T-O Tomorrow - Volume 28, Issue 3

SEPTEMBER, 2006

Texas-Oklahoma District of Circle K International

T-O Tomorrow Special points of interest: >

Updates about district events throughout the year.

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New service project ideas.

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Tips on how to raise money to attend district events.

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Information on international goals and initiatives.

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

THE GOVERNOR AND HIS GOALS

Inside this issue: International Changes

2

Service Projects for the New Year

2

What Service Counts

3

Governor’s Project

3

Dues, Dues, Dues!

3

The Amazing Fall Retreat

4

Tour of Service

4

District Convention Country Style

5

Paying for Our Amazing

5

T-O Kiwanis Update

5

Navigating the New District Website

6

A&M CKI Goes Wild

6

International Updates

7

Fall Training Conferences

7

T-O Today, Tomorrow...What?

8

No one is more prepared for growth and prosperity in the Texas-Oklahoma District of CKI than the district board. Our district stands 22 chapters strong with just under 600 members. This is a good starting point, but we need a surge forward to solidify ourselves as a district that will always stand tall. We have had our Back-toSchool Board meeting and have all the information and resources to help your chapter…no matter what the situation is. We have several goals that we would like to share with you again, so that you know where we are headed and how you can help. Please keep these goals in mind when planning and setting your own CKI year and goals:

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600 members 10,000 recorded service hours 75% attendance of chapters at district events Increasing Key Club transition to CKI membership through F.L.I.P. 5 CKI inter-clubs per chapter and 5 KFamily inter-clubs.

In closing, I would just like to thank you for all of your dedication and service to your communities and the Texas-Oklahoma district.

Set your goals early and develop small steps to help your chapter reach those goals. Through your leadership T-O will remain a district that is respected for its efforts in the community and for it’s devoted members. Remember, service is not for others to see, but for the heart to feel.

The International level of CKI has been setting it’s own goals, and as one of the most prestigious districts, T-O will play a large role in helping International achieve their goals:

• • •

800 attendees at the CKI International Convention in August 2007 in Portland, Oregon.

16,000 members 575,000 recorded service hours 4,200 K-Family interclubs

Sincerely, Jonathan Shaw T-O District Governor

SETTING YOUR OWN GOALS S

TEPHANIE

The beginning of the year is a vital time for clubs. It is the time to focus on getting new members, welcoming back old ones, setting up new projects, and enjoying time with friends you haven’t seen in quite some time. It is also an important time to set goals for your club. As you can see, the District Board

has been hard at work setting goals of our own.

Here are some tips on how to organize what you want to accomplish this year into achievable goals: • Consider the main things you want to see accomplished this year.

• Make a plan on how to achieve this, break-

• •

•

MILLS, DISTRICT EDITOR

ing it down in to short and long term goals.

The short term goals should help you reach your long term goals.

Make your goals challenging, but not unachievable. These are things you want to see happen this year!

Have fun! Don’t get stressed out!

T-O TOMORROW VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

Page 2 INTERNATIONAL CHANGES During the 2006 International House of Delegates in Boston, several changes were made to CKI on the International level. The first item is the merging of our Bylaws and Constitution into one document called International Bylaws. The T-O District Bylaws will follow suit and the new amendments will be presented at the T-O District Convention in March 2007. The second item has more of an impact on the T-O District. The International level has restructured itself.

JON SHAW , D ISTRICT G OVERNOR

No longer are there elected trustees to oversee the districts they are assigned to.

The 2007-2008 CKI year will mark the start of the transition from trustees to representatives. The districts have been clustered into 5-6 regions, not destroying our district or the board, to help alleviate travel issues and cost for their representative.

The representative will be elected from the region they reside in and shall represent the districts in their region. Representatives will

now be required to vote how their districts want on topics and issues at the International level because they directly represent their districts, whereas trustees were able to vote independently. The map and flow chart should help illustrate how this change will take place.

This flow chart shows the breakdown from International President to the T-O District.

SERVICE PROJECTS FOR THE NEW YEAR “... MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SERVICE PROJECTS CATER TO THE NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF YOUR MEMBERS.”

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Start of Year Projects Fall is here! Meaning that it is time to get CKI started back up. One of the best ways to ensure that you have a successful year, is to make sure that your service projects cater to the needs and interests of your members. For that reason, give out a community service interest survey at the first meeting. List projects that you have done in the past and make sure that you ask members to put down projects that they would like to work on. Here are just a few

weeks.

Campus Cleanups: Pick an area on campus that is in dire need of your help. Show your school pride by rounding up a few CKIers and cleanup that campus!

Nursing Home Visits: If you or any CKI member you know is musically

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service ideas to help you kick off the year.

• Trick or Treating for Canned Goods: Food Pantries typically run low on goods around Halloween time. Therefore, it is a great idea to flyer neighborhoods telling them that you are coming to pick up any canned goods that they would like to donate to a local food pantry. Dress up, pick up the goods at the homes notified and follow up by leaving a

talented make a visit at a retirement home. If not, simply go and play some bingo or cards with them. They would love your company.

Kiwanis: Contact your local Kiwanians and find out what fundraisers they are doing.

These are great events

T-O will be in the blue region.

A DRIANA CASAS , D ISTRICT SECRETARY

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to volunteer at and they typically appreciate the man power.

thank you note (that you can type before you pick up the canned goods).

Tutoring: This is a great time to contact local elementaries, middle schools, and high schools. Ask them if they have any tutoring programs and that you are interested. Move fast on this project because working with children typically involves conducting a background check which can take a few

Page 3 WHAT SERVICE COUNTS? What counts as service? Any community service that a CKI member performs counts as service. Whether this is at an official CKI service event or simply on their own, if you are a CKI member then you should report your service hours to your chapter secretary by the end of the month.

A little known fact—travel time also counts as service.

Really! So next time you go to a nursing home you can count the time that you spent driving to and from.

Why care past the chapter level?

A division is made up of CKI

GOVERNOR’S PROJECT The Governor’s Project for the T-O this year is known as the Fuzzy Wuzzy Governor’s Project. It was designed to put on emphasis on helping the children of our community. This project is designed with three elements: collecting teddy bears for Child Protective Services, making tie blankets for Linus Project, and purchasing/collecting children’s books for primary schools. All three elements are easy to do at a meeting and are fairly cheap. I invite

ADRIANA CASAS, DISTRICT SECRETARY

chapters like your own. CKI chapters are assigned to their divisions according to their geographical location.

Each of these divisions is headed up by a Lieutenant Governor who is responsible for keeping chapters informed of all that is going on in the District Level, which is made up by a group of divisions from one or more states. Districts are headed up by a Governor, a secretary, a treasurer, an editor, a number of LTG’s (depending on the district), and district committee chairs. A notch up from that

is the International Board of Trustees, who are representatives from various districts throughout CKI. At the top of the food chain, you have the International President and Vice President. Now to the question, why should I care? These elected members are responsible for keeping your chapter informed and teaching you of any changes done to Circle K International. These positions that are held by students like you.

"PROVIDING LOVE , COMFORT, SUPPORT, AND

JON SHAW, DISTRICT GOVERNOR

you to reach out and try to find sponsors or solicit donations from companies to help assist your club in this endeavor. Chapters have the following requirements to be recognized at District Convention for completing the Fuzzy Wuzzy Project: • 20 Teddy Bears • 15 LINUS Blankets • 20 Children’s Books This project should help remind us that there are families everywhere who cannot provide everything their de-

veloping child needs. We as members of CKI should dedicate ourselves to helping these children, because they are our future. This project is just one way we can touch hearts and lives in our communities on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Please make every effort possible to donate and participate in a service project that I feel is what CKI is all about.

EDUCATION TO THE YOUTH OF TODAY AND THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW." -GOVERNOR’ S PROJECT GOAL

DUES, DUES, DUES! ANGELA RAGAN, DISTRICT TREASURER It’s that time of year again… get ready to submit your dues! October 1 is the deadline, and don’t let this date creep up on you too fast or else your chapter status is in jeopardy! You must pay for 20 members (or 15 for 2 year junior colleges or universities under 1000 students) to be in “good standing” and have the benefits that come along with it. Follow the Circle K International online directions to generate a

dues invoice. The unique ID and password were mailed to each chapter from International. It is highly recommended that you make copies of everything, including the check that you will send in to International.

Having copies of everything will clear up any potential confusion. It is also imperative that you certify the check in the mail to ensure it makes it to Indiana. If you have any problems at all, don’t hesitate to contact

me! If your chapter is not in good standing, you will not receive the T-O Today or the district mailings, and your chapter will not be eligible for District awards at District Convention. In addition to missing District resources, you won’t receive any from International either. Also, your members will not be eligible for the scholarships given at District Convention. See that you don’t miss out on all these great opportunities!

T-O TOMORROW VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

Page 4 THE AMAZING FALL RETREAT! ANA ETHRIDGE, ASST. ADMINISTRATOR Where do you go this fall to meet up with your CKI friends from all over T-O? Fall Retreat of course! Join the fun Nov 3-5, at the Texas Sports Ranch in Crosby, TX near Houston. The weekend will be full of everything CKI is about—service, leadership and FELLOWSHIP! Friday night things kick off with a welcome and “Get to Know Ya” session, then we’ll gather around making Linus blankets to support the Governor’s project. Saturday morning up for a morning of fun interactive work-

“AT EACH [STOP IN THE DIVISION], THE SPONSORING CLUB WILL ARRANGE FOR MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN A SERVICE PROJECT TOGETHER…”

shops like you’ve never experienced followed by an old favorite, K-Family Jeopardy. But wait, the fun isn’t over! There’s free time after lunch where you can fly through the sky on a zip line, tackle the climbing wall or dive in to a pit of foam!

Later that evening you’ll find yourself putting your hands together building bridges of unity. We’ll close the events for the day off with a bonfire. The excitement continues Sunday morning as we close the weekend recalling the

laughs we shared and the memories we will take home.

How do you secure your place at this fabulous event? Complete the registration form sent to your chapter or found on the website www.txokcki.org and put it in the mail with a check for $95 by Oct. 16, to: T-O CKI 5108 Karen Dr., North Richland Hills, TX 76180

What? It’s the 17th and you still want to go to Fall Retreat but haven’t sent in your registration? You get a second chance if you send a check for $105 by Oct. 23rd!

TOUR OF SERVICE

KAYCIE T UGMAN, DISTRICT EVENTS CHAIR

This year members of TexasOklahoma Circle K International will be going over the Red River and through the Rio Grande valley in an attempt to foster fellowship and unity by participating in the Tour of Service.

The Tour of Service will span the entire CKI year and will be hosted by a chapter in each division. At each stop, the sponsoring club

will arrange for members to participate in a service project together and take part in a little fellowship afterwards.

The first stop was hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on September 16. Hayley Hottel, president of the club, arranged for members to work with Positive Tomorrows, a center to educate

bilitation clinic and arranged for participants to repaint handicap signs, as well as clean and organize the center. This will help aid the facility as it works to restore people to full physical and emotional health.

The University of Texas in Austin will host the third stop along the Tour on November 11. Club president Lauren Lucas is looking into a

tour of Austin to collect canned foods for donation.

The other two stops will be hosted next semester at Sam Houston State University on January 20 in Huntsville and Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi on March 17. Come join us on our tour of T-O and come out to attend whichever event is closest to you, and the others as well if you’re

homeless children. Members cleaned and organized parts of their facility. In true CKI spirit, attendees also brought school supplies and clothing to donate to the children.

At the second stop on October 21 in Wichita Falls, Texas, Travis Aponte of the Midwestern State University chapter has coordinated with the North Texas Reha-

able. We look forward to seeing you!

Page 5 DISTRICT CONVENTION COUNTRY STYLE ANA ETHRIDGE, ASST. ADMINISTRATOR March seems so far away but it’s not too soon to start thinking about the biggest celebration in TexasOklahoma. The 54th Annual Texas-Oklahoma CKI Convention will be held in Dallas, TX March 2-4. “Steering T-O Down the Trail of Service” will be our theme for the weekend.

What more do you have to look forward to? Time with friends from across T-O, the opportunity to make new ones, celebration of a wonderful year, election of offi-

PAYING FOR OUR AMAZING EVENTS Want to go to Fall Retreat and District Convention?

Don’t have the money?

Listen up! Most Kiwanis clubs are more than happy to assist CKI chapters to attend district functions and leadership weekends! There are roughly 20 CKI chapters in T-O, and 350 or so Kiwanis clubs. Kiwanis want to support CKI. So, go to these clubs, show up at meetings, lend a hand at service

cers and our fabulous keynote speaker, Gary Rifkin.

Mr. Rifkin is the chief energizer for Encore! where energy encourages excellence.

As always there will be a variety of events for you to take part in while at Convention, including a variety of CKI centered workshops, caucuses giving you a chance to get to know candidates for district offices, sessions with the district as a whole to commemorate a great year of service, a ser-

vice project for attendees to take part in as a group, and as always the Governor’s Ball following the Award’s Banquet on the final night of Convention.

Mark your calendars now and make plans to be in Dallas March 2-4! Information on registration and reservations will be available later this year, so keep an eye on the website (www.txokcki.org) for updates.

ANGELA R AGAN, DISTRICT TREASURER

events, offer to do a program at one of their meetings. Once you establish a good relationship, ask for financial assistance to go to district events. And the great thing is, you don’t have to only ask your sponsoring Kiwanis club. Branch out! With so many Kiwanis clubs, there’s several clubs surrounding each CKI chapter. Every Kiwanis club does events and always could

T-O KIWANIS UPDATE Greetings from the T-O District of Kiwanis. After a very successful 88th annual district convention aboard the Carnival Cruise ship the Ecstasy, the T-O District is ready to begin another great year. Governor Jack and First Lady Sherry Carlton have lead the district with distinction and have been strong supporters of CKI. On the horizon, Bill and Jane Crump will serve as the 0607 T-O Kiwanis Governor and First Lady. The Gover-

use some help. Lots of sponsoring Kiwanis clubs participate in the “Thirds Program” where Kiwanis will pay one third of a fee, the CKI club will pay another third, so students are only responsible for paying one third of their registration costs. If you don’t know if your Kiwanians do this, just ask! Let them know you’re out there, and get ready for Fall Retreat!

“THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20 CKI CHAPTERS IN T-O AND 350 OR SO KIWANIS CLUBS.”

SEAN R AICH, DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR

nor’s Project will focus on Salvation Army Disaster Relief. Carlene Campbell (carcamp@cox.net), will Chair the district committee. The First Lady's Project will focus on the Key Leader initiative in T-O and will be chaired by Wayne Young, (waylin2005@netscape.com), a member of the North Fort Worth Kiwanis Club.

Past T-O Foundation President Jerry Ward has been elected to Governor-Elect for the 06-07 year. Jerry has

asked that Anna, David, Hunter, Scott, and I stay on for an additional year as Administrators for CKI and we have happily agreed to do so.

Phil Brooks, a long time supporter of all Service Leadership Programs, will be stepping down this year as District Service Leadership Programs chair. Ray Poland (rpoland@tds.net) from the Jones Kiwanis Club will be serving as the chair next year.

T-O TOMORROW VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3

Page 6 NAVIGATING THE NEW DISTRICT WEBSITE How many of you have actually been to the new and improved Texas-Oklahoma District website? Well if you haven’t, you are missing out! Go to www.txokcki.org, look at the front page, and you’ll see it’s completely new and improved! Upcoming events such as Fall Retreat and the Tour of Service stops are highlighted, wrap-ups are posted from past events, and the Governor’s Project is emphasized as well. The menu bar itself is also different, with new sec-

“E-MAIL YOUR NAME, CHAPTER, AND OFFICE TO ITCHAIR @ TXOKCKI . ORG

AND...YOU WILL RECEIVE A...NEW USERNAME AND PASSWORD.”

tions for service, K-Family links, and more resources. If you missed an issue of the T-O Today, you can access it on the website. If you are curious about what scholarships you are eligible for, you can find the information on the website. Also, the new “International Informer” will give you information about what’s going on at the international level.

One of the most important new features is all of the information for district events. Instead of waiting

only utilize online reporting if they have usernames. So how can you obtain a username? E-mail your name, chapter, and office to itchair@txokcki.org and within 48 hours, you will receive a response with your new username and password. I urge each and every one of you to go to the website and get a feel for it. It’s easy to navigate and will provide you with everything you need to know about the district.

Explore and enjoy!

A&M CKI GOES WILD They were small, big, short and long. All different sizes and ages. Members of Texas A&M Circle K went to the Brazos Wildlife Museum on September 7, 2006.

There, they took several turtles and iguanas outside to get some sun. Pam Chen, a masters student at Texas A&M, struggled to keep the

JILL WICKS, IT CHAIR

for your district mailing to arrive with all of the logistics, you can go to website and find all of the information you need. Registration is always available online by downloading the form, but soon we will have paperfree registration! Some things on the website are member-only though. The district member directory (a great resource for communicating with other chapters) can only be accessed by members with usernames, and secretaries can

*The district website is one of the main tools the district uses to communicate to clubs. All registration forms, deadlines, and information on district events is posted there, along with updates on district service initiatives and district service projects.

There is also a section dedicated to International updates, so that members know when they can apply to be on International committees or just know what’s going on in the upper levels of management in our or-

ganization. It’s very important to familiarize yourself with the website. All questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to the District IT Chair, Jill Wicks, at itchair@txokcki.org.

ZACHARY JOHNSON, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

turtles from fighting. “Many of them did not get along and wanted to fight.“ Members had much fun playing with the animals and watching them. The iguanas just laid out in the sun, hardly moving an inch. Volunteering at the Brazos Center is a great opportunity for animal lovers and

those who like to go outdoors and work with wild animals.

Page 7 INTERNATIONAL UPDATES This year at CKI’s International Convention in Boston, MA, delegates from all over CKI came together to vote on a new international board. After much deliberation and several rounds of voting, the new board was elected. This year we will be headed by Alec MacCaully, the new International President, and Nadine Muschette, International Vice President. President Alec and Vice President Nadine have a board of nine International Trustees walks on the beach (or a forest).

• Why I joined Circle K: I had just moved 8 hours from home and didn't have many friends.

• Why I stayed in Circle K: To give back as much as I got from it. Also to help the organization change someone’s life like it did for me.

• I love Circle K as I'm sure all of you reading this do. Show me some KLove!

Even though Michael has a fun and crazy side, he’s also excellent about making sure

that serve as liaisons to all the districts. One of T-O’s very own, IP District Governor Jose Arteaga, will be serving as an International Trustee, but not for T-O. The honor of serving as T-O’s trustee has been reserved for Michael Silviera from San Diego State University. Michael received the most votes for International Trustee and is truly excited about getting to work with the mighty T-O District.

Here’s some fun stuff Michael wanted us to know:

we as a district stay informed about everything going on at International.

These are the International goals and initiatives for this year: • 525,600 Reported Service hours • 14,000 Members • 550 Clubs in Good Standing • International Service Initiative: "Turn off TV, turn on life." Basically, it's all about getting children to do other things besides sitting around and watching TV. One way is to help out (or

start) an after school program. This can be both a mentoring or tutoring program. Just like there are many ways to skin a cat, there are several ways to keep kids away from the television. Let me know if you come up with any good ones.

We’re really excited to have Michael as our trustee this year. Feel free to send him an e-mail at michaelcki@gmail.com if you have questions or concerns, or if you just want a chance to get to know this great guy!

FALL TRAINING CONFERENCES It’s that time of year again.

Annual Fall Training Conferences (FTC’s) are just around the corner. Don’t know what that is? An FTC is an event held in the fall of every year by the Lieutenant Governor of a Division. There is one FTC for every division where the officers and members of all the clubs in that division go to wherever the Lieutenant Governor has planned the FTC. While there, officers and members will receive updates about all the different pro-

MICHAEL SILVEIRA, INTERNATIONAL TURSTEE, AND STEPHANIE MILLS, DISTRICT E DITOR

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I go to San Diego State University, in the California-Nevada-Hawaii District.

I am a Biology major and I plan to be an educator when I grow up (though I have a Peter Pan complex).

As some people know, I love nature. Specifically plants. I know it makes me a nerd but what can you do about that.

I love to listen, I'm a Pisces, and I enjoy long

“INTERNATIONAL SERVICE INITIATIVE: ‘TURN OFF TV, TURN ON LIFE’.”

STEPHANIE MILLS, DISTRICT E DITOR

grams on both the district level and the international level of CKI. There will be a variety of workshops designed to prepare clubs for the year. At the FTC’s you will receive information about new service projects, fundraising tips, member retention and recruiting techniques, Fall Retreat, District Convention, etc. The FTC’s are very important, and members and officers alike are strongly encouraged to attend. The tentative dates for the FTC’s are:

Oklahoma—September 30th South East Texas—October 7th Red River—October 14th South Texas—October 14th Hill Country—October 21st Contact your Lieutenant Governor for more information on your division’s FTC (Oklahoma members may contact Governor Jon Shaw at governor@txokcki.org, and South Texas members may contact Editor Stephanie Mills at editor@txokcki.org or IT Chair Jill Wicks at itchair@txokcki.org.)

T-O: HANDS ON SERVICE

Texas-Oklahoma District of Circle K International Contact Us: Jon Shaw: governor@txokcki.org Adriana Casas: secretary@txokcki.org Angela Ragan: treasurer@txokcki.org Stephanie Mills: editor@txokcki.org Greg Brown: HillCountryLTG@txokcki.org Zach Johnson: SouthEastTexasLTG@txokcki.org Jeremy Flowers: RedRiverLTG@txokcki.org Kaycie Tugman: districteventschair@txokcki.org Jill Wicks: itchair@txokcki.org Sean Raich: adminsean@txokcki.org Anna Ethridge: adminanna@txokcki.org Hunter Faubion: adminhunter@txokcki.org David Escandell: admindavid@txokcki.org Scott Kimball: adminscott@txokcki.org

OBJECTIVES OF CKI To serve campus and community.

To provide the opportunity for leadership training in service.

To encourage participation in group activities.

To promote good fellowship and high scholarship.

MISSION OF CKI To develop college and university students into responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to serving the children of the world.

VISION OF CKI

CIRCLE K INTERNATIONAL

To be the leading worldwide collegiate community-service organization meeting the needs of children.

MOTTO OF CKI Live to Serve, Love to Serve.

www.txokcki.org T-O TODAY, TOMORROW...WHAT? STEPHANIE MILLS, DISTRICT EDITOR Some of you may have noticed that the district publication has recently undergone a name change. What used to be known as the T-O Today has recently been sent out under the title T-O Tomorrow. Why is this? It’s because the district is slowly moving towards making more communication electronic. The T-O Tomorrow is the electronic version of the T-O Today. Does this mean that you are in any way receiving less information? Not at all.

Turning the publication in to an electronic version actually enables me to put more information in it

because I’m not restricted by printing costs.

You may notice this issue is eight pages long. Usually, T-O Todays are not able to be more than 6.

Also, it’s much easier to keep up with an e-mail address than it is an actual mailing address. Students will be able to continue receiving the publication even during the summer. Without printing and mailing costs, the TO Tomorrow is also able to be sent out more frequently, hopefully improving overall district communication. Two issues of the T-O Today (print) will still be sent out this year, one in Novem-

ber, and one will be handed out at Convention. Also at Convention, an amendment will be proposed to give the editor the ability to choose what medium the district publication can be sent out in. That way, even electronic versions will be under the title T-O Today. If you have any questions or opinions on this change, feel free to let me know at my e-mail address: editor@txokcki.org. And remember, you’re welcome to submit any articles or pictures for the publication to the same address!