PHS VOL. I
Hello everyone! It’s that time of the year again-officer elections! For those that are interested to run for a Key Club position, but don’t know which position to choose, this publication is the perfect guide for you! In this special edition, officer positions and roles will be demystified and the election process clarified. This issue features information that would not normally be shared at general meetings, such as officer interviews. I hope this Keyclubber’s Guide to Elections may help any potential candidate! As always, do not be afraid to ask the officers any questions! We welcome them greatly. :) Yours Truly, Yang Fu 2014-2015 PHS Key Club Editor
Key Clubs in different schools may have different officer hierarchies. Parsippany High School’s Key Club has an executive board, which consists of the President, and two Vice Presidents. Similarly, when you vote for the presidential position, the candidate with the most votes becomes the President of Key Club, while the two other candidates that come in second and third place in terms of vote count become the two Vice Presidents. Then, there are the officers who deal with administration and paperwork matters, like the Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Treasurer. Further down the list are the officers that deal with public relations, and interact with the club through media: the Webmaster, Historian, and Editor.
The voting process is fairly simple: Candidates will get their application forms a week or two in advance, and submit them to the club advisers. Then, during election day, candidates will be required to give a short, one to two minute speech if the position they are running for has two or more candidates. If you are debating running for an officer position, I hope the officer descriptions in the upcoming pages may encourage you to run!
LIZZIE TU 1. Description of position? As President of one of the school's largest clubs, it is your job to "run" the club and lead the organization of all events. This is a very large yet exciting responsibility, so you must prioritize your duties to Key Club and ensure your genuine commitment. You must maintain constant communication with our advisors, Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Record, our Kiwanis advisor, Mr. Orthwein, and the eight other officers. It is also your job to update the Division 20 Lieutenant Governor (Priya, for the 2015-2016 Service Year!) with our club's progress and work with her often to gain insight into divisional and district activities. You are the overseer of all events. Each week, you should create and send out an agenda, be it an officer meeting or general meeting, detailing upcoming events, reminders, ideas, sign-ups, etc. to be discussed, and share that agenda with all those involved. You are to equally delegate work to your officers while also making sure that you yourself are neither slacking nor taking up too much responsibility. You should know all of the other officers' jobs, make sure that they are completing them to the fullest, remind them to do so, and pick up the occasional slack and be understanding! As President, it is your job to ensure that there are events occurring every month: service or fundraising activities being planned for general member participation. You should always know what is going on and promote an openness with general members. If you don't know the answer to a question, find out! In the end, you take responsibility for consequences, especially if something goes wrong. Communication with all related members of the Key Club community is the most important!
Being president is an extremely time-consuming, yet rewarding process. If you are a genuinely dedicated member and want to take the leap by becoming more involved, I encourage you to run for an executive position. You get to ring the bell too :) 2. What do you like about your position? As President, you get to interact with everyone - general members, officers, advisors, Kiwanis members, LTGs, officers from other schools and really learn about what's happening inside our club, in the division, and in the state. You develop bonds with the officers through small service events and DCON; you feel accomplished when the club runs a successful event and motivated to improve when things don't go as planned; you get to see general members gain the same service experiences as you did and see them develop similar passions; you see your club's collective efforts pay off. 3. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? Being any officer in Key Club, especially the president, is a timeconsuming process. If you are involved in a lot of other extracurricular activities, you have to be willing to prioritize Key Club and your role as president. Make sure that you are genuinely committed to the club and its purpose. Our purpose is to serve others and our community through caring, leadership, and inclusiveness, so if you want an executive position
"just for college," you're doing it wrong. If the passion and commitment are not there in the president, then the club will suffer because your lack thereof. Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in the drudge of administrative duties and the constant pressure to make sure that things "go well," but it's the face-to-face service events and interaction with other people that will help remind you the true meaning of the club! (My favorite event, by far, is Relay for Life) If you are sure that you want to become more involved, go for it! There is really nothing to lose by running for an executive position. Tell people how you are a good leader, express your passion for the club, mention your creative yet realistic ideas for the new service year, and try to come across as your genuine self! 4. How has your officer duties made you a better person? I've been involved in Key Club for four years, starting as a general member, then recording secretary, then president. This club truly isn't about holding officer positions or collecting service hours. I remember every District Convention so vividly and being inspired by the District Board and the amazing aura of that weekend to serve and help improve the club when I was a freshman. I remember all three Relays for Life and having that responsibility of creating the Luminarias to help mourn and commemorate those who've died and are still battling cancer. I enjoyed being a general member, participating in service, the most--just absorbing the experience and reaping the rewards of in-person service.
Through the pressure and the expectation and the competition-to-gainleadership-positions-for-your-resume that is high school, it's really difficult to help people understand this concept of service and how personal and emotional it can be, or build the same experience, but its important nonetheless. 5. Additional appropriate comments? Good luck to all those running and please contact me if you have any questions about elections or about the position of president!
HENRY SHEN 1. Description of position? The VP is the Swiss army knife of this club; your job is to help the president, the other officers, and the general members whenever they need assistance. You should be prepared to do various jobs. for various events. If you do your job well, the club glides along smoothly. 2. What do you like about your position? I love how there is no single job that a VP does. You are the organizer/idea person/volunteer for the club. 3. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? For those that plan to run, I suggest that you be prepared to be called upon for various roles. Remember, you are the Swiss army knife. More specifically, try to have a pet project or a idea for a fundraiser or a service project in your head. At officer meetings, confer with the other officers about your idea and try to push it through at the officer meetings. For any officer, regardless of title, try to examine what could go wrong with a plan during the planning stage. When assigning jobs for a group of people, try to compartmentalize the jobs so each person does one thing. It is okay to say "I don't know." And finally, try to have a good rapport with the general members. 4. How has your officer duties made you a better person? What I realized from being an officer is that you are the planner, and thus you can come up with fun projects that the whole club enjoys, or just generic fundraisers that are safe. And Key Club has taught me that being safe is sometimes a good thing, and that novelty is a risk. It has taught me that there are variables that are out of your control when you plan an event, and I now consider that for my future.
SAMUEL WU 1. Description of position? Hey everyone, if you're reading this, I hope you'll consider running for the executive board for the upcoming service year! As one of the vice -presidents, you may not have a specific job to do, but you need to know how to perform everyone's tasks from those of the president, to the secretaries, to the historian. Having such pervasive knowledge allows you to assist any officer when they need it. 2. What do you like about your position? What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? To those who are interested in running, keep in mind that being an officer comes with lots of responsibilities, the ability to dedicate as much time as needed to the club, and the capability to fulfill your duties; however, it is a very rewarding and worthwhile experience. 4. How has your officer duties made you a better person? In my two years on the Key Club officer board, I have come to learn that not only does having a position teach you skills like how to be a leader and how to manage your time, it educates you in larger matters such as the importance of service and helping those in your local and global community. Thank you for reading and I hope you consider running for a position!
THE RECORDING SECRETARY EMILY WENG 1. Description of position? As recording secretary, I take care of everyone's hours, but I also send the district secretary a club monthly report form so that the higherups can keep track of what we're doing as a club. Of course, I have other duties as delegated by the president as well, but mainly I just record of your hours and everything else. 2. What do you like about your position? What I like most about my position is the power... No, just kidding! I just really appreciate being able to contribute to organizing such a popular club as Key Club and basically just being a part of something such a large as Key Club 3. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? Stay organized, and do not procrastinate! If you are prone to misplacing your things, you will have a HARD time with hours and club monthly report forms; leaving everything to the last minute only leads to unnecessary stress near deadlines... 4. How has your officer duties made you a better person? Because of my position as recording secretary of Key Club, I have learnt responsibility, and honestly, my time as an officer has changed my life and I think not only taught me numerous things about leadership but also opened my eyes to the worth of serving the society in which we live. 5. Additional appropriate comments? Key Club is awesome and so rewarding: stick with it!
THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY CHRIS YANG
As the corresponding secretary, your main responsibility will be to coordinate the events for Key Club. You will be in charge of making phone calls to companies or organizations to set up fundraising events and volunteering opportunities. Your job is of great importance to the club because without you, there would be no opportunities for the members to serve the community!
THE TREASURER WINSTON YEH
Hi guys, so if you didn't know, I am this year's Key Club treasurer, and as such, there are some responsibilities that come with the job. Towards the beginning of the year, you must collect all of the Key Club registration forms, and individually add each member to the Membership Update Center (MUC). On this website, you copy down the information that is written on the Key Club registration form directly on the webiste for each Key Club member in our club (Name, Grade, Email). You also are responsible of counting the dues in the beginning of the year. Other than that, you're expected to be an active member of Key Club, and participate in most, if not all the events! This is a great officer position if you want to be more active in the club, but not want to drown yourself in responsibilities. Good luck to all the applicants!
THE WEBMASTER VIREN LAD 1. Description of position? Well as the Webmaster, you are in charge of maintaining the website. It is your baby. To other officers and the people of Key Club, maintaining the website is not a very tedious process. In truth, it isn't. Every week you go on the site editor and edit the calendar and dates. Of course, whenever something comes up with the site, you just have to edit it. I highly recommend any one skilled in coding to run for this position. Furthermore, aside from the website, you have normal officer responsibilities, meaning attending and participating in Key Club events, public and officer and being a meaningful and positive contributor to the success of the club. 2. What do you like about your position? Other than making the website (we made a new one this year), it is not very time consuming. However, by no means does that mean you can neglect. Weekly or even more frequently, run checks on the website and see if it working properly. 3. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? As for advice, my biggest surprise was the Key Club officer events. There more than a plenty of those. So be prepared for that. Also, be prepared to learn how to deal with being on the bottom end of officer positions. Other advice and tips can be seen above.
THE HISTORIAN PRIYA LAD Hey! Well first of all, my name is Priya and I am the Historian of our very own Key Club. 1. Description of position? As Historian, it is my duty to work along the side of all the other officers and take pretty-pretty pictures. At every event, I spend most of my time taking pictures to capture the event and all the people that were there. Also, usually every month, I update the bullet-in board with important upcoming events. 2. What do you like about your position? Being Historian, it honestly a chill position since I enjoy taking pictures and using my creativity/artistic ability to update the bulletin board. It's quite sad that the service year is almost coming to a end and I soon will be giving up my position. 3. How has your officer duties made you a better person? My skills as being a leader as improved greatly and I cannot be thankful for that. I am able to manage my time more wisely and make sure I post my pictures at a timely manner. If you love taking pictures (which I know most of you do since most of instagrams are pretty rad), this is the position for you to showcase you're artistic ability. 4. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? So yea, run for historian. it's chill just like me.
THE EDITOR YANG FU 1. Description of position? Hey guys! Congrats to those that have made it to the end of this issue! Many people think that as the editor, I edit things, which is...actually kind of accurate. My job in the Key Club is most like a communications director; I make sure that the club is updated on the events that we’ve done, or that they’re reminded of any upcoming events. Usually an editor’s method of communications is through his/her newsletters, which are posted to the club FB page and sent out through gmail. 2. What do you like about your position? I love the creative control that comes with being editor. As editor, you can format your newsletters however you want, choose whichever pictures you want, and edit to your heart’s content. I also love writing about events (since I get excited about them ahaha). Moreover, I love the editor position because it provides a way for the quiet ones to serve on the officer board. 3. How has your officer duties made you a better person? Being the Editor has led me to have a greater appreciation of Key Club. I am quite privileged to see all our fundraisers, and community service events be planned out , followed through, and then followed up. It ‘s such an inspiration to personally witness and write about the positive change that a little club can do. I’ve learned to value not only the big works, but the small ones as well. 4. What advice would you give to any members interested in running for your position? If you’re on the fence about running, please ask me any questions I don't mind answering them! :) Also, if you like pretty colors and writing short articles this job is perfect for you!
CONTACT INFORMATION The Officers: President Elizabeth Tu
etu15@pthsd.net
Vice President Samuel Wu
swu15@pthsd.net
Vice President Henry Shen
hshen15@pthsd.net
Recording Secretary Emily Weng
eweng15@pthsd.net
Corresponding Secretary Chris Yang
cyang15@pthsd.net
Treasurer Winston Yeh
wyeh15@pthsd.net
Webmaster Viren Lad
vblad15@pthsd.net
Historian Priya Lad
pblad17@pthsd.net
Editor Yang Fu
yfu16@pthsd.net
Our website: http://phskeyclub.moonfruit.com/home/4569303426 Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171064189766465/ Our really cool Tumblr Blog: http://phskeyclubphotos.tumblr.com/ New Jersey District Key Club: http://njkeyclub.org/ Kiwanis of Greater Parsippany: http://parsippanykiwanis.org/