Ricky's Recap Volume 1 Issue 9

Ricky’s Recap Volume 1

Issue 9

Midwinter Training Conference Belleville - Bloomfield - Clifton Glen Ridge - Nutley - St. Mary’s

Table of Contents Table of Contents Page

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Cover

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Table of Contents

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Message from Ricky

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Friday

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Saturday

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Saturday

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Sunday

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Pictures

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Pictures

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Contact Information

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Message from Ricky Hello everyone! Midwinter training conference is where the new and old district board gather at Ocean Place Spa and Resort in Long Branch, New Jersey to train the new Lieutenant Governor elects and district officer candidates and vote on the new district project which is‌. Joking! You will find out at District Convention on Sunday! If you are not attending, the new Lieutenant Governor, Josh Mariscal, from Bloomfield will make a newsletter covering every single thing that happened there! I hope to see you at district convention where we can, together, discover the magic of service!

Ricky Thompson, Lieutenant Governor Division 18 of the New Jersey District

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Friday If I had one word to describe my experience at Midwinter, it would be “captivating.” Everyone’s passion for service filled the room and I knew that everyone there was there for the same reason – we all wanted to help as many people as we could. I met so many new, vibrant people, who were all so welcoming. There was always someone new to talk to who would actually listen to what I had to say. I built up such strong relationships in the three days that I spent with these people, and I know that these relationships will last a long time. There was never a moment where I felt excluded. Not only did I build up such strong relationships with the LTG elects, but I finally met and got to know the current LTGs and the current executive board. Even though I won’t be working with all of these people, I finally got to talk to the ones who have been running the New Jersey district of Key Club, and we are such a lucky district to have them. I was so excited to be at Midwinter and it was so much more fun than I expected it to be. Although it was a long weekend, it was definitely a fun one.

Even though the friendships that I made were the best part of this weekend, I also learned so much about my position and the service year to come. I thought that it would just be a weekend full of workshops and overwhelming amounts of information thrown at me, but it was all manageable and well organized. With every workshop, meeting, and note taken, I understood more and more about how to be a lieutenant governor and I became more and more enthusiastic about what I was about to experience. I overall had such an amazing time and am looking forward to seeing these people again at DCON and working with them in the future.

Meg Melissa, Lieutenant Governor elect

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Saturday Saturday of the Mid Winter Training Conference was a busy day. In the morning I had breakfast with my fellow Lieutenant Governor elect, Priya Lad and INSERT PHOTO. an Executive Candidate, Patricia Kou, after getting to know them better I headed to the meeting room. There, I proceeded to bond with my fellow LTG elects before having an icebreaker, which included groups consisting of executive candidates, current board members, as well as Lieutenant Governor elects. In this activity we would make a chain and pass a mint to each other with only a toothpick. The activity produced much laughter and the activity had the result of allowing me to get to know other Key Clubbers. The next event I was involved in, was the introduction of the Kiwanis District Governor, Nancy Hart-Esposito as well as the introduction of Dawn Kreder who is the Circle K District Governor. It was explained that our Key Club District Governor, Samantha Levisay worked closely with these other Governors.

Next however, were the workshops, my first workshop of the day was Report Forms a presentation on when they are due, how to complete them, templates, and tips on the whole process. District Secretary Jacqueline Dragon gave this presentation with the Lieutenant Governor from Division 13, Nathaniel Silberman. The PowerPoint ended earlier than expected and so we were able to ask many questions on the topic. After Report Forms I experience a PowerPoint based on Technology and how to use it to your advantage as Lieutenant Governor. Paying great attention to both Newsletters and website resources, the District Editor, Patrick Quinn along with the District Webmaster Srikar Gudipati and Lieutenant Governor David Guirgis made the presentation simple but informative. I was shown examples of what to do and what not do, this actually managed to give me clarity as I am a more visual learner. My third workshop was shown by Lieutenant Governors Farwa Shakeel and Josie Suddeth on Club Building. I had previously remembered the question on building clubs in my elections packet and although I had known all of the steps, i was definitely confused on multiple points. This PowerPoint allowed me to clear things up and take in depth notes on the process. My last workshop of the day was on how to deal with difficult clubs and was presented by Lieutenant Governors Angela Becker, Charmaine Chew, and Harsh Patel however, Lieutenant Governor Brooke Willemstyn also sat in. This workshop was by far my favourite, as it was more of an improvisation/discussion.

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Saturday The board members shared multiple stories on their own dealings with difficult clubs and gave me much advice on what to do. While other workshops were more formulated, this one allowed me to listen to the real life problems and solutions. We were told to stay “cool, calm and collected� at all times and to remain professional despite what advisors may throw at us.

The next event, was a presentation by the Financial Counselor, Mr. Peter Mollo. I regret to inform that I had gone to the bathroom during this time period and therefore had not listened to the full presentation and only caught the end. However, I did witness the speech by Beth Callahan on just how Key Club effected her life. I personally found this speech to be very emotional but uplifting, knowing that somebody suffered so much yet kept giving back to the community, I thought it was moving. Soon after was lunch, where I once again got to know my fellow elects. Then, I got to meet my Zone Administrator, Mr. Gandley with my my fellow elects, Iskander Turan and Christine Jimenez. We received a lot of advice from Mr. Gandley and were made aware that if we were to need assistance/questions we could contact him. After my zone administrator meeting, there was another presentation, this time by Ms. McCann on our role and our leadership skills. Next, Charmaine Chew, the Lieutenant Governor from Division 3 gave a presentation on how to use Google to our advantage, she especially focused and Google docs and the organization capabilities it had when creating folders. Lieutenant Governor of Division 6, Jeffrey Maziarz then discussed how to act and to dress at board meetings. Mrs. Meissner even went into depth discussing particularly what girls should and should not wear.

Afterwards, I was able to sit in and witness a board meeting, watching the reports i got the main idea and overall order of things. To witness the board meeting gave me more experience, so that when the time comes for my first board meeting i will know the general idea and the chronological order of things. We then took a break for dinner, and by talking with one of the current Lieutenant Governors I received a bit more tips/advice, however for the main part i just tried to get to know the people around me. Soon after dinner, elects and candidates were able to sit in the committee meetings and learn exactly what they did. I was able to witness the public relations standing committee meeting, as well as the special committees, service fair, theme, and the talent show & key of honor. After witnessing the jobs of different committees, the board meeting started up again with committee reports. Then from 10 p.m. till 11 p.m. everybody participated in boundary breaking, an activity in which we answer meaningful questions in a serious manner so we could try to get to know each other better. After which I changed into casual wear and participated in board bonding in the meeting room. That was essentially my Saturday at the 2015 Mid Winter Training Conference. It was great learning experience and allowed me to be more educated on the ins and outs of division and what I can do to help it grow.

Ciara Leonor P. Clarkin, Lieutenant Governor elect

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Sunday Sunday morning was the icing on the cake of the fantastic Midwinter Convention,INSERT and left PHOTO. everyone with a lot of perspective. Immediately from the moment all of the elects woke up we knew that although we were ready to start working with all of our enthusiasm intact, that this was one of the final goodbyes to the current district board and the first of the very few goodbyes us elects get to say to each other. Attempting to evade goodbyes for a few hours, once the board meeting resumed we listened to the presentations for the district project for the next service year, as the ELIMINATE project ends in 2015. Experiencing the voting process for a decision which would direct all of New Jersey Key Club for the next service year was extremely informative and put into perspective how important of a job it is being on the district board. From hearing how passionate the board was about their project proposals definitely brought everyone back to what Key Club is all about; service. In board meetings, with all of the professional conversation, it’s easy to lose focus on why we all chose to be on the district board; because service is our passion and we hope to have every Key Clubber’s eyes opened to the rewarding nature of service. Hearing the concern of the board on every project in relation to the opportunities of each project allotted to each general member brought into perspective how service leadership works; Key Club would not exist without the opportunities allotted to and the effort completed by it’s members. After voting on the district project we began with the “I Wish I Knew’s”, the moment the preceding board had been dreading all weekend. The final advice that the board gave to us elects going forward. Some advice was straightforward; ‘do your report forms on time’ and ‘don’t procrastinate’. Other advice was emotionally enlightening, it showed the elects that being on the board is more than being people who work professionally and make decisions, but that being on the board is being part of a family. The advice given to us elects on Sunday gave a lot of insight and perspective as to how enlightening being on the district board can be and that time is only what you make of it.

Sarah Remig, Lieutenant Governor elect

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Important Contacts

District Governor

District Secretary

Sam Levisay

Jacqueline Dragon

njgovernorlevisay@gmail.com

njdsecretarydragon @gmail.com

District Editor Patrick Quinn

njeditorpatquinn@gmail.com

District Treasurer Daniel McCormack

njtreasurermccormack @gmail.com

District Webmaster Srikar Gudipati

njwebmastersrikar @gmail.com

Lieutenant Governor Ricky Thompson Ltgricky@gmail.com