The R oar Divis
ion 4
1 S ou
th • V o
lume
III • Is s
April / 2014
ue 4
Editor’s Note
Hello,
!
Officially, my (short) term is over. But, I will reapply when the time is opportune. Until then, I am your unofficial Division Newsletter Editor; my duties will not leave until someone else comes to fill that role.
!
In other news, DCON recently happened and although I wasn’t there to witness it, I have an account from a person who did and many pictures from the event (thanks to Chris Sung). Thus, this could be considered to be a photo issue as that is what will compromise the majority of this newsletter. There are also some articles for your reading pleasure as well.
! Until next time, !
Aidan Jones
Table of Contents 1
DCON Marina Weinberger
13
Tesoro
15
Mission Viejo
21
Cover Photo: Clarissa Smathers smiling while she colors a little girl's hair red.Â
! !
DCON Special titles and pages numbers are set in various sizes of DIN Condensed. Other page numbers are set in 34 pt.
Myriad Pro Bold Condensed.
DCON Special subtitles and body text are set in various sizes of Didot.
!
Body Text is set in 14 pt. Garamond Premier Pro. Subtitles are set in
24 pt. Myriad Pro Condensed.
Photo Captions are set in 12 pt. Myriad Pro Semibold Italic. Authors are set in 14 pt. Myriad Pro Italic and Semibold Italic. All other text, except for this text, is set in various sizes of Myriad Pro.
!
Designed in Pages 4.3
DCON A PHOTOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
Photos by CHRIS SUNG
Marina Weinberger The Cali-Nev-Ha District Convention this year was an amazing experience, spanning three days at the Sacramento Convention Center. This was my first DCON so I didn’t know what to expect at all. On Friday, divisions 41 North and South met at El Toro High School at 5 am. Even though everyone was half asleep at first, we all bonded really well on the 8 hour ride and I met a whole lot of Key Clubbers from our division that I am now friends with! After we arrived and ate dinner, we attended the first three workshops which were very informative. I met several CNH Key Clubbers from other areas of California as well as Nevada and Hawaii. It was interesting to see how their Kiwanis experience was both different from and similar to mine. Next was the first General Session, where the motivational speaker Keith Hawkins gave great life advice with his slogan “Go Human.” We also had spirit battles at the General Sessions; it was fantastic to see so many exuberant Key Clubbers shouting their divisional chants with such enthusiasm. On Saturday after breakfast (with many “How Do You Feel?” chants) came the Caucus session for delegates in the morning; we listened to speeches by all the candidates running for District board positions in the 2014-15 term. In the House of Delegates, we then voted on these candidates (DCON attendees who were not delegates attended more workshops during this time). During the second General Session, members of the Kiwanis Family spoke and then awards were presented to distinguished leaders and the election results were revealed during the third General Session. Afterwards was the Governor’s Ball dance which was a blast. Sunday morning brought many tears as the final General Session retired the old boards of Key Club leadership, but excitement came also as the new teams for next year were installed. Going home was sad after all this fun, but I am glad I had this wonderful opportunity to see Key Club operate at a much larger level than in my home club or division.
13
It was so satisfying to see that all the work we do in local volunteering really pays off when CNH reaches its ambitious goals of donating to Project Eliminate or PTP, for example. I learned new chants, became more spirited, was able to put myself out there to meet new people, learned how to accomplish my treasurer duties to better serve my club, and overall had a fantastic time. I would definitely recommend going to DCON for any Key Clubber, and hope to see many more people come next year. And to any DCON 2014 attendee, just remember that you’re better than good!
14
Tesoro Up in the Air On March 22nd, Tesoro's Key Club volunteered at the city of Mission Viejo's fourth annual Up in the Air festival. Situated at the Norman P. Murray center, Up in the Air is the city's way of celebrating spring. Up in the Air is presently a variety of vendor, sponsor, game, and craft booths accompanied by several awesome demonstrations. This year, we saw toucans and parrots from the Rainforest Café, radical stunt BMX bikers, adorable dogs the leapt and caught Frisbees to upbeat music, and a remote control airplane show. There were nearly twenty exciting games and fun crafts, with long lines for each after only a short time. Tesoro's Key Club volunteers were assigned various positions at these games and crafts. Crowd favorites among the crafts were the birdhouses—which were decorated using markers and stickers—and wind chimes—similarly decorated—as over 300 crafts quickly ran out. Among the games, children of all ages enjoyed shooting hoops, blowing massive bubbles, and tossing beanbags. By far, however, the most exciting game was the inflatable hamster ball relay. Headed by Tesoro students Brandon Boval, George Learn, and Isabela Garces, young boys and girls were tossed and rolled around the grassy field in a gigantic blow up ball. Since the event's creation four years ago, Tesoro's Key Club has been a prominent supplier of volunteers. This year, the event reportedly saw an unprecedented 4,000 visitors, over a thousand more than last year. Nevertheless, the Key Clubbers had an incredible time in the perfect spring weather, making this year's Up in the Air one for the record books.
!
- Vladi Iotov / Vice President
15
Clarissa Smathers coloring a little girl's hair red using chalk.Â
16
17
Alex Choy and another volunteer having fun helping kids at the pinwheel
18
Animal Crackers On March 29th, Tesoro Key Club volunteered at the Animal Crackers Pet Rescue. There were three shifts, each two hours long, and at promptly nine o'clock, three volunteers arrived at the shelter for the first shift. We were escorted to the back of the store—various pet related items were sold in the front of the store, ranging from bird food to dog toys, and the shelter was located in the back. As soon as we reached the door leading into the shelter area, we were greeted with loud barking and wagging tails. The shelter was set up like a normal living room, with a couch, television, shelves, and a few blankets. A kitchen was located toward the back, and a patch of grass was in the corner of the room. The lady, who we later found out was named Gina, explained the pet rescue was a "no-kill animal non-profit charity run pet rescue. " Gina also explained the reason the shelter was set up like a living room was to get the dogs and other animals used to living in a normal home, so the transition when they were adopted would be less stressful. Gina was a very kind lady, somewhat eccentric, and the animals swarmed her wherever she went, all struggling to get her attention. We were shown how to clean up after the animals, which dog liked which toy, where the treats were, and how to play with each and every animal. Then she introduced the dogs: Brownie, Sugar, and Kimber were just a few of the many dogs that jumped up around us. The staff there were very passionate about what they did: one man told us he had volunteered there every chance he could for the past four years. Volunteering there was an enjoyable experience and many of the members suggested we volunteer there again. Everyone loved getting to play with the animals and helping out the amazing staff, who were volunteers themselves, at the pet rescue.
!
- Haley Lawrence / Historian
19
Mission Viejo March Madness: Bowling Edition On March 29th, MVHS hosted an exciting bowling DCM at Saddleback Lanes. Of course, business was handled first as all the Key Clubbers went through the usual meeting, talking about each individual school club and the anticipated DCON. Then, the intense bowling matches began. Everyone went right on course and began picking their bowling shoes and teams. While some were still standing in the shoe-line, others were already picking their specific bowling ball ready to knock down every pin in sight. The multi-colored strobe lights and danceable pop music really brought out some people’s competitive side, as some tried their best to score the highest. Everyone had a blast, and one bowler even got a bit too intense and got their bowling ball stuck inside one of the bumpers. But bumper or no bumper, the DCM was pretty enjoyable and everyone had the chance to relax and socialize, closing everyone’s Saturday night with a bang.
- Kaelani Vergara / Historian
21
Beautiful, Blistering Bunny Days On Saturday, April 19th, Mission Viejo’s Key Club attended an event in Mission Viejo dubbed “Bunny Days” in which families got to experience a variety of Easter themed events and activities... some of which included taking a photo with the “Easter Bunny” and taking a pony ride around in infinite circles. Key Clubbers, however, were assigned to work in various game booths. In general, one volunteer was assigned with interacting with the kids and their parents, collecting tickets and distributing prizes, for example. The other was assigned with retrieving what ever device the kids used to try to obtain their sought after prize (such as a ring in ring toss). I happen to be assigned to a mini-golf game in which I was given the latter position which turned out to be somewhat of a demanding job; picking up golf balls over and over again and setting them up for the next person for three hours straight in the hot, California sun was quite taxing to me and, I’m sure, to the others who were there as well. What made this event worthwhile were, of course, the kids. At my booth, there were many who weren’t the most coordinated with a plastic driver (and this wasn’t fair for the kids as they really needed small putters not drivers) and thus it was difficult for them to get the ball over the hill. Often the parents stepped in and helped the kids surmount the hill. When they got it in one of the holes, some kids (especially if they did it themselves), as well as their parents, were ecstatic. The kids also enjoyed the prizes as well, probably feeling a sense of honor for being awarded for what was most likely their first golfing experience. After it was all over, our club enjoyed left over pizza from the California Pizza Kitchen truck, cold drinks, and the joy of a job well done.
- Aidan Jones / Division Newsletter Editor
22