PHS Key Club Elections Guide || Keynote

PARSIPPANY HIGH SCHOOL

The Keynote

PHS KEY CLUB ELECTIONS GUIDE

EDITOR’S NOTE Hello Key Clubbers!

In case you’ve forgotten to ask any officers about their positions (or you were too shy to!), this handy newsletter should give you a last-minute overview of what each position is like. As always, if you have any questions about any positions, it’s never too late to ask!

Good luck to all who are running, I wish you the best of luck!

Yours Sincerely, Katherine Yang 2015-2016 Editor

PRESIDENT – Yang Fu Hello everyone! My name is Yang, and I’m your President for the ‘15-’16 service year. My role in Key Club is to plan and lead (and to lead plans)—which, I know, sounds very vague, but it’s not, I promise!

This includes general and officer meetings, where I make meeting agendas every week too. I work closely with the advisors and officers to come up with service projects, to make sure all events are carried out according to plan, and that they show the best and brightest that PHS Key Club has to offer. I also keep in contact with the LTG, Priya Lad, to guarantee an open communication between the club and the district organization.

But, that doesn’t mean that I run a one woman show, doing everything by myself! As President, I also delegate work to the officers, ensure that they are doing what they need to do (with the occasional friendly reminder!), and help them whenever they have questions. This allows the board to work in unity, and for each officer to be personally involved in every stage of a service project.

If things go wrong, I take full responsibility, since that indicates that I did not fulfill my duties as President. But don’t be scared! For if things go right, then I get to share that joy with my other officers and members, who have contributed greatly to make things successful.

And that, I think, is one of the joys of being President—that you get to see people, of different characters and backgrounds,

PRESIDENT – Yang Fu working together as one to achieve a common goal, one that betters the community. Since I get to see projects go from plans to reality, it inspires me to work harder and to serve the community even more, because I see what our club is capable of, and what positive changes they can bring.

I’m always a proud mama when our Key Club is mentioned in the newspaper, or when other staff send us emails, congratulating us on doing a good job—because that means that we have a visible presence in the community, and it’s sort of a reality check on the power we have—for what we do will impact and improve the community, and that’s something I dearly love to see.

For candidates interested in becoming Key Club President, whatever you do, don’t run because of college or resume building. The passion, commitment, and motivation that every President needs to succeed won’t be there, and the club will suffer greatly as a result. Moreover, organization and time management are extremely important. Remember, if you can’t devote or make time to Key Club, you cannot expect your officers to do the same, and that will create conflicts and inactivity within the club!

But seriously—if you love Key Club and love serving the community, run for President! Don’t be daunted by the descriptions of the role or the duties involved. If you’re

PRESIDENT – Yang Fu passionate about this club, your passion will definitely show!

There’s definitely no harm in trying 

VP – Miki Hansen Hi Key Clubbers! As most of you -hopefully- know already, my name is Miki and one of your Vice Presidents. As VP, I am responsible for making sure the officers are following through with their duties and that everything is running smoothly; I'm basically the club's management control. On top of that, I would step in for the President if she were ever absent. I like my position because it gives me opportunities to understand all of the other officers’ jobs and start up my own projects (CareOne).

VP – Anne Cheng Hey Key Clubbers! My name is Anne Cheng and I am currently one of the two vice presidents. As vice president and member of the executive board, you serve as the right-hand man (or woman) to the president and ensure that the rest of the officer board is functioning smoothly. Personally, I enjoy the flexibility of the position; you have the freedom to work with any of the other officers, as well as the ability to arrange your own fundraising or service project. If you're running for vice president, don't be afraid to be proactive and come in with your own ideas about projects you'd like to introduce. Good luck!

REC. SEC. – Christina Xu Hi! My name is Christina Xu, and I am the recording secretary. As the recording secretary, I am responsible for the hours of each member. I update the hours spreadsheet and I am in charge of the sign-ups for each event. Moreover, every month, I hand in a Club Monthly Report Form, in which I must state the total hours earned and total amount of money raised by our club for each month.

Anyone running for this position should be organized, responsible, motivated, and good with time management. It is important to set time each week for logging in hours, so if you are planning on running for this position, make sure that you will plan out your schedule well.

Overall, being the recording secretary of the club is very enjoyable and satisfying; you will never have nothing to do but at the same time will not be piled with too much work. If you want to keep Key Club organized and fun for its members, run for recording secretary!

CORR. SEC. – Marine Ibrahim Aibo Hi Key Clubbers! I'm Marine, this service year's Corresponding Secretary. My job essentially consists of a lot of networking and people relations, for lack of a better explanation. In addition to writing up minutes for general meetings (those little summaries I post), I talk to and call people both in PHS and in our surrounding community in order to set up and organize various volunteering or fundraising events. I'm also in charge of setting up the monthly daycare visits.

I love that I get to interact with the people that make Key Club's endeavors possible – those in the community who really do care about what we do and the education of young people.

It's also a pretty cool job because you get a super behind-thescenes look at how a lot of events begin.

Being Corresponding Secretary is great for individuals who aren't nervous about picking up a phone and reaching out to people, even if it sometimes means getting rejected. Overall, it's an enjoyable position that requires skills in interaction rather than organizational paperwork.

TREASURER – Spencer Huang Hi, I’m Spencer and I’m your treasurer! The jobs of a treasurer include updating the membership list involving club dues, counting and tracking money, and corresponding closely with the secretary and advisors. While the bulk of the role is mostly about keeping track of money, the treasurer also assists other officers in organizing and carrying out events.

WEBMASTER – Jennifer Huang Hi guys! I'm Jen and I'm the webmaster. As the webmaster, it's my job to update the club website every now and then to make sure everything's up to date. Hours, events and the calendar all have to be right so members don't mix up times and dates. You don't have to update the website every single day, but every once in a while is good. That way everyone knows what's going on. If you're someone who's laid back and knows how to operate a computer than this job is for you!!

HISTORIAN – Stephanie Shen Hi there future historian candidate! My name is Stephanie and I am the current historian of our Key Club. Basically, a historian is in charge of all things photo related, like taking pictures of every (or most) of our club events, then posting them on our Facebook group, Instagram account, and Tumblr. It's important you actively update each social media page. Also, you may be asked every time a new event is coming up to make posters/flyers/any other form of advertisement for that event, always given a deadline.

In short, if you love taking pictures and formulating creative visuals and ideas, this is the perfect job for you! A great tip for running for this position is to emphasize any past experiences you've had with artsy and creative elements and bring in examples if you have any :)) (i.e past flyers you've designed, a picture, or even a photo album!) Though it is no executive board position, it still takes a lot of persistence and time management, so you might want to mention how good you are at not procrastinating, too. Good luck!

EDITOR – Katherine Yang Hey guys! I’m Katherine, your current Key Club Editor. My job is to spam you guys with lovely newsletters every so often (typically every month) in order to keep y’all updated on what’s happening inside the club. I get to satisfy my inner geek by writing about events and choosing pretty pictures to decorate each newsletter!! As editor, I work very closely with the historian and often we also advertise events by creating posters or flyers.

What I enjoy most about this position is that the hard work visibly pays off. In other words, after all the work I put into designing each newsletter, I’m rewarded by the look of a (hopefully!) polished end result. I get to express my creativity and I don’t necessarily have to do as much of the paperwork involved with other positions.

That being said, this position is no walk in the park. If you’re looking into running for Editor, I suggest remembering to allocate your time properly; each newsletter takes time to create. Remember that if you need help, you can always ask for general members or other officers to give guest features!

Good luck to you all 