Volume 1 Issue 2 August 2012
Eyes On the I-I The official bulletin of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of Circle K International In this issue! Letter From the Editor…..2 International Convention…..3 Leadership Academy…..4 Introduction From CKI International Vice President…..5 Feed My Starving Children…..6 Subregion F Event…..7 Summer Social….8 Camping, Service, Minn-Dak….9 Where in the I-I is Illioli….10 Contact Information….11
Letter From the Editor Hello Mighty I-I District! I am pleased to present the second edition of the “Eyes On the I-I!” I hope you will enjoy it! In this edition you will find articles about service projects that clubs have done as well as other events not only from the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District but from other districts of Circle K International as well. You will also find a collage of picture telling the adventures of the I-I’s mascot Illioli. I encourage everyone to submit an article about service projects or other events that your CKI club is doing. You can submit an article to http://tinyurl.com/Eyes-On-the-II or go to the newly updated I-I district webpage. The next submission deadline will be on September 15, 2012. If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me at editor@iicirclek.org Peace, Love & CKI Morgan Sarver Circle K International Illinois-Eastern Iowa District 2012-2013 District Editor & SPRFEA Chair
International Convention By: Yvonne Intsiful This summer I was fortunate enough to have the chance to attend both Large Scale Service Project(LSSP) and International Convention(ICON) in the lively city of New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2011 I did attend ICON, but I strongly believe that I got more out of my experience this year. The city of New Orleans has so much to offer its visitors. During LSSP I participated in two fulfilling service projects. The first service project was a March of Dimes themed mural at a local hospital, and the second one wasinsulating and painting a Habitat for Humanity house. Both service projects allowed me the opportunity to learn more about New Orleans through interacting with local citizens and learning more about the unique needs of this city LSSP was full of very memorable moments that I will always remember, but ICON was very memorable as well. During ICON I not only attended informational sessions and workshops, but also had the chance to help campaign with someone running for Circle K international office, help campaign for a Kiwanis International Trustee, and be a voting delegate at International Convention for the first time. I loved feeling so involved during my whole ICON experience. Something else I really enjoyed at ICON was the fact that Kiwanis was holding their international convention just blocks away from our convention. We had a presence at some of their sessions, and vice versa. The connection between both groups was amazing. I hope that every other international convention in the future includes Kiwanis and Circle K having their conventions in the same city.
Living my Dash at Leadership Academy and Beyond By: Ashley Wolfe, Augustana College One week. One week with no cell phones, no internet, no outside worries. Just you and sixty other Circle K members from around the world coming together for a common purpose: personal grown and development. This was a once in a lifetime experience full of sleep deprivation, wobbling, intense discussions, and bonding beyond belief. It’s hard to put this delicate and complex week into words, but here are a few valuable things that I have taken away from such a great week: Live your dash. When a person travels to a cemetery often the first thing they see is when the person was born and when they died with the dash in between the dates. The dash in between the dates is what counts because it represents everything in between birth and death. Living your dash means to truly live out your life. Everyone has an opinion. It is imperative to listen to others—to realize that as a leader sometimes it is necessary to humble yourself so that another person can step up and be empowered to lead. Stand up for what you believe in. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone’s opinion is going to be a little bit different, by expressing these opinions we come to know each other more and respect each other more. Even if you have to stand up on your own, do it, because the audacity in standing up for something you alone believe in is enough to inspire others to do the same. Validate others. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao) sometimes all someone needs in their day is someone to give them a compliment, and when you can spread that joy to someone else, even if it’s just one person a day, it makes all the difference in the world. Leadership is rooted in service to others.Servant leadership comes from wanting to serve others and help them grow in their own abilities. This week was all about growing personally but also raising each other up and helping everyone develop and mold themselves into influential leaders. These are just a few of the many important things I learned at Leadership Academy. The people that I met are going to be my lifelong friends that I can count on for anything. If you are interested in some of the other things that happened or if you are interested in going next year and you want more information please don’t hesitate to email me (wolfe.ashley11@gmail.com) or add me on Facebook. This week was so significant and inspirational to my life, and I have been to my fair share of leadership conferences, conventions, and motivational forums, but there is nothing like Leadership Academy.
Introduction From the CKI International Vice President Dear Members of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of Circle K International, My name is Daniel Tsang and I am your 2012-2013 International Vice President. I just wanted to first start off by saying how much I look forward to learning more about the Illinois-Eastern Iowa Circle K District and getting the opportunity to work with your clubs and district. For those of you who I don’t know me, I am going to be senior at Loyola University of Chicago, which is located on the northside of the Chicagoland area. I am currentlydouble majoring in biology and chemistry with emphasis in biochemistry. Prior to being elected to this position, I was International Representative for Subregion C and served several years on the Illinois-Eastern Iowa Circle K District Board. Being an individual who was born and raised in Chicago, I would classify myself as an urban individual. Nature and I sometimes don’t get along. I spend a lot of my time in front of a computer, so if you ever have any questions, concerns, or criticisms, please feel free to send it my way. As your International Vice President, I oversee all international committees and complete the administrative tasks at hand such as sending out the CKI Weekly and making sure all the appropriate data and files are stored. If you would like to sign up for the CKI Weekly, please click [HERE]. As a member of the International Board, I also seek feedback and ideas from you to help our International Board develop benefits that you want and provide resources that your clubs need to grow and flourish. Please feel free to email me at vp@circlek.orgabout anything. I would love to hear your input. Serving one day at a time, Daniel Tsang International Vice President
Feed My Starving Children Who likes to do Feed My Starving Children?!?! I know I did when North Central College set up a volunteer session with them on July 26th. We had close to 10 people representing Circle K from Bradley University, Northern Illinois University and of Course North Central College that night! It was an amazing experience. I have only done it once before and I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around. We were all in the same area and we were able to contribute to 14 full cases of meals for the cause. Later that night we prayed over the food and had a wonderful presentation about how much we contributed. After we left the location in Aurora, a few of us went out to IHOP for a type of social activity. I, not being from the area was to follow someone else; I ended up following the wrong vehicle‌ It was a fun experience. Eventually I got there and we enjoyed our food and company. We had lots of fun that night and even after I left, the others stuck around in the parking lot for another 2 hours just chatting and getting to know one another better. I will be pushing my club to do this activity again real soon! Ryan Balentyne Northern Illinois University
Subregion F Event On May 16th I took a greyhound bus on a 19 hour trip from Chicago to New York City to attend the Subregion F “F YEAH” event. I had never been to New York before and I never attended a CKI event that was so far, other than ICON/LSSP. Regardless I was really excited about the weekend! On Friday I was met by our gracious host and Sub F Coordinator, Jo Lukito. She took us to her house and I instantly passed out from the long journey. She came back with more guests and directed us downtown to do some touristy things before the event officially started. Thatnight the event started with pizza and mingling in central park this was then followed by being split into our service teams for the weekend. We did fun ice breakers and instantly bonded… I LOVE SUB F! That night after the activities I explored the city with some amazing people…until we go lost 3am! Fortunately we were picked up and go back safely. The next morning we headed out to Harlem where we spent the morning planting flowers and beautifying the street. After lunch we spent the rest of the day at the beautiful St. Johns Cathedrals “good will”. Here we helped organize business clothing for the program that assists those in need for appropriate clothing for job interviews. Later that day we enjoyed a team dinner then relaxed for the rest of the day. Sunday morning we work up early in the morning to participate in an AIDS walk and enjoyed a Kiwanis Family picnic. A couple of us had to catch a bus so we left early to go eat dinner and check out Times Square. It was a really great time. I got close to many members of Sub F and couldn’t wait to see them at ICON/LSSP. Now I hope to see them at Holiday Embrace! It was a great time and well worth the daylong bus ride and constant fear of being lost! I highly recommend attending other district and subregion events – at these events you create lifelong friendships and gain new experiences. Written By Sabrena Lopez (University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana)
I-I District CKI Summer Social The annual District Summer Social Event that took place at NIU on Saturday, July 14 was a really great experience for me! t was fun to get to know the people for the other Kiwanis branches, most notably Circle-K, who hosted the event. Being just a regular Key Clubber, I was glad to take an even more participating role in the district and its goal of community service. The service projects there were really diverse- activities ranging from playing bingo with the elderly to helping out at the animal shelter to helping improve academic skills in children. The particular area I was assigned to, playing bingo with the elderly, was a nice experience as well. Just spending time with those who were in need of companionship and excitement was very rewarding, plus I was able to talk to those and learn from those who have lived longer than I have. It helped me to realize that even the simplest of things can make a pretty big difference. After everyone completed their individual service projects, the group got back together again while we all conversed and shared out experiences with Kiwanis and helping others. Everyone there was extremely welcoming and friendly! I’m looking forward to coming back next year! Aeriel Euhus Wheaton North HS Key Club
Camping, Service, and Survival in Min-Dak! This past weekend I had the pleasure to attend Min-Dak's DLSSP in Prior Lake Minnesota. The weekend started out with a great campfire where I got to know more about the members of the Minnesota and Dakotas district. We had a chance to exchange CKI stories (Sabrena Lopez may or may not have come up in the conversations), and to just have a great night relaxing with s'mores. After a long night of fellowship we all crawled into our tents and get some rest. Saturday morning we left for our service projects bright and early at 8 am. Our first stop was Feed My Starving Children. This was my first time being there and it was a lot of fun! We got to learn a bit about the organization, and learned more about what we were going to be doing for the day. And over the next 2 hours we packed enough food to feed 33 children in Guatemala for one year! After stoping to eat a short lunch we headed out to our next service project. Our second stop was at The Gibbs Museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They first showed us around their huge property and explained what we would be helping them with. We started off with moving lumber from their garage to an area off in the woods. Next, we had a chance to remove all the decorations from their Dakota camp cabin and cleaned it out. The cabin was filled with great artifacts that the Dakota's used back in the day. And finally after a long day of hard work, they surprised us with homemade ice cream! After our day of service we all headed back to camp and cleaned up for dinner. We all drove to The Mall of America where we ate together, and then had some more time to bond while shopping. After eating and shopping we drove back to camp and got ready for another night of great story telling and s'mores over a campfire. My weekend in Min-Dak was such a great experience. I love to see how other districts interact and run their events. It was also a great experience getting to do service events that I have never done before. I felt very welcomed by Min-Dak and I cannot wait to attend their District Convention in March! John Touhy
Governor Sabrena Lopez governor@iicirclek.org
Secretary Kevin Huang secretary@iicirclek.org
Treasurer Ryan Balentyne treasurer@iicirclek.org
Editor
Lt. Governor City Division Taylor Dahlgren cityltg@iicirclek.org
Lt. Governor Northern Division Megan Louthain northernltg@iicirclek.org
Lt. Governor Plains Division Spenser Warren plainsltg@iicirclek.org
Lt. Governor Hawkeye Division Ashley Wolfe hawkeyeltg@iicirclek.org
Events Chair Daniel Tsang events@iicirclek.org
Holiday Embrace Chair Allison Hade HE@iicirclek.org
Kiwanis Family Chair Ashley Wolfe kfamily@iicirclek.org
International Service Partners Chair Nora Beswick ckisp@iicirclek.org
Technology & Marketing Chair Maci Mitchell marketing@iicirclek.org
On To International Convention Chair Ryan Balentyne otic@iicirclek.org
Spastic Paralysis Research Foundation Education & Advocacy Chair Morgan Sarver sp@iicirclek.org
New Club Building & Membership Development Chair Yvonne Intsiful ncbrmd@iicirclek.org
District Administrator Larry Spone admin@iicirclek.org
Morgan Sarver editor@iicirclek.org