Official Newsletter of the Capital District of CKI
VOLUME 51 ISSUE 3 September 2012
BACK TO SCHOOL EDITION!!
Fall Membership Rally is right around the corner!
ICON/ LSSP Recaps!!
The Capital Courier
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Continued Sections Message from the Governor……..3 Kiwanis Family Relations…….12 Message from the Kiwanis Governor…….12
In This Issue…..
International Updates…………………………..4-5 ICON LSSP Recap………………………………..6-7 Spotlight on ELIMINATE: Governor’s Project….10 Fall Membership Rally………………………….…11 Dues Update……………………………………….14 Upcoming Events and Calendar………….14-15
Member Spotlight…16 DCKI Contact Info………17
Capital ICON Attendees Masquerade!!
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Message from the Governor Greetings Capital! Can you believe the school year has already started?!? It’s hard to believe that in less than three weeks, fall semester will be here. The end of summer and the beginning of the school year can be a bittersweet time for us—while the stresses of schoolwork return, we are once again reunited with our friends. Between new classes, new professors, and new roommates, it is also a time of great excitement and uncertainty. Everything seems windswept and falls into place at the velocity of a leaf floating to the ground. During this hectic time of the year, remember your Circle K family. Your fellow club members shouldn’t be just fellow club members—they are your friends and partners in service. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that you forget your camaraderie with your friends and the service that unites you. Throughout my college career, I have found that oftentimes, attending a CKI club meeting or participating in a Saturday morning service project has relieved me of situational stress; afterwards, I am generally able to address whatever the issue is with more clarity and soundness of mind. This is one of the unsung ways in which CKI membership can be mutually beneficial for club, member, and community.
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As another school year commences, seize the day in balance. Take advantage of the opportunities your club will provide you to serve, make friends, earn scholarships, and develop your leadership abilities, but do not overwhelm yourself with so many responsibilities that you lose efficiency in your priorities. Welcome new members into the Circle K family and help them become friends with other members. Suggest service projects and social events to help make your club what you want it to be. Openly share your CKI passion with others—it is infectious. Most importantly, remember to keep calm and ELIMINATE. Enjoy reading!
I n Service, Leadership, and Fellowship,
Email: goveror@cdcki.org Click the picture for a link to Mikail’s personal video message!
Mikail Clark Capital District CKI Governor
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International Updates! Greetings from INTL Trustee Rob Acerra
Greetings Capital Crabs! I am so excited, humbled, and honored to introduce myself to you (once again, but now) as your 2012 – 2013 International Trustee to Subregion F. For those of you that I have not had the honor of meeting yet, I would like to give you a little background on me. I will be a Senior (Part Two) at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ in the fall. I am a Social Work Major with a minor in Information Technology. I will also be beginning my ninth year in the Kiwanis Family in the fall. My previous involvement in the Kiwanis Family includes serving as the District Governor, District Treasurer, and Convention Chairman for the New Jersey District of CKI, I was also the charter club president and club representative on the District Board for Monmouth University. This past February, I had the opportunity to visit you Capital Crabs at your district convention in Arlington,Virginia. I had such an amazing time getting to know so many of you and see the great service that each of you complete on a daily basis in and around your college campuses. I would be so happy to get to know each and every one of you through online communications, forums, chats, and district events. My role as your Trustee will allow me to be your source of information regarding our individual Sub-Region and CKI as a whole.
Throughout this next year-. To stay informed- join the CKI SUBREGION F Facebook group! This group is updated quite frequently and will keep you up to date with coming happenings . I encourage each of you to stay in touch with me this year via my e-mail (acerra.cki@gmail.com) or facebook (facebook.com/robacerra)...Iam always available to answer questions, get invited to events, read an e-mail, or just talk. Please feel free to add my to your club mailing list or invite me to your club's facebook page. I am also not a stranger to showing up to many events around the subregion. To conclude, I thank you all for your dedicated service to CKI and thank you for taking the time to read my article and the entire Capital Courier. I hope to hear/meet you all soon. Thanks again for all you do!
Yours in serving the children of the world-
Rob Acerra
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Hello from INTL President Jo Lukito!! HEADER HERE . HEADER HERE . HEADER Hello! My name is Josephine Lukito and I am honored to be serving you this year as your Circle K International President. I have been a proud member of CKI for four years, serving as a Lieutenant Governor and, later, as the Immediate Past District Governor to New York. In Circle K International, the 20122013 year brings a lot of new exciting opportunities and ideas. As an International Board, we hope to continue the success of the 20112012 and find new opportunities to serve you. Our revived Ad-Hoc SPICE Committee will find “hot” ways to “spice” up your meetings, while our CKI TV youtube channel will provide your club with new videos to promote CKI. We hope to also strengthen the leadership development of every level in CKI by creating an all new Resource Library,,
a collection of district resources available on the Circle K International Website. To me, CKI is more than an organization, it’s a family. I hope that, this year, you will all join me in making sure that Circle K International remains the biggest, best collegiate community service organization in the world! Yours in Service, Leadership, Fellowship & CKI Love, Josephine Lukito 2012-2013 International President president@circlek.org
CKI September "FREE RICE" Subregion Competition!!!! The International Board has noticed that many subregions are extremely competitive...because of this monthly Subregion Competitions will be held with a specific theme in mind each month. Obviously...Subregion F will take home the gold month after month!! Since September is National Rice Month- Freerice.com will be used for the September Competition. The competition begins on Saturday, September 1st and runs through Sunday, September 30th! Please be sure to promote to your membership at your first club meetings and ensure that the most rice is donated through our CKISubregionF account.
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All Around Capital Do’s and Don’ts for the New School Year! By: Bob E.C. Bison (official mascot of Howard University
As the new school year begins, I thought I’d share some special tips on how to excel this school year! DO: Be nice to freshman! Remember that time you got lost on campus?! Well extend that olive branch you wish you had! If you see a new comer looking lost, offer to show them around campus and invite them to your next CKI meeting. DON’T: Procrastinate. Instead of waiting until Tuesday night to plan Wednesday’s CKI meeting and write that seven-page essay, plan out your week on Sunday afternoons. By planning early, your week will be easy, breezy … and beautiful! DO: Branch Out. Continue to make your club the best Circle K club in the district, but don’t forget everything else your campus has to offer! From international clubs to Greek organizations be sure to branch out and truly experience your university. You never know, you may meet some potential CKI members! DON’T: Forget that School Comes First! Always remember you are a student and your studies come first! Be sure to study before your CKI meetings and seek a tutor if you need extra help. Propose to your club that on a short meeting date you all can have a mini-study session and help each other with homework! I hope these tips will benefit you when the new school year starts! Continue to spread the CKI word and come visit me, Bob E.C. Bison, at Howard University some time!
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Summer VTCKI Service! A few members of the Virginia Tech Circle K stuck around Blacksburg for the summer and have been working on continuing to make a difference in the community. The local Lyric movie Theater in Downtown Blacksburg is a nonprofit theater that serves the community with very cheap movie showings (sometimes even free) and all of their nightly box office and concession stand workers are volunteers. VTCKI has had a partnership with the Lyric for many years now to have members sign up to help with them volunteering shifts. This summer, Lacy Grindstaff, Kevin Ryland, and Rob Kuczmarski have been taking multiple shifts a week to help fill the void in volunteers left when a lot of other students who volunteer regularly went home for the summer. This has been a great opportunity to not only participate in service during the summer, but to meet lots of people in the Blacksburg community, both from people coming to see movies at the theater and from meeting the other volunteers. There is a lot of potential to spread awareness about Circle K as well, and opportunities to try and recruit members in some of the other student volunteers as well. Additionally, the three of us (Kevin, Lacy, Rob) have started a new partnership for VTCKI this summer with Downtown Blacksburg, another nonprofit organization in the community that works to put on lots of great events and festivals for Blacksburg residents in the downtown area. VTCKI also reserved a spot on campus to set up
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YOLO in NOLA: 8
A Look at ICON and LSSP, Crab Style!!! ICON was a blast. We elected a new International Board, passed amendments, and attended great workshops! Check out the quotes on the page to see what you missed! Also check out circlek.org to see all the official business. I loved ICON! - Chelsea Stallworth
Loved the Capital District Ghost Tour on Bourbon Street!!- Nicole Tardif and Amsley Pietranton
A smiling Steven Spriggs saying "remember, not only do you YOLO; you also YODO" (YODO = You only die once) - Kim Bond
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ICON
LSSP
Hi Capital!
LSSP and ICON were wonderful experiences. I'm so glad that I got to meet so many people who care about CKI!! Tameka Glover
LSSP in the NOLA was a great experience! My team the “Rowdie Penguins” was assigned to projects sites at Ronald McDonald House and Habitat for Humanity. At the Ronald McDonald House, the Rowdie Penguins worked alongside 2012-13 CKI Board Counselor and Kiwanis International Trustee Jane Erickson. Our team cleaned and organized the facility as well as decorated for the Fourth of July! As an added bonus we had the opportunity to cook dinner for the residents. At Habitat for Humanity the Rowdie Penguins worked alongside other LSSP teams in the New Orleans heat at a build site. Many team members spent the day painting the exterior of the house. It was great to see the transformation of the property. LSSP focuses on the important tenet of service that is the core of our organization. See you at next year’s LSSP in Vancouver! -Natalie Szemetylo GWU, Member and District Committee Member
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Kiwanis Family Relations
Message from the Kiwanis Governor-Elect Carolyn Richar What a summer! I hope you all have had as much fun as I have so far this summer! The heat has been a great excuse for Starbuck’s iced coffee and lots and lots of ice cream! It was great fun to share New Orleans with the CKI ICON and to see so many great Capital District CKI’ers take home awards and honors (not to mention a few Bourbon Street souveniers!) By the time you read this, many of you will be back on campus/in class with fall just around the corner. I hope that each CKI club will have a full schedule of service and fun planned. We know that the economic pressures so many are facing are leading to more and more children living in poverty. It is now estimated that at least 20% of children go to bed at night without having had enough food that day – here in the USA. As we work together to make the world a better place – one child and one community at a time – please remember the children who need your help for food, for tutoring, for play, for medical care, for a brighter tomorrow. Thank you each for your dedication to the EliMiNaTe project! I look forward to the “parade of checks” that will be held at the CKI district convention next year. It is great to work with you each to eliminate this terrible disease that kills so many babies every year. Please keep your sponsoring Kiwanis club in the loop about your year of service – what projects we can join you at, what issues you are having where we might be a resource – and how we can get together sometimes just to have fun!
Let’s change our world together! Carolyn Richar, CKI Has been and Kiwanis Governor Elect
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Staying Connected to the Kiwanis Family By: Samah McGona Our goal as a committee is to expand the interactions between all members of the Capital District Kiwanis Family. With that in mind, here are some tips on ways your CKI club can strengthen relations with other branches of Kiwanis Family in your locality: Create a Kiwanis Family Calendar Plan accordingly and ask your local Kiwanis, Key Club, Builders, K-Kids, and/or Aktion Club to add their upcoming social and service events to one large Kiwanis Family calendar. (You can do this every semester!) The next step is to attend the meetings, service projects and social events on the calendar. Send out reminders in advance and take the opportunity to truly get to know the members of the other Kiwanis Family branches. Coordinate a Networking Night and/0r Key to College Event Key to College: Fall is when most high school students begin applying to schools and truly thinking about college. Key to College is a great fall event that allows your CKI club to interact with high school students and provide them with first hand information about college life.Your local Kiwanis Club would be a helpful resource when your club is planning this event and attendees could be recruited from your local Key Club. More information can be found at http://www.circlek.org/Leadership/ KeyToCollege.aspx Networking Night: Networking night is an event that allows your club members to interact with your sponsoring/local Kiwanis club members. Recruit Kiwanians to share career tips and various other real life skills with your club members. Who knows this event could lead to internships or even jobs! Most importantly, Networking Night will help your club members build their networking skills and bond with Kiwanians.
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DUES UPDATES!! The international club fee will be $600 for four-year institutions with student enrollments of 5,000 and more. The international club fee will be $450 for two-year institutions and four-year institutions with fewer than 5,000 students enrolled at the institution. Current district dues are: Capital District- $7 Eastern Canada District- $20 (Canadian Dollar) New England- $6 New Jersey- $8 New York- $8 The minimum club membership is 15 members for four-year institutions with student enrollments of 5,000 and more. The minimum club membership is 10 members for two-year institutions and four-year institutions with fewer than 5,000 students enrolled at the institution. Dues are paid by logging into the Membership Update Center online at circlek.org. Your club should be send login information through your faculty advisor during September. Contact Governor Mikail if this is not the case.
District Events!
Our district is the loving home to the Capital Crabs! To get to know each other a little better (since we are all over DC, MD, VA and DE) we have special events you can attend! In October, get ready to retreat to the beautiful Front Royal, VA with trees as far as the eye can see! You and your friends who aren’t in CKI yet can come! So make sure you bring your roommate or BFF and learn leadership skills/attend informational workshops! We also have a District Large Scale Service Project (LSSP)/Total K Day which is open to members and non-members. This is a joint service project in November when all levels of Kiwanis participate. Location varies depending on the service project, in years past it has been held in Baltimore, MD and Fairfax, VA! If you haven’t paid your club dues yet, do it ASAP! District Convention (DCON) is one event you don’t want to miss that is exclusively for CKI members! There are a variety of Circle K International, Leadership workshops as well as fun workshops like Yoga. It is held a February weekend and it’s the perfect time to show your capital spirit & obtain your well deserved club awards after a semester of hard work. In March, Spring Officer Training Conference is open to anyone that wants a leadership filled weekend with the upcoming club officers! This is the perfect event to plan your club’s future and get to know imminent board members! International has its own events that we shouldn’t miss. International Convention (ICON)/Large Scale Service Project (LSSP) are International’s version of DCON! Members can attend in June to meet other CKI-er’s from all over the world. The location of both ICON/LSSP varies each year; in 2013 both events will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Leadership Academy is another international event that is open to everyone and held in July/August. Meet and make friends with people from all over the world in Morgantown, Indiana! Want more CKI resources for your club? Email the Membership and Development Education Chair: mde@cdcki.org!
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Upcoming Events!
UMW Kickball Tournament When: Sunday, September 30th at UMW, Ball Circle Time: 12:30 PM UMW's CKI is having an Eliminate Kickball Tournament on September 30th at 1pm. A team of 6-9 people only costs $20. There will be free food and prizes to give away! It will be taking place on Ball Circle and Jefferson Square. All proceeds are going to the Eliminate Project. If you are interested or have any questions message me or email us a mwcirclek@gmail.com. Thanks for your support!
District Large Scale Service Project (DLSSP)/ Total K Day When: November 3rd Where: James Madison University -Harrisonburg, VA (Go-Go Presidential!) Theme: The Amazing Race: ELIMINATE Edition Description for DLSSP: Every year the district tries to hold a large scale service project. This year we will be having an Amazing Race competition. At each station, we will be completing ELIMINATE-themed service projects, like baby blankets or boo-boo bunnies. Description for Total K Day: Service and Fellowship with Key Club and Kiwanis!
Fall Metro-RVA Divisional When: Saturday, November 10th @ TBA-pm Where: Richmond, VA Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/363350553735781/. Presidential Divisional Event When: November 10th , 11AM –4PM Where: Shenandoah National Park Find more info by emailing Tameka Glover at presidential-ltg@cdcki.org
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Spotlight on ELIMINATE District Goal: For the Capital District of CKI to raise $12,600 for the Kiwanis ELIMINATE Project, saving the lives of 7,000 mothers as well as their future babies, through district events and club donations by March 31, 2013.
$12,600 Current District Total:
$5465.01
Governor’s Project: Flowers for ELIMINATE! Flowers for Eliminate is a great way to fundraise and to raise awareness for the Eliminate Project on your campus and in your community. The felt flowers can be sold for a small nominal fee or given away for a small suggested donation of your choice. They can be used as corsages, hair accessories, for home decor, and much more. The tissue paper flowers can be placed on recruitment tables and in dining halls to raise awareness for the project. An awareness card should be tied around all flowers, and you can always add information to the awareness card about your club.
Email Governor Mikail Clark, governon@cdcki.org or Editor Catie Dugan, ediTissue paper flower - instructions tor@cdcki.org for more flower Cut about 20 circles out of the blue and cyan making instructions!
tissue paper (note: circles should all be the same size) Use hole punch or scissors to create two holes (about ¼” apart) in the center of the tissue paper circles Pull pipecleaner through the holes and wrap the remainder around the “stem” Gently pull up each circle to form a tissue paper flower
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Call to FMR: Flying Into Service!!!
The Deets!!! When: Oct. 5-6, 2012 Where: 4-H Camp In Front Royal,VA Cost: $35 Includes: 3 meals, workshop materials, lodging, tshirt and donation to Eliminate Registration: https://fs6.formsite.com/CapitalCKI/form4/secure_index.html , register by September 25 to reserve your spot!! Description: Prepare to "Fly Into Service" with the Superhero themed event. Proceeds of the event will be going to ELIMINATE Maternal and Neonatal Tetnus! The event will be catered by our lovely Capital District Kiwanians.
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Member Spotlight: Lacy Grindstaff,VTCKI Nominated by: Rob Kuczamarski Lacy is the Membership (& Executive) VP of VTCKI. In July, fresh off coming back from ICON, she had lots of new ideas for membership recruitment and other things beyond her position. During the summer, she is working an 8-5 job Monday through Friday, taking and teaching dance classes in Roanoke three nights a week, and taking two online classes including Anatomy. With all this going on, she has still found time to volunteer some of her time at the Lyric movie theater. At least two or more nights a week, she can be found in the box office selling tickets or in the concession stand helping people with Member S their order. She has a friendly personality that immediatepo ly breaks the ice with any co-volunteer on a shift with her, THIS COU tlight LD BE YO and she has pitched Circle K many times to students and U! Clubs sho uld submit !! community members alike (VTCKI has two prospective members they want members for next year coming from meeting in the conto feature by emailing a blurb cession stand alone, and the new partnership in service and pictur we have with Downtown Blacksburg was formed by talke of the member t o editor@ ing to another volunteer in the concession stand who cdcki.org once a mo works with them). Despite being constantly busy this past nth! Ther e were no month, Lacy has still been thinking continuously of how entries su bmitted t to make VTCKI bigger and better in the fall and has conhis month, s o tributed some great service to the club and the commuenter by O ctober 8 t h for the n nity.
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Contact the 2012-2013 District Board
Governor Mikail Clark governor@cdcki.org Secretary-Treasurer Ben Durham Sec-treas@cdcki.org Editor Catie Dugan editor@cdcki.org Battlefield LTG Stephanie Areizaga Battlefield-ltg@cdcki.org Del-Mar LTG (VACANT) Delmar-ltg@cdcki.org Foothills LTG Chelsea Stallworth Foothills-ltg@cdcki.org
NoVa LTG Amsley Pietranton nova-ltg@cdcki.org Potomac LTG Janelle Hope Potomac-ltg@cdcki.org Presidential LTG Tameka Glover Presidential-ltg@cdcki.org Tidewater LTG Kimberly Bond Tidewater-ltg@cdcki.org District Administrator Jennifer Wolff administrator@cdcki.org Assistant District Administrator Derek Dupuis Asst-administrator@cdcki.org
Metro-Richmond LTG Heidi Imperio Metrorichmond-ltg@cdcki.org
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