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Official Newsletter of the MAST Key Club/New Jersey District/Division 8
THE SANDY KEYS District Convention Special Issue Meet the Executive Board By Alyssa van Doorn This past weekend at DCON 2012, our district's new executive board was elected and inducted. Candidates campaigned and vied for positions on the board, but only four candidates could ultimately be voted to their positions. Our club's very own Nicole Ventrone was elected and inducted as governor. She will lead the mighty New Jersey District of Key Club international in the upcoming 2012- 2013 service year. Her responsibilities will be countless but she'll always have our supportive and spirited club behind her. The New Jersey District's new secretary is Celina Baquiran. She was the lieutenant governor for Division 14 this past service year and a Junior at Union High School. The duties of secretary include: recording minutes, writing newsletters and presenting a secretary's report at every board meeting. Joseph Toumanios, the new treasurer served as the lieutenant governor of division eighteen. The treasurer is responsible for the financial aspect of the NJ district. He will prepare dues and financial reports, make sure clubs pay dues and will present a treasurer's report at all board meetings. Zachariah DeGiulio, our new district bulletin editor, is responsible for our district's publication, The Jersey Key.
He is a junior at Voorhees High School and was part of the district board this past year as Division 12's lieutenant governor. Zachariah will write articles for the publication, assign other district board members' the articles they are responsible for writing and present a bulletin editor's report at each board meeting. Every member of our district's executive board is a vital player and is responsible for a great deal of work, however, only a snippet of each member's job is listed above. If you would like more information on any specific job please go to keyclub.org/Leadership/bal/leadddl.
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In this issue! Meet The Executive Board ..................................1 Highlights of D-Con ........1-2 Freshman Perspective .........................................2-3 Fun In The Sun....................3 District Talent Show...........3 District Service Project ..........................................3-4 Interview with Nicole Ventrone ............................4 Scrapbook Page!!.............5
Highlights of D-Con By Danielle Ciaurro For anyone who missed this past District Convention, listen up! Here’s everything you missed over the weekend at D-Con. After getting settled at the Ocean Place Hilton in Long Branch, all of the Masties got ready for dinner and for the Keynote Session, including a speech from the 2011-2012 District Governor, Nicole Darrah. This year’s Keynote Speaker was Bo Shafer, who reminded us all why we volunteer and the amount of power we have together as a group.
MORE INFO! Check out http://new.njkeyclub.org/, the New Jersey District Key Club website.
D-Con Special Issue At 9:30 p.m., the caucuses commenced with a session of speeches and a Q & A for each of the candidates running for a District Board position for next year. (The Masties cheered particularly loud for Nicole Ventrone who ran for District Governor.) The neon-themed District Dance began at 11:30 p.m. The next morning, we had breakfast and went to an appreciation session before going off to various workshops. Each person had to choose three workshops to receive tickets. The tickets were handed in to receive our District Convention tshirts. Following was a debate between the District Governor candidates and then lunch. During our free time, every Mastie spent the first hour at the District Talent Show to support our fellow Key Clubbers. After that, everyone spent time either in their rooms, in the hallway, or at Pier Village next to the hotel. There was the Recognition Session after dinner where awards were handed out to various Key Clubs and individual members. MAST Key Club won 3rd place for Impromptu essay, 2nd place for Club Bulletin, and 1st place for our Major Emphasis Project working at CSH. Division 19 won the Spirit Stick (which was rightfully ours, but we’re not bitter). The night ended with the Governor’s Ball and Board Auction where each Division’s Lieutenant Governor and the Board members were auctioned off to dance. We kicked off the last day of Convention by walking the boardwalk (of service) to raise money for ELIMINATE. Next year’s District Board members were announced following Nicole Darrah’s Farewell Address. Of course, the most tense moment was right before the District Governor was announced, but we were all ecstatic when we heard Nicole called. (All we heard was “from the Marine Academy—” and we all screamed at the tops of our lungs!) District Convention was a blast for everyone who went! This year
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was especially great with a Mastie running for a District office. We hope to see you at Convention next year!
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Freshman Perspective By Dan McCormack Hearing about conventions of years past from my sister, I thought I had a general sense of what was going to happen during the 2012 New Jersey Key Club District Convention. I was wrong. She described convention as good. It was great! Upon arriving at the new venue of the Ocean Place Hotel in Long Branch, New Jersey, my fellow freshmen and I felt excitement and anticipation. Convention did not disappoint. From the first night we could tell this was not going to be a dry and endless weekend filled with neverending speeches and boring awards sessions. Our first night consisted of an awesome dinner, a keynote speech by Bo Schaffer, and after that, endless partying until one in the morning. I'm not joking around when we say that we got less than ten hours of sleep in the whole weekend. District Convention however was not just a party it was a Mecca and melting pot of service. An evident passion for service reverberated through convention weekend with the nonstop spirit displayed by Key Clubs throughout the state.
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D-Con Special Issue From learning about maternal neonatal tetanus to hearing the deafening sound of the MAST Key Club, we felt inspired to go out and serve in our communities. District Convention is a must for any and every Key Clubber.
Fun In The Sun By Shannon Cassaro As you all may have heard a million times, over forty masties spent the weekend at the New Jersey District Convention (DCON) With the word “convention” in the name, it actually may sound like a really boring weekend. However, it was hosted by Key Club so, of course, it was unbelievably fun! Even Mrs. Trinidad and Mr. Meyers agree. The keynote speaker was absolutely hysterical and had everyone literally jumping out of their seats! He was quite comical yet still managed to teach us all a great lesson! It was a weekend filled with great entertainment and a ton of clapping and screaming. As always, MAST was in high spirits, cheering and clapping for everyone. We congratulated the first place winners of every category with much enthusiasm. One of the best parts about the weekend was the location itself! The theme of DCON this year was “Walk the Boardwalk of Service.” So it was only fitting that our hotel was right on the beach. Saturday, during our free time, nearly everyone went outside for some fresh air. Some people went shopping at Pier Village while others just took a walk along the ocean. The hotel itself was gorgeous! Each room had its own balcony (much to the dismay of Mr. E and Señorita) and the view was great! With the dances lasting until midnight or later and having to be out of the room and ready for breakfast by 7:30 each morning, the entire weekend was filled with great, sleep-deprived fun!
District Talent Show By Becky D’Albero On Saturday March 31st a talent show occurred at the New Jersey Key Club District Convention. Many Masties in addition to other key club members from other schools throughout New Jersey gathered together at 2:30 pm to witness the show. Some acts were breath taking while others were...interesting. A few groups combined traditional Indian dances with modern moves, which resulted in a captivating performance. One girl sang “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and one boy brought his ukulele and sang. Some students from our school participated in the talent show as well. Rob Sharkey played the guitar and sang “Fix You” by Coldplay. He did quite a wonderful job. Abby Cornero also played the guitar and sang “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. Ali Pham played a keyboard and sang “Imagine” by John Lennon. Finally, James Abbaticchio sang to “Jumper” by Third Eye blind while Abby played the guitar. Unfortunately, no one from MAST placed. In forth place was a boy who played an impromptu performance on the keyboard. In third place was a girl who sang “Someone Like You” by Adele. Two girls who performed an acoustic duet version of “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj took second place. In first place was a boy who sang “What Do I Need With Love” from Thoroughly Modern Millie. Although only four performances could place, everyone did a spectacular job and the talent show was a memorable experience for many.
Shoutout!! We feel a particular shout-out is in order, so we would all like to congratulate Mr. Ellithorpe on being elected the Keyport Kiwanis’s President!!
District Service Project By Leor Golan District Convention provided a great time for all Key Clubbers around New Jersey. It provided a time
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where everyone with the same view toward serving the community spent time together. Throughout the entire convention, one moment was truly silent: the announcement of the new District Project. All of the members waited anxiously, yearning to finally hear the new District Project announced to everyone. The short pause felt like hours before the project was finally publicized. After a grueling five seconds, the project was announced. “The New Jersey District Project of the 2012-2013 service year is assisting raising money for the ELIMINATE Project,” the Governor announced. This District Project is very different from the past. The New Jersey Key Club District will no longer be fundraising for the Children’s Specialized Hospital, but rather for the ELIMINATE Project. The ELIMINATE Project was created by Kiwanis and UNICEF. They started this project to raise awareness and money to eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus. Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus is a very deadly disease that takes lives away from innocent babies and women. The victims suffer excruciating convulsions, killing them within a few days. In order to prevent this fatal disease, vaccines are needed. All it takes is $1.80 to purchase the three-dose vaccines. This will immunize the mother and the baby and prevent them from receiving the disease. The New Jersey Key Club District has set a goal for this project. By the end of the service year, the district hopes to collect $79,180.38. All of this money will be put toward the worldwide goal of $110 Million. This goal will not be impossible. It is up to each individual Key Club member to reach out, and do what is right: to eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus from the face of the earth. “It is not about what it is, it is about what it can become” (Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax).
Interview with Nicole Ventrone, District Governor By Alison Pham At D-Con, many Key Club members ran campaigns in hopes of being elected to the Executive Board. Recently, our very own Nicole Ventrone won the position of New Jersey District Governor of Key Club International at the New Jersey Key Club District Convention. We spoke to her about her position. Q: Congratulations on becoming our 2012-2013 New Jersey District Governor of Key Club International! What was going through your mind when you were announced as Governor at District Convention? A: Thank you so much for the "congratulations", Ali! It was so overwhelming and just incredible. I kept crying and crying yet trying to smile through it because I wanted everyone to know how completely honored and ecstatic I was that they elected me as the new District Governor. Q: How does it feel to be so well known? A: Well, I don't know if I'm quite "well known", but it feels wonderful to meet more and more members of the KFamily.
leadership, character building, caring and inclusiveness. It's about doing what I can to reinvigorate people's love for service and giving back while simultaneously promoting events, like Key Leader, that will foster leadership skills. Q: What are some changes that you hope to see in our District? A: I would love to see a return to service rather than such a significant focus on fundraising, though fundraising is still deserving of much of our attention. Q: What projects can we look forward to seeing in our upcoming service year? A: As of right now, the new District Board is working together to come up with a fun district-wide event to benefit the Eliminate Project, this year's district project. Considering the year has just begun, we have nothing definite yet, but if anyone has a cool idea, please feel free to talk to Lieutenant Governor Tracy Vollbrecht or myself about your plans. Q: What is your favorite part of being Governor? A: As Governor, I have a greater ability to promote a dedication to service. I have a larger theater to advocate for varying causes and organizations and more resources to make a difference.
Q: What do you feel is the most important aspect of your job? A: Personally, I feel as if it is the Governor's responsibility to ensure that the New Jersey District of Key Club abides by our core values of
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D-Con Special Issue Scrapbook Page!!
MAST Key Club Officers Ashley Hann President Jackie Lowenstein Vice President Dan McCormack Treasurer Katie Henry Secretary Danielle Ciaurro Co-Editor Becky D’Albero Co-Editor Leor Golan Co-Editor Alison Pham Co-Editor Alyssa van Doorn Co-Editor and Co-Webmaster Joe Nardone Co-Webmaster Tracy Vollbrecht LTG Division 8 Señorita Mancini Advisor Mr. Ellithorpe Advisor
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