The T-O Today - Issue 5

the

T-O Today

Volume 1 | Issue 5

District Committee

Updates Apply to be on a District Committee!

D-CON Sneak PeeK!

Service: Discover the Magic!

Service Partner Spotlight

March of Dimes Circle K International develops college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service.

The T-O TODAY

S T N E T N O C f o E L B TA

. . . . . . . . . 4 ek . . . . . . . . . . .

Pe k ea Sn n tio en District Conv . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ism al ur Pl s Working Toward 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tion. . . . . . . . . . . cia so As ni um Al K TX-O . . . . . . . . .. . 9 r? . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fo ul kf an Th u Yo What Are . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . te District Upda . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s Division Update 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ht lig ot Sp ice Serv . . . . .. . . . . . 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e” Lif on rt “Head-Sta . . . . . . . . 24 . . . . . . . . . . .. . . s. te da Up e tte mi District Co m . . . . . 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CKI Ad s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ad re Sp o Phot . . . . . . . . . . 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r ito Ed e Th om Letter Fr . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Who’s Who?

Dis trict Goals 47 .4 1

%

2

S 7,58 er vice 6.8 7 h o ur s

Ser vice Ho ur Goal: 1 6,000 ho ur Interclub G s oal: 75 inte Kiwanis Fa r c lu b s mily Relati ons: 175 K FRs 32 0%

Int erc l 240 ubs

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Texas-Oklahoma CKI Sunday

DECEMBER

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

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4

5

11

12

Visit

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Sun-

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Suites Hotel)

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25

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C hris tmas!

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o f

E V E N T S

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10 D-CON Site-

(Embassy

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3

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Austin Co mm unity Co llege In Ceremony duction

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Saturday

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Late subm for Dues! ission

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28

Suites

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C A L E N D A R

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New Years Eve!

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1

2

8

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Escape

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Oak brook, Illinois) 15

Conference

16

Gulf Shores, Alabama) 22

CKI Board Phone Conference

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Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

New Years Day!

JANUARY

23

30

17

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Wednesday

Thursday

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5

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By-Law Amendment Submissions Due

DCON Sneak Peak Webinar

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Fri day 6

Saturday 7

ay

Ho lid Sub-C Winter (Do uble Tree Holiday Embrace Hotel 13

CKI

14

Y’all

(Gulf Shores

Beach Retreat

20

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27

Southeas t Texas/ Gulf Coast

Spring Rally

28

Hill Country / South Texas

Spring Rally

31

3

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One, Magical Weekend The Texas-Oklahoma CKI District Board invites you to the

58th Annual T-O CKI District Convention Dear Texas-Oklahoma CKI Member,

You are cordially invited to experience a weekend of enchantment at our

58th Annual T-O CKI District Convention, February 24-26, 2012 in San Marcos,

TX. Discover the magical world of CKI, as we come together to celebrate anoth-

er year of full of Service, Leadership, Fellowship, and begin another spellbinding adventure with a new set of leaders. District Convention, Service: Discover the

Magic, will not only help you meet other great leaders from aroung the Texas-

Oklahoma District, but it will provide you many opportunities and magical mischief, to become the best wizards and witches you’ve always dreamed of being.

What to expect at District Convention: • • • • • • • •

Sorting Hat Ritual (Opening Session).

Elect a new District Governor, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Attend magic lessons (Workshops).

The Tri-Wizard Games (Dinner & Awards Banquet).

A Yule Ball (Dance).

Casting spells of Service (Service Project).

The House Cup (Closing Session). and many more surprises!

All Witches, Wizards, and even Muggles are invented to attend this unforgettable, fun-filled, magical weekend. You won’t want to miss out.

February 24-26, 2012

Embassy Suites Hotel

1001 E. McCarty Lane

San Marcos, Texas 78666

Register Online by clicking on the Convention logo!

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Working Towards Pluralism

By: Donnesh Amrollah District Governor

“Last issue, I talked about the importance of community in the “Building a Family” article in the T-O Today, but for this issue I would like to expand on this concept. It’s one thing to understand what community means and what it contributes to our organization, but the real effort lays with our ability to work with others to form that community. In any scenario, to build our relationships with other people, we have to be ready and willing to work with many different types of individuals. That brings me to this week’s topic: appreciating those that who are unlike us.

You’ve heard it before: “Celebrating Diversity.” The act of observing every individual’s differences, and valuing what they contribute to any setting. However, I want to challenge you to wane of this cultural cliché, as it goes, and instead adopt the idea of working toward pluralism- where we do more than recognize everyone’s differences, but moreover, we work to understand them, and celebrate what we have in common, despite our differences.

You may be wondering why I am covering this article in my Building a Family series, and what it has to do with leaving a legacy behind, but I promise you there is a reason. Recently, within CKI and my other daily interactions, I have come across several remarks/attitudes/behaviors that happen to recognize diversity, yet in a manner seem to create a barrier against acceptance when faced with diversity. Instead of focusing on what brings us together as we interact with each other, we let differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, and more affect our ability to fully commit to working in a group. More so, we lose the chance to be inspired by those who are unlike us, and to go even further, with an attitude of excluding those outside our comfort zone, we could even be neglecting a community that needs our services.

As a gay man who participates in extra-curricular functions and in the workforce, I feel that it is important to discuss this issue, in hopes of one day showing people that though every individual is made up differently, what matters most is that we share common interests. For example, one of the things I love about CKI most is that we make up of many cultures, attitudes, religions, practices, and so on, yet what brings us together is that we share the same passion to serve the world. We are like each other, in that we have service rooted deep down in our core, and have a genuine concern for changing the world. What is more is that we make up an extensive network of individuals dedicated to serving the world, both old and young, and it would be a shame if our attitudes and the attitudes of our elders affected our younger generations in a way as to prevent them from truly appreciating the different identities of others.

Therefore, it is important that we be the role models, CKI, and leave a legacy behind by proving how our family can improved when we let down the barriers that keep us from working with other people, and choose to love and embrace every person’s distinctive

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characteristics. Again, I challenge you, from here on out, to not merely “celebrate” diversity, but to make an active effort toward pluralism. Below are four concepts to pluralism that I implore you to peruse, should you take on my challenge: 1.

Pluralism is the energetic engagement with diversity. Like I said, it is one thing to recognize diversity in your life, but in order to decrease tensions through your interaction, you must seek real encounters and actively try to build those relationships.

2.

Pluralism is the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference. It takes more than tolerance to be accepting of others. In order to appreciate another individual you have to be willing to learn about another’s unique identity. Without this knowledge, we keep in place stereotypes, and misinformed truths about those communities that belong to an individuals’ character.

3.

Pluralism is the encounter of commitments. Keep in mind that you are not asked to lose your individuality in this new paradigm of pluralism. It’s about holding on to your differences, but sharing them with others at the same time, and finding some relationship in your differences.

4.

Pluralism is based on dialogue. If you are going to actively work toward pluralism, you need to be willing to have discussions. Plain and simple. You can’t engage, seek understanding, and share your differences without speaking and listening to each other.

As CKI members, it is important to know that we have always been the trendsetters in the Kiwanis Family. We were the first to welcome women in our organization, and the first to elect a woman as International President. Even further, since and between those times we have had elected officers of many different identities to serve in every capacity and level, whether it be on the club, district, or international level. This is history to be proud of, yet it also means that it is up to continue to work towards change even further. So remember, if we want to change the world, it is going to take more than just getting along and accepting characteristics a part from us. It is time that we work to understand these differences, support each other, and recognize that we are all human beings and have a common purpose, especially in an organization such as CKI. We all want to change the world, and by making an effort to abide by the concepts above, we are actively changing the world, and setting the example that when people understand each other, everything that is done together can make much more of an impact. All we need to do is be willing to step outside our comfort zone a little, and trust that a little effort can go a long way to improving the society we live in.”

1. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, “What is Pluralism,” http://pluralism.org/pages/pluralism/what_is_pluralism.

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TX-OK Alumni Association Greetings T-O CKI’ers,

First, I hope everyone had a Happy Kiwanis Family month. Hopefully you’re

participating in great joint service projects and interclubs to build upon the bonds that make the K-Family one of the most unique service organizations in the world. The Texas-Oklahoma CKI Alumni Association is one of the newest officially organized groups to join the K-Family and it’s just one more way to grow through service, leadership, and fellowship after your time in CKI. For some, joining a Kiwanis Club or forming a new Kiwanis Club is a great way to continue in service after graduation. For more recent alumni, maintaining those strong bond of friendship from CKI while navigating a whole new world after college provides some more time to figure out one’s place in Kiwanis. For more experienced alumni, the Association is a means of re-connecting with friends and generating new enthusiasm for the great work (in and outside of Kiwanis) that members and former members of the K-Family do every day. For all, the Alumni Association is about giving back to a great organization. The mission of the organization is to “connect the past membership and friends of the Texas-Oklahoma District of Circle K International in the pursuit of providing a continue Circle K and Kiwanisfamily experience with professional development, networking, fellowship, leadership development, service, and supporting the Texas-Oklahoma District of CKI.” As a new organization, many things are still to be decided, but you can be sure the tenets of CKI will always be a focus. Regional service projects, opportunities to give back, and mentorship of current CKI members are just some of the great things on the horizon. The very first meeting of the Alumni Association, the first “Alumni Reunion,” will occur alongside the District Convention in San Marcos, TX. There, current CKI members will have a chance to learn more in workshops and see what their future in the K-Family can be like. Hope to see you there!

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www.txokckialumni.org

What Are You Thankful For? “I am th

“I am th ank in my lif ful for all the a e. Have w a great esome people thanks giving!”

Michelle Hamilton - Angelo State

ankful f

or my fr iends a nd fami :)” ly

Justin Arthur Reyna - WTAMU

“Im tha

s, and

end zing fri a m a y ily, m ing fam nis family!” v lo y m r a nkful fo awesome Kiw “I’m tha my Amara Lee Garza - St. Edwards

nkful fo

r my fam i women ly, friends, and .”

Jacob Kerr - UT Austin

family tended x e w e yn .” ful for m t has given me k n a h t c “I’m Distri that T-O Raul Garcia - UTPA

“I am th family w ankful for my w ho supp o ort me i nderful friend sa n all of m y endea nd vors.”

Allison Prisco - OSU

“I am ve ry th has give ankful for the am nm a people a e with CKI, met zing oppurtunitit nd a cha s o nce to m me very nice a es that God ake a dif n ference d amazing in our wo rld.”

Adam Gartner - TAMUCC

“I am g think, s rateful for hav peak, a nd act o ing the privele ge of be n my ow in n constra without econo g able to mic or s ints.” ocial Sagar Shah - UT Dallas

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District Howdy T-O CKI!

I hope you have all survived another semester of school, and that it was filled with many opportunities to serve and change your communities. I also want to wish you all Happy Holidays, and an early New Year. Next time we meet it will be 2012!

It’s been an extreme honor to serve as your Governor of the Mighty Texas-Oklahoma District, thus far. Since April, I have had the pleasure to meet so many new and inspiring individuals, and clubs who truly live our motto, “Live to Serve, Love to Serve.” I am constantly amazed every month to see our district as a whole complete around 1000 hours of service, and to see that we are truly interested in connecting with members of the Kiwanis Family, whether our fellow CKI clubs, or our Kiwanians, Key Clubbers, and other Sponsored Leadership Programs. Looking back on our time, so far, I can honestly say this has been one of the best years for T-O CKI, and all thanks to you.

When your District Board took office in April, we set out on many ventures to help enhance our district in areas of communication, infrastructure, membership, and relations. We have done much to develop these areas, and look forward to continuing our work, moving forward. As a board, we plan to leave our legacy for having built our organization on a firm foundation to improve years to come.

Regarding communication, our biggest feat was the release of our newly update district website, which you can visit at txokcki.org. Not only is our website easy to navigate, but as we begin work on finding, updating, and developing resources, we intend to make them easily accessible for you through our website. In addition to our website, we reformatted our district publication, The T-O Today, giving it a new look that is both informative and engaging for the reader. I appreciate that both communication aspects have been well received.

We are still in the process of improving our district infrastructure, frequently revisiting our governing documents, and updating what we feel is necessary. So far, we have been able to update our Policy Code, and have started our proposals for amending our District By-Laws.

We have also been able to update our district award forms for the chapters that are available through our website. Moving forward, we intend to look at officer service agreements, and see if there should be any changes. Very soon will you be able to view all these documents, as well as your District Board’s progress online.

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Membership is our primary focus right now, because without members, all of our actions would not matter. We are currently in the process of helping many clubs reactivate, as well as welcome in newly chartered clubs. As we get them situated, I look to you to welcome them with open arms, and help them get accustomed to our district.

update!

More importantly, I look to you all to help each other out, whether a new club or old club. Each of you have something to contribute, and I strongly believe by sharing your strengths, we can promote a stronger district. During the winter holiday, your district board will be looking through resources on fundraising, recruitment, retention, and membership development, to provide for your benefit. Again, you will be able to find these tools online.

Lastly, we look at relations. Your district board has been committed to the improvement of relations between CKI and other members of the Kiwanis Family. We believe that by improving these relations, we can serve a greater community together. We’ve been your ambassadors to the Kiwanis Family, representing you at Kiwanis Family Weekend, and at other Kiwanis Family functions. Our special attention has been on Key Club and our younger SLP’s.

By interacting with Key Club more frequently, we hope to bridge the gap in membership, and give them more incentive to continue the Kiwanis Family experience through CKI. We have done so by attending their Fall Training Conferences, and by hosting online webinars regarding college for them. Relations have been great, thus far, and we can only get better.

As we round off the year, and get ready to welcome in the New Year, I ask you to look back on what you have been able to do for CKI, so far. What have you been able to do to improve CKI, because you should know, you have the ability to improve our organization as well. Whether you commit to do more community service in the New Year, or attempt to reach out to other K-Family members, know that you are responsible for making our District as great as it can be. I thank you for all the work you have done thus far, and look forward to seeing what we accomplish with our last few months in our CKI term.

T-Ogether in Service and a Smile,

Donnesh Amrollah 11

Division Updates Hola Texas-Oklahoma District!

Greetings from South Texas Division and what a fun fall semester it has been thus far!

Texas A&M Corpus Christi has been recruiting new members and having a strong CKI member base at there university and attending district events like fall retreat.

UT-Brownsville has been all hands on service this summer and has over 1,000 community service hours in just two months. They are now working hard on fundraising for the 58th annual T-O CKI District Convention in San Marcos, Texas in February. UT-Pan American has been full spirits ahead with district events, after attending fall retreat the club has been stronger than ever working on service projects and fundraising events.

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The first half of the year has passed and many service hours, friends, and incredible memories have been created by the South Texas division CKI’ers.Now, we expect the spring semester to bring much more memories, spring rally, and the most amazing T-O District Convention to date! Texas A&M Corpus Christi is hard at work to host the South Texas Division spring rally that I know will be a great one with there help! The South Texas “soaked up in service” Spring Rally will be on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 from 9am-4pm at Texas A&M University -Corpus Christi.

Hello Texas-Oklahoma District!

The Division as a whole has been doing fairly well. Hopefully the rest of the semester will go well.

Some highlights of the semester included Fall Rally at Texas Tech, “A Night to Unite Fashion Show� hosted by OU, and a fundraising event to Support the American Troops Foundation at WTAMU.

The chapters are doing exceptionally well and thriving. I have been told there are a few interests members in chartering a CKI club at Rose State, Tulsa Community College, and Mid-American College, but I have not heard from anyone yet.

For the spring semester, since I am only taking 12 hour credit courses, I will be focusing on chartering a new club, but the main focus will be in rebuilding OCU and SWOSU. Spring rally date is still tentative for February 4th, 2012 at the University of Oklahoma. We have already begun the logistics of spring rally in conjunction with our LSSP.

We look forward to attending District Convention in February. We absolutely cannot wait to see the rest of our fellow Texas-Oklahoma Circle K International District! See you all there!

Hey Texas-Oklahoma District!

The fall semester has been a rather productive semester. Lamar University put its best foot forward with the ELIMINATE kickball tournament that raised over 800 dollars.

Unfortunately, Lamar has dropped in membership to the mid twenties.

TAMU has continued to be very involved with their Kiwanis club and their community in general. They have been raising money for ELIMINATE as well.

Overall, the division has done a great job with the new service partner.

In new chapters, we have TAMU Galveston that recently resurfaced and has been active throughout the semester, unbeknownst to me. I am very happy that this club has not dissolved. In chartering, I have made progress with U of H and Lone Star, but not as much as I would like to have at this point in time. I will work very hard at the beginning of the next semester to get these chapters up and running. Sam Houston has not had much luck in terms of chartering either.

Despite this average report, I have high hopes for the upcoming semester and am dedicated to getting this division to becoming one of the largest and active in the T-O district.

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Howdy Texas-Oklahoma District, The Hill Country Division has been very active this past semester in regards to membership. We have had almost all our current clubs submit their dues on time, and even welcomed a new Circle K club- Austin Community College! Currently, we are working hard to welcome back two clubs, St. Edward’s University and Texas State University.

Service wise, our clubs are doing the best they can to get service in every week. The University of Texas CKI has performed nearly 2000 hours of service since the beginning of the CKI year in April. In October they completed 400 of those hours, alone. Southwestern CKI continues to serve with their “Bead the Change” fundraising initiative. Most of our clubs have big service projects planned for next semester, so stayed tuned for those updates.

Regarding fellowship, Angelo State CKI hosted our Fall Divisional Rally and has been keeping up Kiwanis Family Relations involving their local area Key Clubs, and Kiwanis clubs. Next semester, we plan to have our Spring Rally in Austin at St. Edward’s University, and look forward to seeing everyone at the 58th Annual District Convention!

Greetings Texas-Oklahoma District The Red River/ Metro Division has been working hard on increasing membership in our division. As of now, we have only two clubs (both paid their dues on-time!), but are looking forward to nearly tripling in size come spring. Currently, we are working on chartering one new club with the help of our Assistant Administrator, Carol Clyde, at Southern Methodist University. We are also getting ready to reactivate the University of North Texas CKI, and Texas Christian University, and UT Arlington is nearly waiting to charter as soon as they find a faculty advisor.

The fall semester was full of Kiwanis Family Relations, with Southwestern Christian College volunteering with their local Key Club, Builder’s Club, and K-Kids. UT Dallas has been volunteering a lot with their sponsoring Kiwanis Club, and has attended many Kiwanis Family functions including a Kiwanis Zone Conference, and Kiwanis Family Weekend. Next semester, we will be hosting our Spring Rally at UT Dallas, and invite you to attend our festivities. If not, we look forward to seeing you in San Marcos at District Convention.

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Hope to see fellow T-O CKI’ers there!

Key Club Kiwanis Senior? Member?

JOIN HERE. Have questions about college? Cirlce K can help.

SIGN HERE.

Circle K members have questions about your professional careers and learn more about Kiwanis.

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Service Partner Spotlight:

March of Dimes march for babies

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What is the March of Dimes?

Submitted by Mayank Patel of UT CKI “In 1938 a nonprofit organization called National Foundation of Infantile Paralysis was founded. However, many CKIers know it as the March of Dimes foundation, 1 of 5 of CKI’s service partners. The mission of this amazing organization is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Premature birth occurs when an infant is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. More and more newborns are dying from premature birth than any other cause. In the United States alone, 1 in 8 babies are born too soon and suffer from the effects of premature birth.

Some of the ways that you club can help out the March of Dimes foundation is by bringing awareness to premature births and hosting various fundraising. There are many ways to bring about awareness. Since we have a vast Kiwanis family, your club can inform them about the March of Dimes foundation by speaking out to your surrounding Kiwanis Clubs and Key Clubs.

Another, opportunity to fundraise and bring awareness, would be by tabling on your campus. This would be a great way to bring awareness, fundraise, and get easy service hours for your club. For other ways to get involved and get more information on the March of Dimes foundation please visit marchofdimes.com. As the mighty T-O district, we should all work together for stronger, healthier babies!”

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Service Partner Spotlight (Cont.) :

From the UNICEF Website:

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e f i L n O t r a t S d a e H

By Jackie Vela (University of Texas-Pan American)

“This past November 17th was World Prematurity Day. It was a day where we honored the millions of babies who died and the millions who are still suffering because they were born too early. I’m bittersweet to say that I am part of those millions. My name is Jacqueline Vela, and I was born at six months and two weeks on April 14, 1993.

My story starts out a little more complicated than the average premature child. My mother was not aware that she was pregnant with me. As a result of this, she continued to take her birth control pills for four months of her pregnancy. It wasn’t until she went to the doctor, for her scheduled tubal ligation, that she found out she was with child. The reason she was having a tubal ligation was because after she had my sister the doctors damaged her spine when administrating the epidural. She was told

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that if she gave birth again she had a very high risk of becoming paralyzed. To make things even harder on my mother, the doctor explained I could be born with many complications and defects due to the heavy medication she was taking. With my father by her side, she decided to have me.

Just two weeks after finding out that I was in my mothers belly, I attempted to say hello. This happened two more times, creating a grand panic because they can only give you the shot a limited amount of times to hold the baby in. At six months and almost two weeks, I attempted to come out yet again and this time my parents were told to prepare for a small deformed baby. I can’t imagine what my parents were going through at that moment but once my cries were heard all worries were relieved. I was born at a height of 15 inches, and weighed

in at 7.10 pounds (yes, I was quite the teeny chubbs.) I had my eyes, my arms, all my toes, everything.

I didn’t even need an incubator.

I was one of the lucky ones. Of course, luck only runs so far.

As years passed, I developed complications with my body.

One of the major complications I’ve had happened in the fourth grade.

It was during PE and we were running outside when I suddenly went blind. I can’t describe how scary it is to one moment being able to see the world then the next not be able to see your own hand in front of you. This would happen for lapses of time to sometimes days. It turned out that my eye nerve was swollen from a strong sinus infection and it didn’t allow the nerve to transmit what I saw to my brain. This is known as Optic Neuritis and it’s usually associated with Multiple Sclerosis (which I also have).

Another major complication and perhaps the most life altering one I’ve ever had, happened in the eighth grade on November 2nd. I was getting off the car to go inside the school when I sneezed and all of the sudden I got a sharp intense pain on the back left side of my head. Needless to say, I went back home. The pain continued for days. It was so intense that any little sound would make it worse.

My sense of taste became distorted. Anything sweet would taste sour, anything sour would be bitter, anything bitter would taste like nothing almost like water and anything with dairy tasted like it was rotten. I had become an insomniac, sleeping only a few minutes per day.

By this point, I became a homebound student which is being homeschooled but the teachers send the assignments. I got an MRI and an EKG which showed no abnormalities but the pain persisted and had spread to the right side and was slowly spreading to the top middle. I was isolated from everyone and almost everything for fear that it would cause further damage. This affected me emotionally. I became very depressed to the point where I began to cut myself in order to have a pain that I could control. It definitely wasn’t one of my proudest moments of my life but it happened.

I eventually had a neurologist and geneticist. The neurologist was little to no help but the geneticist found out something that explained so much of my previous complications. I had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. EDS is a syndrome where you have disorders with your connective tissues like your skin, ligaments, muscles, even organs. Because of this syndrome, I am very accident prone due to my “loose/ unstable” joints. I have developed Arthritis, Scoliosis, Carpal Tunnel

Syndrome and Myalgia at the age of 14. I had flat feet with bunions, I bruised and cut easily due to thin stretchy skin, got strong sinus infections (which explains my fourth grade incident), and became prone to having strong headaches from random intracranial hypotension.

After much prayer and getting acupuncture to help managedthe pain, the chronic headaches went away in about seven months.

the thought o losing an ovary scared me to death. I ended up having surgery this October 7th to remove my non-functioning gallbladder and to checkmy uterus and ovaries. Everything turned out alright although I am still recovering and am limited to what I can do and eat.

I still struggle with these problems. I cannot focus or read small letters for a long time without having pain in the back of my eye,

I recently had a complica- which eventually leads to blackened tion which was brought upon by vision. I constantly have joint pain. my EDS. My gallbladder stopped I can’t walk or write for a long time functioning and I developed Ovar- without feeling like a woman of sevian Cysts. Turns out gastrointestinal enty years old. I still get the occasionproblems and EDS go hand in hand. al chronic headache. I still haven’t I was actually out with a fellow CKI fully recovered my sense of taste. member, Ashley De La Cruz, when Nevertheless, I still smile I began to have intense abdominal and push through everyday bepain. I’d prefer not to get into much cause I am comforted in knowing of what happened at the hospitals I that there are people, like the peowent to, due to a lot of malpractice ple from the entire Kiwanis famthat happened and the anger that it ily and organizations like March brings me. My ovarian cysts ended of Dimes, that are out there trying up rupturing which brought me a to prevent these types of things lot of emotional pain, aside from the from darkening the lives of a newphysical, because I was told that it born and their families. Being born may have damaged my uterus and premature brings about so many they would have to check if I had complications, so please, please, more because if I did then one of my don’t stay quiet. Lift your voice for ovaries would have to be removed. all those little ones out there. Let’s If you know me, you’d know that I speak up for them. Let’s save them.” want a big family; so needless to say,

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T-Ogether, T-Ogeth er, we’ll elimin nate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

We will keep one baby from dying every 9 minutes from neonatal teta nus. T-Ogether, we’ll eli minate mater nal and neonatal tetanus. We will ke ep 160 babies from dying each day from neonatal tetanus. T-Ogether, we’ll eliminate maternal and neonatal teta nus.

We will raise the US $110 million dollars needed to elim inate MNT by 2015.

T-O geth er, we’ll eliminate maternal and neonatal teta nus. For US $1.80, we will be able to provide one mother wi th three doses of the te ta nus vaccine. T-Ogether, we’ll eiminate mater nal and neonatal te tanus. We will protect 61 million mothers and future babies from tetanus. T-Ogether, we’ll eliminate maternal and neonatal te tanus. We wi ll keep one baby from dying every 9 minutes from neonat al tetanus. T-Ogether, we’ll eliminate mat ernal and neonatal tetanus. We will k eep 160 ba bies from dying each day from neonatal tet a nus.

TOgether, we’ll elimi nate maternal and neo nat al tetanus. We will raise the US $110 mil li on dollars needed to elim inate MNT by 2015.

T-Ogether, we’ll elim in ate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

For US $1.80, we will be able to pro vi de one moth er with three dos es of the tetan us vaccine.

T-O gether, we’ll eiminate maternal and neo natal tetanus.

We will pro tect 61 mill ion moth ers and fut ure babies from tet an us. T-Ogeth er, we’ll elimin ate maternal and neonat al te tanus. T-Oge ther, we will make a di ff er en ce.

we’ll ELIMINATE. To get more information you can go to

http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/home.aspx

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District Events Comittee!

First and foremost, I would like to thank every member and sponsor who attended Fall Retreat. Thank you so much for piling into cars and driving hundreds of miles to be there. I appreciated everyone’s amazing attitudes. I truly hope you learned something new as well as became more acquainted with the K-Family. We surpassed our district goal for attendance which we would love to keep happening, especially with District Convention coming up. Planning for DCON began literally the day after Fall Retreat. I hope everyone is excited for the theme - Service: Discover the Magic. Don’t worry, registration and program ad forms will be coming very soon to our new and improved website.

I have been offered tons of support from members, which is great. I would love to see the District Events committee grow larger, as there is a lot to do in preparation for DCON. District Events committee is responsible for planning events such as Weekend Officer Workshop, Camp CKI, Fall Retreat and District Convention. There are so many aspects that go into organizing these events from promo/flyer-making to finding a service project. Although it is a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun and super rewarding to watch these events come to life!

Since we want DCON to be as successful as Fall Retreat and because we want to hear your feedback, we are offering an incentive for completing a Fall Retreat Evaluation. For every form completed (one form per person), your name goes into a drawing for a chance to receive $25 off of District Convention registration! We would love to hear everyone’s feedback, so be aware that even if you do not plan on going to DCON, if you win, the reward can go to someone else in your club who will be in attendance.

Be on the lookout for an e-mail with this Fall Retreat evaluation and more information pertaining to DCON. Please be sure you are checking the district website and Facebook page for details on District Convention and other upcoming events, like Spring Rally! And, as always, please feel free to contact me if you need anything at districteventschair@txokcki.org.

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Denise Gonzalez

District Events Chair

Public Relations & Marketing Committee!

The Public Relations & Marketing Committee is in charge of manifesting the progress of CKI clubs all across Texas and Oklahoma. We are the ones in charge of collaborating all the information we receive from chapters across the district. One of our main tasks is the T-O Today, which is a monthly newsletter filled with articles and pictures. Our goal is to effectively show everything our district has to offer.

Being on the MPR chair is all about capturing district memories. It is our job to make sure that everything done in Texas-Oklahoma has the oppurtunity to be shown throughout the district. I know for me specifically, I like to acheive this by taking a million pictures at various district events. These pictures come in handy when constructing the T-O Today with all of the many pictures placed all throughout the issue. From updates about projects that various clubs are participating in to highlighting social issues with our Service Spotlight, The T-O Today creates an issue very beneficial to Circle K International students in Texas and Oklahoma.

Another job of the Public Relations & Markeing Committee is to help coordinate and maintain the district website. Articles, topics, and various publications are under the list of things to help maintain. We have the oppurtunity to assign people to write various articles we want published on the front page of our newly reconstructed website. Much like the T-O Today, the district website is another form of social media for Texas-Oklahoma in which we are in charge of producing, editing, and maintaining.

With many district events coming up such as District Convention and all of the Spring Rallies in every division, The MPR Committee will be very busy making sure that these events are effectively highlighted for everyone to see. If you have anything you would like to see in the T-O Today or on the District Website, feel free to email me at Editor@txokcki.org.

Fabian Fernandez

Public Relations & Marketing Chair

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Kiwanis Family Relations Committee!

The Kiwanis-Family Relations committee of the TX-OK District CKI has been very busy with several projects over the course of the last eight months. In April the committee decided to begin compiling information to complete a K-Family directory. This Directory was to be a collection of points-of-contact at all levels of the K-Family for each active university within the TX-OK District of CKI. The committee has put in countless hours of collecting information and gathering data in order to complete a comprehensive directory. The directory should be completed and posted to the website for all to access at the start of the Spring semester of 2012. It is the committee’s sincerest hope that this directory will help facilitate connections between our sponsored youth programs, Key Club, local Kiwanis and CKI.

The Kiwanis Family Relations Committee has also focused on connecting to Key Club members in the TX-OK District through the “Keys to College” program. Jace Venters, the Co-Chair for International K-Family organizations, has worked with Governor Amarollah to answer difficult questions that college-bound Key Clubbers may have. They have hosted several webinars in an effort to reach out to the future of CKI in hopes that they could answer questions and give advice on making the transition into college from High School. Neal Wright, the Co-Chair for Sponsored Kiwanis programs has been in contact with Margaret Davis, the K-Kids sponsor for TX-OK District of Kiwanis International and Susan Myers the International contact for Builders club to find the best strategies for our CKI members to connect to sponsored youth programs. We have found that they often have short, hands-on meetings at local schools with built-in service projects that CKI members could be very active in supporting.

Although the Texas and Oklahoma have many more active Kiwanis and Key Clubs to connect to throughout district, the K-Family Relations committee still pushes for our clubs to connect to other branches in any way they can. Through several presentations that the committee has given over the past eight months and will continue to give, we have promoted K-Family Relation (KFR) events. It is our sincere wish that we will surpass the 160 KFR goal set by this year’s District Board of CKI. We will reflect upon this goal as we prepare for “Kiwanis Service Week” and the ever-important “Kiwanis One Day”. Our committee will serve to light our district’s fire for service through persistent encouragement to get involved with any to every other branch of the Kiwanis Family to serve together on this special day.

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Jace Venters & Neal Wright

Kiwanis Family Relations Co-Chairs

Membership Development Committee!

The Membership Development committee is tasked with creating and distributing membership and educational materials to assist members and clubs. This ranges from recruitment and retention resources to disseminating the Freshmen Leadership Initiative Program (FLIP) to bring incoming Key Clubbers into contact with the Circle K club at their university. The overall goal of the committee is to help strengthen the district through building up both clubs and members through the use of such resources. This may seem like a very daunting and extensive task, and it is. This is why it requires a motivated and encouraged group of members to make it successful.

What we’ve done: •

The membership development committee has been hard at work developing a membership survey. This will be used to gauge the needs and opinions of the district so that the district board can better provide for the wishes of the membership.

•

FLIP: FLIP has been moved to an online form to give high school students easier access to it. Along with this we’re looking to offering incentives for those who fill out the FLIP card. The hope is that this will increase the response to the FLIP survey and, in turn, incoming membership for our district.

Where we’re headed: •

Chartering Resource: chartering a new Circle K club can be a tricky affair, and the information on it isn’t exactly cut and dry. What we’d like to do is create a chartering resource that boils it down to the basics and makes it simple for member-hopefuls to charter a new club.

•

Resources on Recruitment and Retention: The next recruiting season is quickly approaching and our clubs need the resources to really ramp up their membership. Then after recruitment begins retention, and we need to provide helpful tips for our clubs to keep their members coming back week after week.

•

Analyzing and presenting the membership survey. After we’ve received response from the survey we need to evaluate the data and present it in an easy, understandable way. This will help us communicate to the members what we can do better as a board, and also what their club officers should be working on. We’ll even have a few recommendations for Kiwanians! It’ll take time to compile the data, analyze, and then present our findings to the membership.

•

Your Ideas!: We’re not just limited by the present task. With dedicated committee members we can knock out these tasks and move on to more initiatives to improve our district.

•

Taking an easy class load next semester? Looking to get more involved with Circle K and really want to help improve and further develop the district? Then apply to the membership development committee and help us achieve and exceed our goals.

Chris Hester

Membership Development Chair

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Tis the season of giving!

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Want to see your club photos in the photo spread?

Email them to me at:

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editor@txokcki.org

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what does Godzilla eat on thanksgiving?

Squash!

I Scream!

Why does Santa have 3 gardens?

So he can Ho Ho Ho!

What is Santa’s favorite Sandwich?

Peanut Butter & Jolly!

Where do snowmen go to dance?

The Snow Ball!

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T-O’s Special Thanks A big “THANK YOU” to District Events chair, Denise Gonzalez for putting together a fantastic Fall Retreat. We’re looking forward to a magical District Convention.

Awesome job to West Texas A&M CKI for bringing the most people to Fall Retreat, and winning the spirit award. Hope you all had a great time at Fall Retreat and to see you all at DCON!!

Dear Paul Martin, We think you are an awesome addition to CKI. Your chapter has only good words to say about you, and all that you do for your club. From attending meetings and service projects, to your help with recruitment, you are truly an asset to Lamar CKI. Thank you for all that you do.

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! r o t i d E e h T Letter From Hello Texas-Oklahoma!

I hope everyone’s Winter Break has started off nice and relaxing. Now that finals are officially over, I hope everyone is taking this time to relax and be stress-free from school, even if it is only for a little while. I also hope that many of you use this temporary free time to find some sort of service project in your area to take part in. With the Holidays just around the corner, this season allows for us to be able to live and love to serve by participating in various oppurtunities that have the power to bring joy and cheer to families. With a new year quickly approaching, it is time to start evaulating how we can serve the world as a district for the rest of this year and also next year. This issue of the T-O Today is the Holiday Issue. I combined both of November’s & December’s to make it into one jam-packed newsletter. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of 2011 and aims to make 2012 bigger and better than ever. I wish only the best for all of Texas-Oklahoma and I sincerely hope that we continue to prove why we are the best district ever!

Sincerely in Service,

Fabian Fernandez T-O District Editor

If you have anything you would like to see in “The T-O Today,” please feel free to email me updates or photos of your chapter to: 34

editor@txokcki.org

Who’s Who?

District Secretary-Treasurer

District Governor

Donnesh Amrollah

Sarah Haagen

I serve as your representative to CKI. I communicate with our Sub-Region Rep and inform them of what’s happening with your clubs. I work with your club President, and help them whenever they need me.

I serve as the district’s record and financial keeper.

I work with your club Secretary with reporting club operations, and your club Treasurer with financial matters, specifically when it comes time to submit dues!

Lieutenant Governors We serve as your liaisons to the District Board of Officers. We work with you and your club officers to answer any questions you have. We also plan your divisional rallies that give you more insight on our District and International.

South Texas

Sanjuana Zavala

South East Texas/ Gulf Coast

Oklahoma/ Panhandle

Hill Country

Red River/Metro

Paul Rizk

Patra Kositchaiwat

Valerie DelaRosa

Donald Aaron

Committee Chairs We are the backbone of the District. We work behind the scenes in the district and create resources to help you out. We help build relations with the whole Kiwanis Family, plan events, and even create this newsletter! You name it, we most likely play some role in it!

Kiwanis Family Relations Kiwanis Family Relations K-Kids/Builders/Aktion Key Club/Kiwanis

Neal Wright

Jace Venters

District Events

Membership/ Laws and Regs

Public Relations & Marketing

Denise Gonzalez

Chris Hester

Fabian Fernandez

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