Capital Courier

Official Newsletter of the Capital District of Circle K International

The Capital Courier

Volume 50 Issue 4 December 2011

In this issue!

Governor Ryan White a fundraiser in conjunction with your sponsoring Kiwanis club and/or local key club Welcome to the end of the semester! is a great way to help save the lives of We’ve almost made it through the fall mothers and their children while improving semester and thanks to all of your hardKiwanis Family relations. work, the Capital District has someIf you’re a club officer, winter break is a great impressive numbers to show. Currently opportunity to begin planning for the spring we have 563 members and have alreadysemester. One way to plan more effectively is completed 9,957 service hours towardsto get together with your sponsoring Kiwanis our district goal of 25,000 hours for theClub and do a community needs assessment. year. As the end of the semesterBy evaluating where service is needed the approaches be sure to get those last fewmost in your local area you can both better service hours in so that we can achieveserve those around you and come up with our goal! To help provide members with new project ideas. more service opportunities, in November, we had our first District LargeTo all the members, don’t forget about CKI Scale Service Project (DLSSP) in during finals and over break! Capital District Baltimore, MD where members had aCKI has several exciting things planned for great time serving at the Port Discoverynext semester that you won’t want to miss.

Children’s Museum and RonaldMark your calendars now for District McDonald House. Keep a look out for Convention, February 17 -19, where you will more details on our second DLSSPhave the opportunity to hang out with other members while attending informative coming up this spring.

This year the district has also placed aworkshops, an awards banquet to recognize strong emphasis on the Eliminateyour outstanding achievements and a project. The Kiwanis family has pledgedSaturday night dance. Great job this to raise $110,000,000by 2015 to eliminatesemester, good luck on finals and we can’t maternal and neonatal tetanus and thewait to have you back next semester!

Capital District of CKI has set a goal of raising $10,000 towards this. The board auction at Fall

Hey Capital,

Governor White.............1 District Administrator‘s Update ......................................2 Secretary­Treasurer Update ......................................3 Kiwanis Governor Jeffrey Wolff…………………….4 Key Club Governor Caroline Morris............................4 I­Rep Rob Acerra..........5 Division Pages………...6­11 Committee Pages.......12­15 Society of Distinguished Collegians………………15 Service Spotlight……..16­17 District Editor’s Message….18

Membership Rally raised $2,000 so we are already a fifth of the way there! Holding

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District Administrators Message: Take the Lead!

By District Administrator Jennifer Wolff Leadership is an important tenant of Circle K International, and there are many opportunities for it, big and small, if one is interested. Such opportunities are a huge membership benefit, considering the personal and professional development that one receives from serving in club, district, and leadership positions.

Club Level Starting at the club level, members can volunteer to chair a service project or serve on a committee. Many clubs have committees such as service, membership, socials, and Kiwanis Family relations.

Members can take it a step further by asking to be appointed to chair a committee.

There are different officer positions on the club level to suit various members. Do you like playing with layout programs and Photoshop?

Consider running for your club’s editor position. Are you good with finances and crunching numbers? Treasurer may be the one for you.

Secretary is a position that requires thoroughness and organization, since they must take minutes at meetings and fill out club monthly report forms. Interested in the position of President, but don’t feel ready for it quite yet? Then run for Vice President. This position is an excellent way to shadow the president, run meetings when they cannot attend, and help in other ways depending on the club. All club officers should be ready to make important decisions for the club at board meetings.

Club President is the true backbone of the organization. Clubs are not strong without an effective President leading them. To sum it up, Club Presidents run club and board meetings, oversee the club committees, and serve as the representative of the club to the school as well as the CKI District and International levels. There are many other aspects to the position, so please speak to your current Club President if you have any questions.

Club Officer elections are supposed to be held at least two weeks before District Convention. Once elected, you have a period of time to learn about your position before you take over on April 1st. Terms last for 1 year, ending on March 30th of the following year. The District holds a Spring Officer Training Conference in March to ensure that the new club officers receive proper training.

District Level The next level of leadership opportunities would be on the District level. Like with Clubs, The Capital District of CKI has many committees that members can chair or service on. Committee Chair applications typically go out after District Convention by the newly elected Governor. These committees include (but are not limited to) Club Building & Revitalization, Conventions & Conferences, Kiwanis Family Relations, Laws and Regulations, Membership Development & Education, Service, and Technology. Chairs may be expected to attend certain District Board meetings.

District Officer Positions are also available for all members of Capital District CKI. Lieutenant Governors represent clubs within their Division at District Board meetings. They are expected to keep in contact with their clubs and serve as a resource to them. Club visits are also required. This is an excellent position for members that are good communicators. Like Club Editor, District Editor is responsible for gathering articles and laying them out for the District Publication The Capital Courier. The District Editor also manages the email list serves.

The Secretary-Treasurer position educates the club treasurers on dues collection, and keeps track of the finances of the District. They also take minutes at board meetings, plus distribute and collect monthly report forms for the clubs.

The District Governor runs District Board Meetings, oversees the District Committees, and serves as a representative of Capital District CKI to all branches of the Kiwanis Family. As the leader of the District, they handle a lot of emails, projects, and troubleshooting. It is a position that requires a huge commitment of time, but can be very fulfilling.

Members interested in District Officer Positions are able to run at the District Convention. Like with Club Officer positions, there is a period for training before the term begins on April 1. The term is one-year and ends March 30th of the following year. District Officers attend the District Officer Training Conference in April to learn about their positions.

International Level The final level of Circle K International is, of course, the International level. Like with club and district, International officers opportunities on various committees as chairperson as well as members. These committees include (but are not limited to) Kiwanis Family Relations, Large Scale Service Project, Membership & Marketing, and Service. For more information about these committees, please visit www.circlek.org. Applications for these committees are typically available a month or so after International Convention.

If you would like to serve on the International Board, you can run for the office of Sub-Region Representative. This position requires you to represent the District within your region at International Board meetings. Representatives also serve as a resource to those Districts, and are required to serve on International Committees. Some form of endorsement from your Club, District, or corresponding boards in required to run.

The International Vice President takes minutes at board meetings, and oversees the committees. They also work very closely with the International President. The President runs meetings, works with the committees, and serves as the face of the organization.

Members can run for International Office at the Annual International Convention. This year the convention is June 27-30, 2012 in New Orleans. Unlike with the Club and District Levels, International positions start immediately once elected at the Convention, and ends at the following International Convention. The Circle K International staff provides training immediately following International Convention.

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Secretary­Treasurer’s Update

By Secretary­Treasurer Mikail Clark Hey Capital!

Treasurers

The Holidays are finally upon us! Are you ready for chestnuts roasting on an open fire, gifts from Santa, finals (ugh), and (wait for it…) awards?!?!? That’s right, awards season is here, and Christmastime is a great time to complete and submit awards applications.

Every year, district awards are given out at DCON to recognize outstanding member, officer, and club achievement. Not only are awards an excellent way to cultivate future club leadership, but they are also a great way to raise club morale and reward your members for a job well done. You can find all of the awards applications HERE! Thank you all for being wonderful members, and I wish you good luck on finals and a safe, exciting, and happy holiday season. God bless!!!

Right now, your main focuses should be processing the international club fee, member dues, and fundraising.

As you know, the deadline for the international club fee payment is November 30 (postmarked Dec. 1), so please contact me, your LTG, and your sponsoring Kiwanis club if your club has not yet paid or is struggling to pay the international club fee. Member dues can be submitted all year for club members, so please remember to constantly update the Membership Update Center (MUC) with new members and to pay the dues for those members either via credit card or check (credit card is easier, safer, faster, and preferable).

Secretaries At this juncture of the year, your main focus should be on service hours, member records, and awards.

Currently, our service hour total is just shy of 10,000 hours for the year, so please check with your club members to see if there are any unreported hours from past months (you can send that information directly to me) and submit any missing MRFs from past months.

Also, please encourage members to attend service projects on a regular basis. This will go a long way toward helping us meet our service hour goal.

Now is the time when accurate member records really come in handy, as the information that you’ve collected over the year will be used in award applications. Please remember to keep an accurate record of service hours per member so that the application process will be easier for your members. As a club secretary, it is your job to encourage members to apply for awards, so please try to encourage members to start filling out applications before the hectic finals and Christmas season arrives. Keep in mind that most awards are due on January 5th, 2012 and require signatures by your club President, Faculty Advisor, and yourself. This year, applications can be mailed, faxed, or scanned, so take advantage of this opportunity and apply for lots of awards. Thanks for being awesome secretaries and have a wonderful and blessed holiday season!

Organizing fundraising initiatives is also one of your primary responsibilities as a club treasurer. Now is a really good time to start talking to your Kiwanis club about financial assistance for events like DCON and SOTC. Further, it is a great time to raise money for ELIMINATE, our district service initiative. Our district goal is to raise $10,000 for ELIMINATE by March 31, 2012, but we've only raised about $3000 to date. This is where you come in: think of creative ideas throughout the rest of your term to raise money for ELIMINATE. Some ideas include writing letters to family members, friends, and acquaintances asking for support, contacting local businesses, and holding a holiday bake sale for ELIMINATE. Please be sure that all donations made to ELIMINATE are made on behalf of your CKI club so that your club can get the credit for your donation. Also, please keep your secretaries up-to-date with the monthly amount raised by your club for ELIMINATE and all other fundraising purposes. If your club has collected ELIMINATE donation money that it has not yet donated, please do so as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued diligence, and I hope you have a marvelous holiday season!

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Kiwanis and Key Club Governor Reports

By Kiwanis Governor Jeffrey Wolff Great things are happening in Capital District Kiwanis this year! Kiwanis clubs are enhancing their commitment to "Increasing Hands for Service" by making their club experiences more attractive to larger, more diverse memberships. They are planning more hands-on service projects than ever and are truly excited to participate in Kiwanis International's Global Campaign for Children, The Eliminate Project. Kiwanis clubs and members in the Capital District have already given generously to this campaign to stop maternal neonatal tetanus. As of October 25th, over $175,000 has already contributed and Kiwanis clubs are looking to work hand in hand with their sponsored Service Leadership Programs clubs to raise even more funds.

CKI is a fundamental branch of the Kiwanisfamily and our members look to your organization for your dedication to service. I encourage all of you to take the time to get to know the members of your sponsoring Kiwanis club and solidify the relationships that you have there. Kiwanis needs the perspective of CKI members to assist them in making their clubs more attractive to younger members. I know that your clubs have a great year ahead of them and I look forward to meeting many of you at your District Convention in February 2012.

By Key Club Governor Caroline Morris Hello Capital District CKI! My name is Caroline Morris and I am the Capital District Key Club Governor for the 2011-2012 term. I hope that all of you have had a wonderful year of serving so far and are looking forward to the remainder of the year and the opportunity to serve your community further.

This year the Capital District Key Clubs have been very busy. A portion of our yearly service is dedicated to our District and Governor’s project. The Capital District Key Club board decided that we would devote our time to promoting the Eliminate Project and make this our District project for the year. As a board we decided that we would set the fundraising goal for this project to be $3.60 per key club member in the Capital District. We will also be working on the Governor’s project, the Red Cross. I chose this organization because it helps people on the local, national, and international levels, as well as, you can fundraise, volunteer, or collect donations, so it is accessible to everyone.

After we determined our projects we started our school year off with our Fall Rally which was held at Kings Dominion, an amusement park in Virginia at the end of October. We had a great turn out to this event of over 400 people and we made cards for veterans at the Hunter Holmes-McGuire Virginia Medical Center in Richmond as our service project. We also had information sessions on multiple topics such as various officer trainings, Red Cross, Eliminate Project and many others.

After this event, we have been focused on our upcoming District Convention. With our theme this year being “Sea of Service” everyone is excited for a convention of aquatic experiences in March. The district board has been working on incorporating innovative ideas for this event, including a photo booth Eliminate fundraiser, a themed service fair, and many other new ideas.

Thank you and happy serving!

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International Representative’s Report

By International Representative Rob Acerra

When you think of something that has four heads, three eyes on each, can bounce on a pogo stick, and can eat 43 rolls of sushi in one sitting…what do you think of? Well, I don’t know either- but what I do know is that each and every member of Subregion F has been doing amazing feats of service, leadership, and fellowship through the Fall 2011 Semester. I hope each of you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with your family and/or friends and are gearing up for the end of the Fall 2011 Semester.

Recently on the International Level of CKI- your 2011 – 2012 International Board has been working very hard to help and support each district and each club in continuing their work in service, leadership, and fellowship. Our International Committee have been in the process of creating resources that will soon be posted on circlek.org for use by all members. If you are every in need of a particular resource- please feel free to contact me I will be happy to assist you.

The International Committees will also be putting on monthly webinars to aide you in your work.

The next scheduled webinar is for Thursday, December 22nd with the Service Committee’s Fa-lala-la-la Service Webinar. Come to learn more about CKI’s Service Partners, the ELIMINATE Project, and the Large Scale Service Project in this festive themed webinar. More information will be found on the CKI Facebook Page and will be sent out in the upcoming CKI Weekly’s. If you have not been receiving CKI in your Inbox recently- I urge you all to visit www.googlegroups.com/circlekinternational and sign up for weekly e-mail updates about the happenings of CKI!

As the Fall Semester comes to a close and we look forward to the Spring- let us take this holiday season to cherish all that we are able to do as CKI Members! I urge you all to plan now for online board meetings over winter break so you may start planning for the amazingnessthat your clubs will do this Spring. Please feel free to copy me on any correspondence from your club so I can know about the wonderful things you are doing and share with other members around CKI! Whether it’s the fellowship or the plain satisfaction you get when you help somebody whatever reason suits you best thank you for making the choice to be a part of the best collegiate service organization in the world. Your dedication continues to amaze me Capital and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve as your International Representative this year. I hope you have enjoyed reading about what is going on in CKI and our Sub-Region as a whole. Also, never hesitate to contact me should you need any assistance! Keep up the “F” abulous work!

Come to New Orleans this Summer!

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Battlefield Division

Lt. Governor Kevin Lee Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are a few significant service projects that the club’s in your division have held?

A: An ongoing service project that the University of Maryland does is volunteering at Springhill Lake Elementary School. We enjoy helping the staff there run activities for the kids. Usually these activities include basketball, soccer, and general play-time.

Hey Capital Courier readers! I am Kevin C. Lee. I am currently your Battlefield Lieutenant-Governor, as well as a student at the University of Maryland. I'm currently struggling through my Junior year as an Aerospace Engineering student. I grew up in the small town of Tenafly, New Jersey, which is right across the George Washington Bridge from New York City. My main extracurricular activities besides CKI and service are playing video games, playing piano, and surfing the internet. I also enjoy running and going to the gym when I'm not being too lazy.

Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

A: It has been extremely difficult getting club fees in this year. I have made efforts to increase club fee awareness, but the larger problem is that more communication has to happen between CKI and Kiwanis clubs. CKI at the University of Maryland has attended a Prince George's County Kiwanis Meeting recently, but more of this type of activity has to happen.

Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: Considering the time of year, obviously District Convention (DCON)! It'll be my third DCON and it's always been one of my favorite CKI events. I hope to see many of you guys out there!

Q:Is there anyone in particular within your division that has gone above and beyond the normal call to service since the last issue of the “Capitol Courier”?

A: Brett Evans and Alex Winter attended a Kiwanis meeting with me and have been great help in planning projects. I appreciate you guys!

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Foothills Division

Lt. Governor Osric Forrest Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are a few significant service projects that the club’s in your division have held?

A: -

Hello Capital, my name is Osric Forrest and I am currently serving as the lieutenant governor for the mighty foothills division. I am currently a senior Biology major at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. When I am not doing Circle K work, you can find me pouring over numerous Biology text books or slaving away in the lab. In my spare time I enjoy sleeping and reading anything nonscientific. I grew in the K-Family and it has been a honor and privilege to serve this year as the LTGfor the foothills division.

-

Hampden- Sydney College: Bring Up Gradesprogram at the Prince Edward County Middle School Longwood University: Longwood Center for visual arts event: Dia de los muertos celebrating the holiday day of lights with the kids of Farmville, VA. Lynchburg College: Dance-a-thon to raise awareness for the district project ELIM I NATE

Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

A: I feel like the division could improve upon the sense of brotherhood and camaraderie among clubs and also in its participation in district events.

Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: The district event that has excited me the most is Fall Membership Rally. I really enjoyed my first FMR and it was the first time that I got to meet some of my fellow board members and close friends.

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Metro Division

Lt. Governor Sabrina Nelson Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are a few significant service projects that the club’s in your division have held?

A: Howard University's CKI does the Dog Adoption Event every Sunday with PetSmart. The members play with the dogs, while helping to get them adopted.

George Washington University had a very good turn out at the Help the Homeless Walk. The members and Kiwanians walked around the DC area in support of helping the homeless.

I am Sabrina Nelson, 2011-2012 CKI Metro Division Lieutenant Governor. I am a Junior at Howard University, the school which houses my home club, and I am majoring in both Political Science as well as English. However, I also find the time to engage in leisurely activities such as dancing and volleyball. Additionally, one of my passions is advocacy for the homeless and my dream is to one day found a huge non-profit organization for the homelessin Cleveland, Ohio.

Over time, I have developed this passion to serve and am very grateful that I became apart of the K Family, because it allowed me to do much more than serve. I have met some friends that I plan to have for a lifetime, and touch so many lives in a marvelous way. I could not ask for a better District Board. I love them with all my heart. This CKI year has truly re-enforced why I have a desire to serve and will continue to serve for the rest of my life.

Saint Mary's College of Maryland help with the KKids(Elementary School) every Tuesday and the Builder's Club(Middle School) every Wednesday.

Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

A: I believe my division is definitely growing in membership.

Thanks to all of the hard work and effort made by clubs to recruit and plan consistent events to attract new members.

The only area that needs improvement would be our divisions involvement with raising money for ELIMINATE and having members attend District events.

Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: I'm most excited about DCON! DCON was my first CKI district event as a CKI member and this year I am apart of the District Board, so I get the opportunity to help plan the event and participate in it. I am so EXCITEDfor DCON! Q:Is there anyone in particular within your division that has gone above and beyond the normal call to service since the last issue of the “Capitol Courier”?

A: Yes, Mark Folkmann and his e-mail address is gwuckvice@gmail.com. He has worked diligently to come up with new ideas to improve GW's CKI, help plan events, contacts everyone numerous of times to ensure their presence at an event. Mark has truly been an amazing CKI member and an important asset to GW's CKI successful CKI

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Presidential Division

Lt. Governor Randa Meade Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are a few significant service projects that the club’s in your division have held?

A: VCU brought Halloween to the children at St. Andrew’s Elementary School who otherwise would not have had a Halloween or been able to trick-or-treat. The children donned their Halloween costumes and came to decorate pumpkins, play games and write letters to Santa. Letters to Santa may seem a bit early but it was to prepare for another event VCU will be holding for these children to make sure they have a wonderful Christmas celebration.

I am a senior dietetics major at James Madison University and I plan to attend grad school in the fall for public health nutrition.

Cooking is my absolute favorite hobby, I love preparing food and being able to enjoy a wonderful creation. I also have a blog where I write about nutrition and cooking related subjects (RandasRhapsody.wordpress.com). My two all time favorite foods are pumpkin and cheesecake or you can combine them to make a knockout pumpkin cheesecake.

Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

A: I am very proud of all the clubs in my division for everything they have accomplished so far. Four clubs have paid early bird dues and all the clubs have done a great job recruiting members.

Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: The event that I have been most excited about in the Presidential Division is Breakfast with Santa. Breakfast with Santa is an event that I have been trying to go to since I was a freshman so I was super excited to make it this year.

Families came to the UVA campus, had breakfast and then the children played games and made crafts. When Santa made his grand entrance the kids went crazy. The children were then able to come up to and sit on Santa's lap and a pick a present. Breakfast with Santa was a huge success,CKI at UVA served more than 60 families which equated to over 215 people. Breakfast with Santa was also a successful K-Family event having 37 Key Clubbers and 9 Kiwanians in attendance.

Q:Is there anyone in particular within your division that has gone above and beyond the normal call to service since the last issue of the “Capitol Courier”?

Click on the image above to be directed to the Presidential Division Facebook page.

A: John Rackey (JD) from Randolph Macon College has been doing an amazing job building a CKI at his school.

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Ridgeline Division Click on the image to the left to be directed to the Ridgeline Division Facebook Page Lt. Governor Stacy Whitehouse

Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are a few significant service projects that the club’s in your division have held?

I hope everyone's last few weeks of the semester are successful and that you get to squeezein some service in between papers, exams, and stress:) For those of you that haven't read a Capital Courier before, here's a brief bio below and an update on my division!

I am a senior at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) and major in Political Science. My academic interests include the Middle East, Congress,and American political campaigns. In addition to CKI I am an RA and member of UMW's Honor Council and Finance Committee.

In my free time I love singing and listening to music (especially country and classical), photography, bargain shopping, and reading about American history. My favorite foods are chocolate ice cream and macaroni and cheese,and I love snow and cats:)

A: - NOVA Woodbridge: Donating bears decorated by club members and other students to the Children’s National Medical Center in DC. The club is also holding a bake sale to raise money and get student to vote on the cutest bear!

- Shenandoah University CKI: On November 5th Shenandoah CKI partnered with the their sponsoring Kiwanis Club, Winchester Kiwanis, to hold their annual pancake breakfast for the community. They packaged over 1,200orders!

- UMW: Hosted their annual divisional and Kiwanis Family Thanksgiving Dinner. Food was cooked by the board and over 40 people attended.

The event raised over $200 to purchase packs of underwear for a local organization that helps the homeless.

- NOVA Alexandria: Did Trick or Treat for UNICEF and Candy Apple sale for the ELIMINATEProject Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

A: All clubs have reached active membership; new divisional programs such a club buddy program, divisional mascot (a falcon!), and divisional project (helping fight hunger by working with soup kitchens and food banks) Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: DCON- I hope to have a very large attendance from my division and hope they win awards!

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Susquehanna Division

Lt. Governor Shellee Wong Meet your Lt. Governor!

Division Update Q: What are some of the areas where you believe improvement is being made in your division and areas where more improvement is needed?

My name is Shellee Wong and I am currently a sophomore, Secondary Mathematics Education major at University of Delaware’s Honors Program. This marks my ninth year in the Kiwanis Family as I was in both Builder’s Club in middle school and Key Club in high school. Serving in the Kiwanis Family has brought me so many wonderful opportunities, and for that, I am thankful. Moreover, I feel blessed that my closest friends are those that I met through the Kiwanis Family.

Aside from my CKI life, I like to watch episodes of Law&Order SVU- mainly because I have this idea that I will eventually get married to Detective Elliot Stabler who’s no longer on the show (sad face), America’s Best Dance Crew, and anything on the Food Network channel. I have an extreme fear of heights, a ridiculous collection of stuffed animals that always raises the question of whether or not I’m actually my age, and a really obnoxious laugh that sounds like I’m hyperventilating.

With a strong passion for community service and a love for the Kiwanis Family, I have plans of joining the Kiwanis Club of Baldwin, NY after graduating from college. My favorite project is playing with the children in the Kids Zone at the local YMCA in Newark, DE. Click on the image below to be directed to the Susquehanna Division Facebook Page:

A: The super awesome Susquehanna Division has grown so much this year! With a possible two clubs to be chartered soon, plus the increase in membership our existing clubs, we have made a huge progress. On top of membership increase, there has been a service hours increase, PLUS our mighty division has increased attendance at district events. So hopefully, we will continue with this trend and have multiple attendees at District Convention in February. I am so proud of all the wonderful accomplishments of the Susquehanna Division year, keep it up!

Q: What district event has excited you the most?

A: Of all the district events we have had thus far in this service year, my favorite would have to be Fall Membership Rally. We had attendees from UD, Towson, Wesley College, and Salisbury, representing our mighty Susquehanna Division and making up for almost a sixth of the total number of attendees at the event this year. All those who attended learned a lot from the workshops and I am so happy to see that the officers have applied what they learned to their clubs to build their success level! Also, I loved hanging out with all my fellow Capital Crabs at the bonfire party and doing the scavenger hunt with my fellow Blue’s Clues team members!

Q:Is there anyone in particular within your division that has gone above and beyond the normal call to service since the last issue of the “Capital Courier”?

A: One person that I would like to recognize as having gone above and beyond their call of duty, who has most likely dedicated more hours to CKI than breathing, is Wesley College CKI President Megan Stoffa. Though their club is still in the chartering process, this girl has spent countless hours with each and every one of her officers to ensure that they are understanding what is being as of them as an officer of an international organization and to help them with anything at any given time. She has transformed her club into one that has doubled in membership from the time she stepped up to be president, has helped create weekly service projects for her club, and has improved her club’s Kiwanis Family Relations by working closely with her sponsoring Dover Kiwanis Club. Susquehanna could not be more proud to have such an excellent leader like Megan serving as president.

Kudos to you, Megan!

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Conventions and Conferences

By Committee Chair Amsley Pietranton  The Capital District CKI will host the 52nd Annual District Convention from February

17-19, 2012. This year’s theme is International. The convention will take place at the Hyatt Crystal City in Arlington, Va.

 The Registration Feeis $120 on or before February 2, 2012. After February 2, 2012 it will increase to $145.

 The Hotel has given us a great rate of $105 per room per night if you book by February 2, 2012. This room rate does not include the 5%State Occupancy Tax or the 5.25%County Occupancy Tax. So don’t forget to include those in your calculations when planning for DCON!

Excited to see you at Convention!

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Club Building and Reactivation

By Committee Chair Avanti Kollaram

New Club Building around the District!

The Capital District has had some major successes so far this year in chartering new clubs! From the north at University of Maryland, Baltimore College to the South in Randolph Macon College, we've been chartering all around and growing as a district!

First at UMBC, they are in the process of planning their first meeting! They will first be holding an interest meeting and then another meeting to elect their officers the following week. Afterwards, the new club leadership along with the Club Building & Revitalization committee will be coming up with a club structure to lead them to success this coming year!

Frederick Community College is also off to a great start! Our point of contact, Alex, is an extremely experienced, 3 year Key Club president! She has already recruited her base membership and will be turning in charter paperwork soon!

Anne Arundel Community College is also currently working on their charter and already has a Kiwanis club sponsor! They are simply working on finding the membership to lead the club before they are fully chartered.

We are also working on charters at NOVA Annandale and other colleges where Kiwanis Clubs have showed interest!

All in all, chartering is going great in the Capital District! If you are a strong club that is looking for a way to help the district grow, we are currently forming Task Forces at large campuses to help in chartering more members at these new charters! If you are interested in forming a task force, or looking for another way to contribute to the CB&R committee, please contact Avanti Kollaram, CB&RCommittee Chair at cbr@cdcki.org!

Keep up the good work Capital!

Randolph Macon College has already showed great district involvement with coming to Fall Membership Rally! Their officers are already trained and are currently collecting dues to meet their base 15 membership to turn in their charter!

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Laws, Regulations, and Awards

By Committee Chair Ben Durham Hey Capital District!

My name is Ben Durham and I am the 20112012 Laws, Regulations, and Awards Committee Chairman for the Capital District.

This year, the LRA committee has been hard at work revising the Club Awards program.

For the first time the application forms and signatures sheet for club awards can be submitted either electronically or as a hardcopy. Additionally, we have made the entire awards program process more user friendly, and we highly encourage all clubs to apply!

There are 25 awards that clubs can apply for.

We realize that this can be quite a daunting amount of awards to sort through, so we have created an "At a Glance guide” which gives you a brief overview of each award, and a general overview of the entire application process. You can find a link to this guide under the DCON event page on the District website, http://www.cdcki.org/index.php? p=13&subcat=9. The guide is linked as "this document." On the DCONevent page you can also find all of the awards applications forms, as well as the required signatures sheet.

The due date for most awards is January 5, 2012. The only exceptions to this are: the Society of Distinguished Collegians - due December 1st; the Club Scrapbook - due the first night of DCON;and People-Miles awards due the first night of DCON.

In addition to Club Awards Program, our committee is here to help you with issues related to club bylaws and district policies. If you have any questions regarding updating your club bylaws, district policy, or the awards program please e-mail me at LRA@cdcki.org.

IMPORTANT - Club officers- You need to email me your current club bylaws for the District's records.

Apply for Awards!

We highly encourage you to begin looking through the awards during the upcoming semester break and begin applying.

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Long Range Planning and Society of Distinguished Collegians

By Committee Chair Billie Castle

By District Administrator Jennifer Wolff

Long Range Planning

Society of Distinguished Collegians Deadline: January 5 th, , 2012!

Happy Holidays Capital, As the Fall Semester is coming to a close, let's make sure we plan for the Spring Semester and the future of your club. When we get back in the new year, it will be time for electing new officers. Before your club breaks for the holiday season, let them know of the available positions and put elections on their mind. The Long Range Planning Committee is not just thinking of the future of the Capital District, but for the clubs. Without the success of the clubs the District can suffer. If you want to plan for the Spring semester or the years after, you can email me at lrp@cdcki.org. Be on the look out for an email from the Long Range Planning Committee about Actions Steps for the end of the 2011 year and beginning of the 2012 year.

Have a fun and safe Holiday Season, Billie Castle 2011-2012Long RangePlanning Committee Chairwoman

For those of you that meant to apply for the Society of Distinguished Collegians but ran out of time to do so, good news! The deadline on the form posted on the website was wrong. The deadline for District Administrator Jennifer Wolff to receive your completed applications is actually January 5, 2012. The application is now updated to the correct deadline. For those of you that managed to get your applications in already, many thanks! You should have received a message from Administrator Wolff verifying that she received your application. For the rest of you, there is still time!

Go to www.cdcki.org, and click on "Events> DCON" to download the application.

Since the first CKI club was established in 1947, members of the organization have risen to the challenge of becoming involved in both their campuses and communities by serving others. In the process, members have experienced tremendous personal growth and satisfaction. 1988-89 introduced the first Circle K International "honor society," the Society of Distinguished Collegians. The Society of Distinguished Collegians was established to recognize those members of Circle K International who strive for excellence in academics, service to campus and community, and commitment to the local club.

A district is entitled to induct up to 2 percent of its total membership into the society on an annual basis.

Induction into the society is permanent, and those not selected for membership may reapply. Each inductee receives a special membership pin and certificate of recognition. New members are inducted and receive these awards at the annual district convention.

Additionally, members of the Society are recognized each year at the Circle K International convention and listed in an issue of CIRCLEK magazine.

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Service Spotlight

NVCC Woodbridge

Virginia Commonwealth University

On November 17, 2011, the Woodbridge Kiwanis Club sponsored a Thanksgiving dinner for the senior citizens at the Woodbridge Senior Citizens Center. About 125 senior citizens attended and they had a great time, as they not only had a wonderful turkey meal, but they sang and danced most of the time. We received a lot of "thank you"'s from the seniors. Members of our CKI club at NVCCWoodbridge Campus, helped the serve the meal, cleanup afterwards and set up the day before. The Woodbridge Kiwanis Club has been providing the meal for five years, and, each year, the CKI Club has helped serve the meal; our club is so happy to be part of this great act of charity with their Kiwanis.

Our club is also excited to be hosting a Senior Prom for these same senior citizens in the spring time, following the footsteps of our Kiwanis.

The STUFH Yourself Thanksgiving dinner was a huge hit! We were able to collect 100 canned foods for our fight against hunger! Not only did we have guests from other universities, our Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Rodriguez, came to STUFH his face as well. The members of CKI put together a delicious feast of entrees and appetizers. Dennis Bussey, our Kiwanis advisor, made a wonderful bacon covered turkey! After we got our bellies full, Dr. Rodriguez spoke to us about the great things VCU has in store for the future through Quest for Distinction. Avanti, our CKI president, passed out awards to our extraordinary CKIers and inducted the new members of CKI @ VCU. Among the new members that were inducted were two honorary members, Dr. Rodriguez and Dennis Bussey. Dani concluded the dinner with a toast to our new CKI members, and by reciting our favorite quote, “CKI till I die!”

At (high) LIGHT the NIGHT, the highlighter themed after-party, we not only had a blast, but were able to raise $75 to donate to create light in houses in the Philippines. Electricity is extremely expensive, so most people have none. This organization, Litre of Light, creates light in the homes of the less fortunate by using a two-liter bottle, water, and bleach.

This combination of items costs only five dollars. CKI @ VCU was able to bring light to fifteen houses in the Philippines by throwing this (high) LIGHT the NIGHT highlighter party. Everyone had a blast signing t-shirts and dancing to DJRyan’s hit beats!

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Service Spotlight

University of Mary Washington

NVCC Alexandria

This fall, a simple question inspired an amazing project for UMW CKI. At our October business meeting, we invited a representative from our local homeless shelter, Micah Ecumenical Ministries, to speak to our members about homelessness in our community and how we can help. During the Q&A segment of the night, one member asked what Micah's biggest year-round need was, and we were surprised by the volunteer's emphatic answer: "UNDERWEAR! We cannot get enough new underwear or socks!"

And so UMWCKI decided to hold our first Mighty Tighty Whities Underwear Drive. For two weeks we encouraged members to donate new packages of underwear and socks. The drive culminated in our annual Thanksgiving Dinner, where we accepted underwear as an alternative to the standard $5 admission. We collected about 20 packages that night, and, through admission prices for the dinner and a great dessert auction, we fundraised another $180. After one of the more peculiar shopping sprees that UMW CKI has embarked on, we ended up donating approximately $225 worth of new men's, women's, and children's underwear, socks, and undershirts.

We want to thank everybody who helped with this event, especially the CKI-ers, Key Clubbers, and Kiwanians who showed up to our Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a great night of service, fellowship, and of course food! In addition to fundraising for the underwear drive, we encouraged attendees to write "Letters to Santa" - for each letter written, Macy's donated $1 to the Make-a-Wish foundation, and we ended up with a giant pile!

Happy Holidays, CKI!

During the Capital District Fall Membership Rally I helped District Administrator, Jen Wolff, with the knitting workshop. The idea of the workshop was that 15 Capital District CKI members would learn the basics of how to knit. Then they would go back to their home clubs and teach the other members what they learned. Well, the session reached capacity before the president of my home club, NVCCAlexandria, Sandra Vargas, could join it. So I told Sandra that I would teach the interested members of the home club the basics of knitting. We had our first club knitting session a couple of weeks ago that was attended by 5 members. When we visited our sponsoring Kiwanis club and told them about the project, our Kiwanis Advisor, Greg Engleking, informed us that his wife had a lot of unused yarn she might be willing to donate to our club for this project!

Greg’s wife generously ended up donating over 30 skeins, also known as balls, of yarn to the club! At the club’s final general membership meeting of the semester on December 5th there will be another knitting session. What I find so cool about this project is that I was inspired to ask my grandmother to teach me how to knit after watching her knit hats and scarfs for the homeless for several years and now I am knitting for charity and teaching others to knit too.

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District Editors Message Hello Capital District!

My name is Zachary Baum and I am the new District Editor. I am a freshman at the University of Delaware double majoring in Political Science and Public Policy.

I hail from New York State where I previously served as a Lt. Governor for Key Club and before that served for two years as a club officer. I am excited to have the opportunity to serve the Capital District. I will work hard in the coming days, weeks and months ahead to be the best District Editor that I can be. I truly hope that you find the Capital Courier to be an informative publication. It’s often said that “Knowledge is power”, It is my hope that the Capital Courier will empower you to continually “Live to serve, Love to serve”.

In Service, Zack Baum District Board Contact Info CDCKI Editor Governor Ryan White governor@cdcki.org

Secretary Treasurer Mikail sec­treas@cdcki.org

in a C

K I minute

What is CKI? ←

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Circle K International (CKI), sponsored by Kiwanis International, is the premiere collegiate service organization in the world. We have clubs on more than 450 campusesglobally and programming based on 3 tenets: Service, Leadership, and Fellowship.

The Mission of CKI is to develop college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service.

Editor Zack Baum editor@cdcki.org Battlefield Division battlefield­ltg@cdcki.org Foothills Division foothills­ltg@cdcki.org Metro Division metro­ltg@cdcki.org Presidential Division presidential­ltg@cdcki.org Ridgeline Division ridgeline­ltg@cdcki.org Susquehanna Division susquehanna­ltg@cdcki.org District Administrator administrator@cdcki.org

The Vision of CKI is to be the leading global communityservice organization on college and university campusesthat enriches the world one member, one child, and one community at a time.

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CKI is a student-led organization.

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CKI consists of 32 districts, seven Subregions and, at least

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Contact Information: phone, email, address, etc. a Kiwanis­family member

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www.circlek.org