Southwest Sun | July 2015

Southwest Sun JULY 2015

VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS A WORD FROM . . . . . . . . pg 2 LEADERSHIP ACADEMY. . pg 3 KEYC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 5 ELIMINATE . . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 7 SERVICE SCOOP . . . . . . . pg 8 MOTM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 12 JULY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg 13 CALENDER . . . . . . . . . . . pg 13 CONTACTS . . . . . . . . . . pg 14

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a word from your

BULLETIN EDITOR

It’s August! I hope you all have raided Target before all the god sales are gone, because it’s BACK TO SCHOOL! But before we think about professors and textbooks, let’s take a look at the COOL things happened this summer in our district!

Stay Sizzlin,

Banna Tesfay

a word from your

GOVERNOR

I’M BAACK! Yes, I have finally returned to our beautiful Southwest from my summer living in the Czech Republic. What an amazing adventure! I am so thankful to our amazing district team for giving me the support I needed so I could get the most out of my experience.

If they had not been so encouraging and hard working, I would have spend my whole time worrying about the district. I know it is hard to stay motivated over the summer, but your club and district leaders have done an amazing job this summer setting you up for success coming into this school year. I am also incredibly proud of our Leadership Academy 2015 graduates. All of them really took full advantage of the opportunity given to them by the Southwest District Kiwanis Foundation and I personally have already seen a huge difference in every one of them. I cannot wait to see how they harness these new skills and make this Southwest District CKI’s best year yet!

As the school year comes into full swing, please do not hesitate to come to anyone on the district board for anything you need.

Our whole purpose is to serve you so that you can better serve your communities. And as always…

Keep Shinning Southwest!

Ava Red

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LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

“On fleek? Can you be OFF fleek?”

What better way that to get really really close with 67 people than by making them come to a secluded camp in Nowheresville, Indiana, no cell service (except, weirdly, Michael Zimmerman) and force them to bond, all while sweating off like, six pounds.

Sounds bad, right? WRONG. I, Banna Tesfay, was one of the five lucky participants of the Southwest (the distrcit with the 2nd highest attendance!) to partake in the mysterious Leadership Academy. With me came board members Aubrey Renaker, Sab Moore, Eliana Bell, and Michael Zimmerman.

Take whatever Ava tells you about LA, and multiply it by 10. All five of us have such different envisions of how the week went, but for me, going into this event, I had a very small connection with the board members that went. We weren’t close, barely kept in contact aside for board duties and occassionally Facebook. And now, wow, I can say that I would trust Sab, Aubrey, Eliana, and Michael with my life. LA was ineffable; nothing can describe what it did for me as not just a leader, but as a person. I also got to meet people who changed my perspective on everything, who threw shade and made me stay up until 5AM, and made me feel at home. You go to LA clear-minded, and you come back transformed, and you have a whole new family, right down to your own Mama Heather.

“Leadership Academy was so hyped up, I thought ‘there’s absolutely no way it’s so great,’” Eliana says. “Never in my life have I gone into a week long program without knowing exactly what would be happening, but I took a leap of faith; and I am so grateful that I did. LA was, by far, the best week of the past year. I went into this experience hoping to find peace with some relationships with family members that hadn’t

been so great, but I left having found complete peace with myself. For the first time in my life, I know exactly who I am and what I want. LA was an incredible experience and I did the most self-reflection and self-understanding than I have ever done in my entire life. For everyone else, I recommend this leap of faith; you won’t regret it.”

Aubrey also felt the worthwhile feels of LA. “Leadership Academy was a week that completely changed my life,” she tells me. “When I initially applied and registered for it, I did so mainly unaware of what I had signed up for. Ava Red, our wonderful Governor, told me again and again that it would be an amazing, life-changing weekend, but truthfully, I didn’t completely believe her. Now, as a Leadership Academy graduate of 2015, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Leadership Academy was everything she said it was and more. It’s a week of self-discovery, making amazing lifelong best friends, and learning what servant leadership is truly about. Leadership Academy is unexplainable, extraordinary, and so special. It’s a week full of laughing, crying, dancing, having giant sleepovers, meeting the best people EVER, and probably more crying. It was a week of my life I wish I could live over and over again. If you have the chance to go to Leadership Academy next summer- GO! It was one of the best weeks of my life and I know everyone who went feels the same way!”

“Leadership Academy was truly a life-changing experience,” Michael says. “It put you in a world where the only connection you had was with the people around you and they were the ones who truly helped you grow, not only as a leader, but as a person. I met so many incredible people at the camp and I feel like they will be life-long friends. The camp wasn’t really about CKI but more about yourself, which was really special. It gave me and the people around me a chance to really learn about ourselves and find acceptance in who we are. I think that is what really led us to become better leaders and I will carry that ability back to my club and whatever other leadership experiences I take on. Through all of the laughter, all the tears, all the sweat, and all the bug bites, Leadership Academy will be an experience that will inspire me and it continues to allow me to grow even after I have graduated. I am so thankful that I got to be part of the Leadership Academy Class of 2015!! It has truly allowed me to go deeper and deeper into who I am and the leader I want to become.”

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SERVICE AROUND THE WORLD

By Ava Red and Andrea Madrigal Every summer, the Kiwanis International European Federation (KI-EF) Service Leadership Programs committee hosts at least one summer youth camp with the help of a hosting Kiwanis Club. This year, Circle K members were invited to attend the camp in Roudnice nad Labem, a city in the Czech Republic about 30 minutes North of Prague. The local Kiwanis club planned a lot of great activities such as dragon boat racing, white water rafting, a guided tour of Prague, and even meeting the mayor of Roudnice nad Labem. There was also training and a service project creating Kiwanis dolls to be given to the hospital in Roudnice.

The camp had about 65 Kiwanians and youth from 11 different countries: Iceland, Switzerland, Estonia, Germany, Austria, Belguim, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, and the USA. Circle K was represented by 5 Americans: Kate Ross (Governor of Minnesota-Dakotas District), Emily Damm (Lieutenant Governor in Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District), Joe Samson (California-Nevada-Hawaii District), and two ladies of the Southwest District, Andrea Madrigal and Ava Red. Overall, the camp was an amazing experience! I think the best part for me was getting to experience so many other cultures. We ate Swiss Cheese, we danced like Estonians, we sang with Romanians and so much more! We shared our culture too. Only the good stuff though, like CKI chants and the wobble.

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And a First Hello to...

JENNY PARK I am so grateful that we were invited to attend and experience not only a different side of the world, but a different side of Kiwanis. Most of them had not even heard of CKI or Key Club before. The camp director also asked me to hold a training workshop on leadership skills such as communication, conflict management, and public speaking. By the end, I had participants coming up to me and asking for advise on starting their own club or for my training PowerPoint. The many opportunities we had to teach them something about our culture and organization was also a big part of what made the experience valuable. I really hope that I can return again next summer and bring more CKI members with me!

“I could not have greater honor then being able to represent the Southwest District as well as CKI International in Prague to attend Kiwanis European Youth Camp.” says member Andrea Madrigal. “I was able to along with Ava and three other CKI members to represent to Europe was CKI is all about. Through rafting to bond with friends or dragon boat racing just for a little fun. I was able to learn so much other countries their cultures, tradition and even a little bit of their language. Many wonderful memories were created, memories that will last a lifetime. I had the privilege of sharing to Europeans about CKI and what CKI is, what we do and why we do it. Hopefully in the near future the first ever CKI will be chartered in Europe. I hope that someday one of you will be able to travel abroad and express your love and passion for CKI as I have had the privilege to do in Prague, Czech Republic!”

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ELIMINATE CHALLENGE

GOVERNOR AVA HAS A CHALLENGE! Do you see these beautiful locks of hair right here? Here’s hoping they’ll be a cute bob by DCON, because Ava has a mission for this district! If we can raise $500 or more collectivley for the Eliminate Project come District Convention, Governor Ava will cut off and donate her hair! That’s right, CUT IT ALL OFF. So get to thinking up great fundraising ideas, because you don’t want to miss this!

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r o n r e Gov

MEMBERS OF THE MONTH If anyone deserves to be a member of the month this month, it is by all means, Ava Red. Not only has she been the most enthusiastic and uplifiting governor this summer, she did it from thousands of miles away- in Prague! She managed to hold meetings, beat jetlag and stay awake for unreasonable hours just so it would be convenient for us, to hold meetings, to finish district work for us, her district. She took a vacations and turned it into multi-tasking.

She is kind, and sweet, and caring, and treats us like her own children. She’s an exceptionally extrodinary governor to the Southwest District, so I hope you’ll agree she deserve this month’s Member of the Month. Take some time to send all your love to her!

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JULY AT A

glance

Active Members: 75 New Members: 0 Service Hours this month: 176 The club with the highest total hours this month: GCU!

MARK YOUR

calenders

AUG: SCHOOL IS STARTING! LET’S GET THOSE MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS UP UP UP!

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CONTACT THE BOARD AVA RED GOVERNOR avared.cki@gmail.com

JOSHUA MCGUIRE SECRETARY/LAWS & REG CHAIR propresenter96@gmail.com

JARED LOVELETTE RECRUITMENT/RETENTMENT CHAIR jared.lovelette@enmu.edu

TALA SLYE TREASURER slye39@live.com

ELIANA BELL NM K-FAMILY CHAIR eoterobell@unm.edu

BANNA TESFAY BULLETIN EDITOR bt363@nau.edu

ANNA LEE AZ K-FAMILY CHAIR 213.anna@gmail.com

LAMONTE MCDUFFIE KACHINA DIVISION LTG montemyles@gmail.com AUBREY RENAKER BAJA DIVISION LTG aubreyrenaker@email.arizona.edu WINDY ZACHEK DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR wzachek@oakcraft.com ANYSSA IWAMOTO TECHNOLOGY CHAIR akiwamot@asu.edu

SAB MOORE SERVICE CO-CHAIR sabrinavmoore96@unm.edu ANIKA FAGLIE SERVICE CO-CHAIR anikalynn247@live.com MICHAEL ZIMMERMAN DCON TASK FORCE CHAIR mzimmerman1@email.arizona.edu ELAINE WONG FALL RALLY TASK FORCE CHAIR swdfallrally@gmail.com

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