Youth Section

SPJST Youth Section

The deadline for all Věstník items is 5 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month. Send your news and photos directly to: SPJST Věstník Editor Melanie Zavodny P.O. Box 100 Temple, Texas 76503 Fax: 254-773-8087 Email: vestnik@spjst.org Online: spjst.org/news/submitarticle-photo Questions? Call 800-727-7578

This section is dedicated to the youth of SPJST. As part of its membership benefits, SPJST offers a statewide youth program. If you or someone you know is interested in learning about opportunities offered to young members of SPJST, please contact your local lodge, District Youth Counselor (listed on page 2), State Fraternal Director at 800-727-7578, or visit www.spjst.org.

State Fraternal Director shares December youth news

2022 SPJST Youth Club Handbook Review

Youth leaders will have an online review of the 2022 SPJST Youth Club Handbook on Saturday, January 29, 2022, starting at 9 a.m. We will wrap up the online meeting before noon. Youth leaders will have an electronic version of the handbook emailed to them weeks prior to the online meeting. Please know I will be setting up this link and sharing it with you.

Youth Leaders Appreciation and Workshop Save the date: April 22 and 23

Youth Leaders, due to another event scheduled in Temple on February 25 and 26, we will be moving our Youth Leader Appreciation and Workshop to Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23.

You and an adult guest are invited to an appreciation social and dinner Friday evening, April 22 at Camp Kubena. This will be a western-themed event, and a catered dinner will be served to you while enjoying live music and mystery theater.

Saturday morning will start with breakfast and a question-and-answer session about the 2022 SPJST Youth Club Handbook changes. We will have a breakout session right after breakfast followed by open high ropes, axe throwing, team building at low ropes, and leather craft. We also would love our chaperones to come out at that time and join us for the Friday night dinner and the Saturday session.

SPJST Theme and T-Shirt Contest Winners

Thanks to the youth who participated in our theme and T-shirt design contest. We did have low participation compared to other years. We had some great entries thought. Congratulations to:

Ages 5 to 8 - Amber Jones

Lodge 81, Needville Ages 12 to 14 - Bethany Baker

Lodge 30, Taiton Ages 15 to HS Senior - Tanner Wood

Lodge 49, Rowena

Overall Winner: Ages 9 to 11 - Camila Cabrera

Lodge 185, New Braunfels

Congratulations to Camila on her awesome design which appears on page 1 of this week’s Vestnik!

SPJST Camp T-Shirt Orders

In 2022, we will be ordering our tshirts differently than in past years. All orders must be placed online. Youth clubs that order t-shirts for their members will need to get their orders together and purchase them online through our website. Individuals will need to do the same. I will have more information in next month’s newsletter.

Dates for 2022 Camp Sessions

Youth leaders and parents, please know that all camps will go back to three nights in 2022. We will start on Thursday with camp registration beginning at 2 p.m. through 3 p.m. If you are unable to make that registration time, please contact your DYC to make arrangements.

Please know if you cannot make it to camp when your district is scheduled, you can register for the other session. Nowhere does it say you have to go with your district. This includes youth who have completed kindergarten to age 13, trained LITs, and chaperones.

LIT Camp

Thursday, June 23 to Sunday, June 26

Junior Camp Session One

Thursday, July 7 to Sunday, July 10

Districts Two, Three Four, Five

Junior Camp Session Two

Thursday, July 14 to Sunday, July 17

Districts One, Six, Seven

Quarterly Reports

Fourth quarter youth club reports are due in the office on Saturday, January 15. I will also be posting a reminder in our Youth Leadership Facebook group page. Thank you, youth leaders.

District Youth Achievement Days

All districts for 2022 will conduct their YAD in person. We will be changing to an online registration through the SPJST website. The only craft categories that will need an attachment upload will be photography, a photo of the hobby kit box, and photo or .pdf of the recipe card for desserts. All other categories will be registering the project. YAD dates and locations are:

District One - Sunday, July 10

Caldwell Civic Center District Two - Sunday, July 17

Lodge 47, Seaton District Three - Sunday, March 27

Lodge 25, Ennis District Four - Sunday, June 12

Venue TBA District Five - Saturday, July 16

Lodge 88, Houston District Six - Sunday, July 10

Taiton Community Center District Seven - Sunday, June 12

Lodge 202, Jourdanton hosting

The royalty speech topic for 2022 is “My SPJST family — What It Means To Me.” Royalty contestants will need to upload a copy of the speech and headshot phone (not a full-frontal photo).

State Youth Achievement Day

State YAD will be in Temple at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center on Saturday, July 30.

District Youth Development Workshop

Each district will conduct its own workshop for the youth. Leaders and parents, please bring your youth club members to the workshop.

District One - At spring meeting District Two - Sunday, February 20 District Three - Saturday, January 22 District Four - TBA Districts Five and Six - Sunday, January 9

Lodge 81, Needville District Seven - TBA

100 Pennies Scholarship Fund Drive

Everyone spread the word! October 1 started the SPJST 100 Pennies Scholarship Fund Drive to benefit the scholarship fund. Through your generous donations, SPJST has been able to continue to provide scholarships to members who wish to further their education. Donations of any amount will be accepted and added to the general scholarship fund that is maintained by the Home Office. No amount is too small or too large. The 100 Pennies Scholarship Fund Drive will run through March 31, 2022.

Youth SPJST Scholarship Applications Online Now

The SPJST scholarship application is now available online at https://spjst.org/scholarships/. If you have a 2022 graduating high school senior in your lodge, please let them know they are eligible to apply for an SPJST scholarship. Also, full-time undergraduates who have not received an SPJST Scholarship may apply for the General Scholarship.

The application will be completed and submitted online. Please look online for the scholarship application guidelines to help you complete all sections of the application.

Completed scholarship applications must be submitted online no later than February 1, 2022. Again, all applications will be submitted online.

Here is a checklist of items to have prior to starting the application:

• Expected date of high school graduation

• Names of three personal references and their email addresses and phone numbers

• Copy of your high school transcript that has been signed and/or stamped by a school official

• Copy of your SAT or ACT scores

• Headshot photograph

A receipt of application will be emailed to the applicant upon successful submission. For any additional scholarship questions, please contact Sandra Dubcak at 254-773-1575, ext. 127 or email sandrad@spjst.com.

Vestnik Project

Vestnik Projects are accessible at www.spjst.org under the Youth Program tab.

Fraternally, Frank Horak State Fraternal Director —SPJST—

Lodge 47, Seaton youth assists at district fall fun day

Dear Readers,

District Two Fall Fun Day was held on Sunday, October 24, 2021, at Lodge 47, Seaton Star Hall. We had lots of fun games, and I drove the tractor for the train ride for the kids. Seth Martinez, age 15 —SPJST—

Lodge 47, Seaton youth ready for holidays

Dear Vestnik Readers,

It is almost Christmas! I can’t wait. I want a Lego Mario and Lego Mario set from Santa for Christmas. In December, we get to do my SPJST hall’s Christmas play. Also, in one week, it will be Thanksgiving. We get to go to my Mawmaw and Pawpaw’s house! It is getting colder outside which makes me sad.

Well, happy holidays to everyone, have a good Thanksgiving meal, and see you in December! Fraternally, Travis Ordogne, age 9 —SPJST—

Lodge 49, Rowena youth excited about football playoffs

Dear SPJST,

We made it to the playoffs for football. Our game is this Friday in Llano, and I’m pretty excited. We have all our players back from being hurt so that’s a good sign. I hope we can win and continue to go on. Tanner Wood, age 17 —SPJST—

Lodge 49, Rowena youth participates in Halloween haunted house

My parents did a Halloween haunted house for my school fall festival, and I got to be in it. It was so much fun scaring all the little kids, junior high kids, and some adults. I was a clown part of the time, and the other time, I was dressed in a bear suit and scared people. Cotton Wood, age 11 —SPJST—

Lodge 49, Rowena youth plays on varsity football team

I was moved up from junior varsity to varsity for our playoff game, and I’m going to start on kickoff and punt. I’m pretty excited about it all. Hunter Wood, age 15 —SPJST—

Lodge 84, Dallas Youth Club reports on November meeting

Dear Readers,

The youth of Lodge 84, Dallas continue to meet virtually. Youth Leader Lynda Novak reminded everyone about the lodge’s Christmas party on Sunday, December 5 at Sokol Dallas. She also reminded us all to continue submitting our Vestnik projects. She congratulated us all on our beautiful Christmas ornament submissions at the District Three Fall Fun Day in October. She announced that the SPJST youth theme for 2022 is “Saddle Up with SPJST” and that the design contest promoting the theme was due to State Fraternal Director Frank Horak by November 1. The new year will be bringing lots of activity so we need to keep on our toes! Fraternally, Josh Tucker, age 11 —SPJST—

2022 SPJST YOUTH THEME CONTEST WINNERS. Congratulations to age category winners, left to right, ages 5 to 8 - Amber Jones of Lodge 81, Needville; ages 12 to 14 Bethany Baker of Lodge 30, Taiton; and ages 15 to high school senior - Tanner Wood of Lodge 49, Rowena. The overall winner (pictured on page 1) is Camila Cabrera (ages 9 to 11) of Lodge 185, New Braunfels. Her winning design will appear on the 2022 Youth Program promotional materials and on camp t-shirts.

SPJST December Věstník Project

This project earns a maximum 1 point in the SPJST Youth Merit Point System. To complete the project questions to earn 1 point in the SPJST Merit Point System, scan the QR Code below, or go directly to spjst.org/programs/vestnik-project/

Melissa grew up in Snook, the daughter of Donnie and Janice Victorick, and became a member of Lodge 9, Snook before age one. Legend has it, the late Ernest Jakubik was in the driveway shortly after her parents got home from the hospital to sell them her first insurance certificate, making her a lifetime member of SPJST.

One of her earliest memories was winning the Little Miss Burleson County contest when she was four. She recalls the host asking about her favorite color and something she’d want if she were to win. When she answered black balloons, the crowd laughed. Black balloons continue to be a favorite today.

Attending SPJST camp is another early memory. The cabin time, horseback riding, nature walks, and the friends made in the non-air conditioned cabins are some of her favorite memories of Camp Val Verde.

Melissa looks back at her time as a member in the SPJST Lodge 9, Snook Youth Club and reflects on how all of the group skits and the fun times were made at SPJST lodge dances. These activities made up a large part of her youth. On the serious side, learning leadership skills by serving on various committees and as an officer throughout the years prepared her for helping in the adult lodge today.

Thankfully, her youth leaders always encouraged the club to participate in all YAD events. Winning state with a tap dance to “Jump” was a significant accomplishment, but winning at royalty was always a goal.

At 14, Melissa’s youth leader asked her to run for District One Queen, and she couldn’t wait to begin work on her speech. She and her dad went to the library on a Sunday afternoon and wrote the speech using Bobby Knight’s anecdotes and John Wooden’s book, They Call Me Coach. Her career as a speech teacher likely started that day because she vividly recalls choosing each word to convey her message about success and what it meant to her. It was her mom, however, who worked on stage presence and speech rehearsals every afternoon. Over and over again, she delivered the speech, having to start over if a word was mumbled or slurred. Melissa can still recite that speech from 1987. The hard work paid off, and Melissa won the State Queen title, realizing a goal she set for herself when she first joined the SPJST youth club.

Melissa played volleyball, basketball, and softball, ran track, and was a cheerleader in high school. In addition, she was a state qualifier in both track and UIL keyboarding - yes, that was a thing. Fun fact: Today, Melissa can type about 90 words a minute and often accepts typing challenges from her classroom students. In addition to SPJST, Melissa was active in the youth program at church, 4-H, showing pigs, lambs, and chickens. She also participated in the 4-H interstate exchange program to Minnesota and New

Get to Know York and remains good friends with District Five her host families Youth Counselor Melissa Victorick-Brown today. Growing up in a small community has its advantages. Today, Melissa serves as District Five Youth Counselor and serves as a rules and regulations committee member at Lodge 88, Houston. Melissa is the former Lodge 88 secretary. In addition, Melissa teaches speech and mentorship (PALS) at Friendswood High School while serving as Fine Arts Team Leader, Leading Learner Academy instructor, an instructional technology coach, and as the district UIL Academic Coordinator. Her absolute joy comes from supporting her husband Allen and cheering on daughter Addison, also a Lodge 88, Houston member. —SPJST—