to donate their time for the cause or research basic first aid facts to help teach local children to respond to emergencies. Blood Drive – With the help of a local organization (for Northern Virginia schools, use INOVA!), host a school-wide or community-wide blood drive for those who need blood transfusions across the country. Although this is a pretty rigorous project, it’s a great way to get a large number of people involved in a project–beyond just regular Key Club members! -Jack Morris Lt. Governor 20D
-Sahana Rao Lt. Governor 20B
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Dues Dues Message Hey Everyone! As summer closes off and school begins to start, the key club in your high school should also be getting ready to kick off into the start of a new year. The most important part of beginning the new year for you key clubbers is the dues. The dues are extremely important if you want to become an official member of Key Club International. It does not matter if you are a new member or an old member; you will still have to pay the amount of dues money that your club sets. The capital district dues amount for this year is $11.00. However your school key clubs are able to increase the amount for dues based on funds for going to DCON or towards eliminate. The $11.00 for capital district will go towards supplies for the capital district board and administration for becoming an official key clubber.
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The dues are extremely important and the final date for dues is December 1st, 2013. If your club does not turn in their dues at this point, then they have to be marked as delinquent and are no longer recognized as a key club by Key Club International. Remember that communication with the people wanting to attend your key club is very important in order to ensure that they turn in their dues. Various methods of communication include the use of facebook, email, phone number, and reminders at key club meetings. Remember that without turning in dues, your key club will no longer be able to operate. So make sure to contact your officers and get the word out about DUES!
The method of turning in the dues that your key club receives is through the membership update center. The membership update center is very easy to use and can be completed in a short amount of steps. Firstly, go to www.keyclub.org/MUC. Then, you should ask your advisor for their email address and password in order to login. If you are a new club, then you should sign in to the membership update center with the help of your advisor. Then, after you’re logged in, you just have to fill in the information that they ask. Print out the invoice that they website shows. Lastly, you have to give your key clubs dues money along with the invoice either to the advisor or the bookkeeper in order to send them both in to Key Club International. For the first few weeks of the beginning of your key club, you should try to advocate dues as much as you can. Make sure that everyone who wants to join key club knows that they have to turn in their dues in order to become an official member of key club! So GO DO YOUR DUES! - Capital District Treasurer, Rui Fu
Ideas for getting the word out about dues: • host a pizza party before November 1st and have the ticket to get in be Key Club dues • remind your Key Clubbers with a text alert system, so that your members are constantly reminded about their dues • tell your members what the dues will be used for (especifally if you have your own club dues) because if they know then they will probably care more, or at least remember • make anouncements on your school’s news • include due payment reminders on your meeting posters • use an excel sheet to help you keep track of who paid and who didn’t
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