JUNE 2019 | VOL 1 | ISSUE 2
THE MACARTHUR KEY CLUB OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF MACARTHUR KEY CLUB REGION 6 DIVISION 18N
TABLE OF CONTENTS 02
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articles
upcoming events calendar
major emphasis project promotion
12 contact information
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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF KEY CLUB? by Mckinley Kennedy With cute t-shirts, fun events, and sometimes fabulous food, what isn’t there to love about Key Club! However, after speaking with some of our members, MacArthur’s Key Club has discovered that for their members the best part about the organization is the mission and people involved! After experiencing her first year of Key Club, upcoming sophomore Elena Manning exclaims “My favorite aspect of Key Club is making new friends and serving at the same time. The atmosphere is always so positive, and we are doing good for the community.” In order to instill this inclusive environment, our officer board strives to be intentional with every key clubber, despite their grade level and other factors. By doing this, members, such as junior Austin Urbanski, claims that his favorite aspect is “ the people involved. Our Key Club is like a family. Everyone is very welcoming and if you are new you can come in and be treated like you’ve been there forever.” Key Club also allows for members to make new friends as well as grow relationships with their current ones. This aspect of “hanging out with people I know and getting to know other people better” is what future senior Ryan Bolin considers to be Key Club’s best feature. 2
Although it isn’t just those we work alongside with, but also those we are providing a service for, that makes Key Club so wonderful. Senior and veteran key clubber Jacob Swedlund asserts that “[his] favorite part about Key Club is that I get to interact and help all different types of people in the community.” Living near a military base, MacArthur’s key clubbers have the unique opportunity to serve people from all over the country with completely contrasting backgrounds. Upcoming sophomore Iyanna Farlow also agrees that the people we serve are the real treasures in Key Club. “My favorite aspect of Key Club is all the people we get to meet at community service events.” After speaking with both members and officers within the club, President Makinley Kennedy explains that her favorite component about Key Club is witnessing the personal growth it instills. “Being president, I believe I get to see our club from an alternate perspective, therefore, my favorite aspect of Key Club is witnessing how the club influences not only myself but also other members. Seeing the work ethics of my peers expand and their hearts grow to love serving others is absolutely the best part about Key Club!”
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THIS JUNE'S KIDS KORRAL by Anna Swierkosz This month’s Kids Korral on June 2nd was a success! The theme was an All American Dinner. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, beans and coleslaw, and yummy brownies for dessert! The MacArthur Key Club goes to Oklahoma City every month to help out and make dinner at the Kids Korral, which is a center for children who are battling cancer to stay with their families. Toby Keith, a country singer, donated the money to start the foundation. The facility is amazing with a playground, a library, and even a movie theatre that doubles as a storm shelter. The Key Clubbers who helped out were Gracie Garbutt, Jacob Swedlund, Clay Pritchett, Anna Swierkosz, Savannah Layeski, Matthew Nicholas, and of course Mrs. Sauders and Mrs. Barnes! We arrived in the city at around five o’clock and got straight to work grilling burgers and hotdogs and setting up all the food. Clay and Jacob were on grill duty and did a great job. They had a great time despite the grill mishaps involving some fire and smoke, but all was well in the end! A couple of kind men helped the boys with the grill, and they got it working in the end. The burgers and hotdogs were cooked to perfection. Inside, the other Key Clubbers set up a plethora of sides. 4
Mrs. Barnes cut up some great watermelon and there were all kinds of chips. Matthew cooked baked beans which everyone loved during supper. Gracie made pink lemonade and brought other drinks as well, such as soda. Savvy and Anna got trays and bowls for all of the food. While working in the kitchen, we made a new friend, Axel. He is five years old and has not had to have chemotherapy treatment in a whole two years! He enjoyed our company as we did his. This Kids Korral was a first for Clay, Gracie, and Matthew. Clay rung the dinner bell at six o’clock to let all the families know the food was ready! Many came down and enjoyed the food. Around 7:30pm everyone had gotten their food and was finished eating. We put all the food away and wrapped up leftovers, so they could be enjoyed later by the families. We also cleaned the kitchen and made sure all the dishes were washed and put away. We all had a good time serving and helping the families at Kids Korral.
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THE HISTORY OF OUR KEY CLUB by Anna Swierkosz With the new school year coming up and more people joining Key Club, we have many freshman starting to get involved. One new 9th grader, Taylor Hoskins, is more connected to Key Club than she even knew! Taylor attended Mac Middle and is now moving on to MacArthur High this school year. She was a part of Student Council in middle school and plans to continue her involvement in high school with Student Council and now Key Club. She was not a part of Builders Club during middle school, so Key Club is all new to her! Taylor has already started to get involved in the high school’s service club. Her first event was the Kiwanis Fishing Derby, and she also recently helped out at the Freedom Fest. She is enjoying being a part of Key Club and says she may run for an officer or board member position this school year. Taylor’s love of service must run in the family because her grandfather, Tom Bell, actually started the Key Club at MacArthur! It was started in the Fall of 1999 and was chartered in December of 1999. The reason behind starting the club at MacArthur was because the same year, the Kiwanettes (a “women only” club) was disbanded and their sponsoring Kiwanis (Lawton Northwest Kiwanis) asked Tom Bell and his club (Lawton Kiwanis Club) to 6 start a Key Club at MacArthur.
It took two or three years for the club to get their feet on the ground, but in 2002, Ms. Sheila Rulison became the school sponsor, and the key club grew in success to what it is today. It was top five out of 300 clubs in the Texas-Oklahoma district then and is still top five today with the help of the current sponsors, Mrs. Sauders and Mrs. Barnes. Mr. Tom Bell retired from the US Army in 1993 and joined Kiwanis because he believed he needed to give back to the city he lived much of his military life in. He says along with getting more high school students involved in community service, it helped him to get involved in the community too. He attended many Key Club events around town as the club’s Kiwanis sponsor. Mr. Bell stated, “The MacArthur High School Key Club is recognized by many in the Lawton community as a volunteer organization they can count on for support.” He also says he is a very proud grandfather now that Taylor has joined the Key Club and has started to get involved.
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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
ANDREW CELEDON ON HOW OUR CLUB PLANS TO STAY INVOLVED AND HIS EXPERIENCE WITH KEY CLUB by Andrew Celedon
Our Key Club is planning to stay involved during the Summer by participating in events around the Lawton/ Fort Sill community throughout the break. We also try and keep our officers as knowledgeable and informed by holding monthly socials that bring us together to discuss ideas and schedule changes so that we don’t feel as if we are being distanced from the club’s overarching mission - to serve others. Our plan for the rest of the school year is simple. We are attempting to rope in as many new members as possible so that we have a strong base to best serve Lawton’s needs. We plan to volunteer at numerous community events such as Spirit of Survival, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and Feed the Need. But our work doesn’t end there. We have also extended our services to the southern Oklahoma City metropolitan area by serving monthly dinners at the Toby Keith Foundation House in Norman. In addition to volunteering at events, we also hold our school’s annual Relay for Life, which will take place this November. This gives residents an opportunity to reflect on those who have been taken by, affected by, or survived from cancer and to let the attendees support one another. 8
As Vice President of Key Club, I will help in several different ways. One such service would include me being the President’s right-hand man during the brainstorming, planning, and executing of all events we may hold or be a part of. Another such way I would aid the club would be filling in for all the president’s duties if they are gone. That could mean leading meetings, heading events, or helping our sponsors complete a task. And the last way I can fulfill my vice-presidential duties would be to have a positive attitude towards any job I am assigned. Being in my position, people often think they have no place in the Key Club realm when we are pivotal to our club’s success. And we reap the benefits as a result. I was unaware that by joining Key Club, I would have so many awards and scholarships to take advantage of as a means of paying for my college tuition. Many colleges also offer students the opportunity to serve in their CKI which is the university equivalent of high school key club. Key Club has provided me with so many opportunities and as a result, I am determined to serve long into my adult life.
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Gibson Center 8am-1pm
Kids Korral
Board Meeting at Braums 1pm
Kiwanis Luncheon 12pm
Officer Social
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MAJOR EMPHASIS PROJECT PROMOTION
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CONTACT US
@MACKEYCLUB
MACARTHUR HIGH SCHOOL KEY CLUB
EMAIL EDITOR ANNAMSWIERKOSZ@GMAIL.COM
LTG DAVID JEFFALONE DAVIDJEFFALONE.KCI@GMAIL.COM
DISTRICT GOVERNOR ASHNA PATEL GOVENOR@TOKEYCLUB.COM
REGION 6 ADVISOR RAFAEL SANTOS REGION6@TOKEYCLUB.COM 12