The T-O Today - Issue 2

The Official T-O District Newsletter End of CKI Year Edition

2014-2015 Texas-Oklahoma CKI MEMORIES

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Governor’s Farewell…………………………..4 Treasurer’s Update………….………………...5

2015 CKIx Join the Texas-Oklahoma District as we take over Indianapolis! The Circle K International Convention and Large Scale Service Project will take place June 24-27 at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the biggest event of the Circle K year! Imagine giving back to the convention host city by doing service and celebrating the amazing things CKI does with members from across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

Early Bird Registration: Last day to register for CKIx at the Early Bird Registration rate of US$225 is April 17, 2015

Divisional Updates Southeast Texas Gulf Coast…………………6 Red River Metro………………………………..6 Hill Country……….……………………………..7 Oklahoma Panhandle.……………………….7 District Convention 2015 DCON Recap….………………………...8 DCON Award Winners.…………………...…..9 Star Performers…………………………………9 Scholarship Recipients..……………….……..9 DCON Memories…………………………10-11 Project Outreach…………………………….12 Freshman Leadership Incentive Program.13

REGISTER HERE: http://www.circlek.org/ckix

2014-2015 T-O DISTRICT GOALS UPDATE

13,500 SERVICE HOURS (36%) 350 MEMBERS(121%) 300 INTER-CHAPTERS (22%) 90 K-FAM EVENTS (29%) $5,000 FOR ELIMINATE (100%) 3 CHARTERS or 3 REACTIVATIONS (100%) 125 DCON ATTENDEES (104%) 85 FALL RETREAT ATTENDEES (107%)

Farewell from Governor Marcelo Mighty Texas-Oklahoma District, I cannot believe the 2014-2015 CKI year has come to an end. The accomplishments that our district and its members have made are remarkable. We were able to rise from a very challenging year and achieve new heights. During this time last year, our district had a little over 300 members. As of today, we have a total of 424 paid members! We even have a few more chapters in the re-chartering and chartering processes. As a district, we were also able to surpass our Eliminate fundraising goal; raising over $5000 dollars. No matter the struggles and challenges, we were able to have yet another successful year. Your constant efforts to support our district make me so proud to have been able to serve as your 2014-2015 District Governor.

It is astonishing to see how the Texas-Oklahoma CKI members’ volunteerism can have a big impact on others' lives. In my four years in CKI, I have been able to see and experience how the charitable efforts from the members of this organization make positive impacts in our school and local communities. Our passion and dedication towards serving others is something that sets us apart from the crowd. We become heroes when we give a moment of our time to someone in need.

Remember that it only takes one individual with an action of kindness to change someone’s life forever. Continue doing service projects, hosting fundraisers, and having fun. Throughout your CKI journey, you’ll change many lives for the better.

Thank you all for your constant support; I wouldn't have been able to make it throughout this year without you!

Continue Living to Serve and Loving to Serve Marcelo Urieta-Bravo |District Governor | (512) 945-1166 Marcelo Urieta Bravo |District Governor| governor@txokcki.org |(512) 945-1166

Treasurer Update By: Jennifer Tuggle, District Treasurer Hey T-O, Being your 2014-2015 District Treasurer has been a wonderful and humbling experience. Meeting you guys at DCON was tons of fun, and I really just can’t speak loudly enough about all the growth and progress our District has made this year. Take a look for yourself: Membership Growth- Our District grew to 424 paid members this year. This is a growth of over 19% or 67 paid members! A huge shoutout to y’all for ALL paying your dues and also three chapters that recruited in the Spring and completed the Plus Five Membership Challenge. They are: Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Dallas, and University of Texas.

The Eliminate Project- We also have dramatically increased our participation in The Eliminate Project this year. For those of you who may not know, Eliminate is our chance to really impact mothers and babies dying a completely preventable death through a simple donation of $1.80. We raised a total of $5012.73 that has been sent in. This is saving or protecting more than 2,784 families all across the world. The following chapters contributed to this: Texas A&M University- $1290.00 TAMU- Galveston- $78.60 University of Houston- $313.93 University of Texas at Austin- $863.00 University of Texas at Dallas- $1250.00 West Texas A&M University - $1267.20 These statistics really just show all the hard work you guys put into this year. You should be proud. Y’all are truly leaving behind a legacy of growth. Keep on keepin’ on! Contact me if there is anything I can ever do to help.

Jennifer Tuggle |District Treasurer | (713) 412-6241

Divisional Updates From your Favorite LTGS Southeast Texas Gulf Coast

Howdy T-O District!

I cannot believe the 2014-2015 CKI term is over! I had an amazing time serving as your 2014-2015 Southeast Texas-Gulf Coast LTG. My goal coming in as LTG was to make this division stronger and to help some struggling chapters achieve reactivation. With the help of the chapter officers and the members we were able to become one of the strongest divisions in our district. From the successful rallies to the high attendance and excitement for district events, you all surpassed my expectations. For that I would like to apologize for not realizing how amazing the members of this division are, but I would also like to thank you all for the hard work you put in this year. However, we should not stop the progress here. From watching this division grow so much over the past year I know that we can keep growing. This can only happen if you all stay as enthusiastic this year and more and also with the help of an amazing LTG who I know will do great things for this division. I would like to introduce you all to the 2015-2016 Southeast Texas-Gulf Coast LTG, Justine Jordan. I had the honor to work with Justine this past summer in order to help reactivate Lamar University. She is very passionate about the Kiwanis family, is very hardworking and helpful, she is great at planning events or service projects, and she is very friendly and easy to laugh with. I would like you all to welcome Justine as your new LTG, but more importantly stay as amazing as ever and be supportive and motivated toward service, leadership, and fellowship to make her experience as LTG easy and fun. Thank you all for giving me one of the greatest experiences of my life! I will continue to go to divisional and district events, so this a thank you and not a goodbye.

See you later, Gracelyn Deland Southeast Texas-Gulf Coast LTG

Red River – Metro

Hello T-O! Its been a pleasure and a great experience being the Red River metro area LTG for the 2014-2015 year and I hate to see it end.

However, as the year progresses so must CKI and I am proud to introduce the new LTG for Red River, Miti Patel! Miti is a student at the University of Texas at Dallas and the immediate past Chapter President to UTD. I am excited for her and can't wait to see what she does with this year. As an update for my division, we are sitting at 4 chartered chapters being SWCC, UTD , SMU & SEOSU. With one chapter in the works to get rechartered which is UNT. One of my goals for this year was to have each club in my division grow by at least 5% and I am happy to say that each club has done so, with UT Dallas at the forefront having the most members in the division.

Finally I would like to thank the Red River division for all their support, as well as my home chapter at SWCC. I couldn't have done anything with out you guys.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Demarkus Grayson-Rhule Red River – Metro LTG

Hill Country

Mighty T-O District, Greetings from ATX! I truly hope everyone is having a successful Spring Semester. As we all know CKI is a bit different when in comes to officer terms and as we reach April, my term as Hill Country LTG comes to an end. I’d like to thank all the members of my division for a successful year. Thank you for being a part of both divisional rallies, for attending Fall Retreat and DCON, but especially for always keeping SERVICE as a priority in your life. I want to let my fellow board members know that they did an amazing job all year and that I truly appreciate their friendship and the memories we all created. To the upcoming board, GOOD LUCK! To my dearest friend and successor Wynstan Malabanan, I am extremely proud of you and wish you the best in your term!

Speaking of Wynstan, to those who don’t know her, she will be the 2015-2016 Hill Country LTG. Wynstan is currently a sophomore at The University of Texas at Austin, she is extremely involved with CKI and was previously a Key Club member. I am very confident that she will do a splendid job as LTG and better the environment of our division.

Our division closes the year with approximately 71 paid members amongst the three active chapters, UT Austin, ACC and Southwestern.

We had that highest number of attendees at DCON and a significant contribution to the Eliminate Project. For a third consecutive year our division is the home of the Outstanding Chapter of the T-O District, congrats UT Austin! One last time, THANK YOU for all your support Hill Country Division, it was my pleasure to be a part of such an amazing family! Always remember: LIVE TO SERVE, LOVE TO SERVE!

This upcoming CKI year, the Texas-Oklahoma District will be adding a new division! The split between Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle will allow for better communication with their prospective Lieutenant Governors, and we are hoping we will be better able to serve each chapter with their individual needs. Starting April 1 st, what was once the Oklahoma-Panhandle Division will be divided into two new divisions!

HOOKEM’ Nancy Uriegas Hill Country LTG

Oklahoma Panhandle

Oklahoma Division The Oklahoma Division is made up of three CKI chapters: Oklahoma University, Northeastern State University, and Oklahoma State University.

With the help of the new Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor, Kristina Bunn, we are planning to create a strong division! Helping each chapter up to charter strength or stronger! To do this, there will be a Divisional Officer Training (DOT) on April 18th, 2015, at Oklahoma Sate University. A more detailed agenda will be available soon, and we are hoping each chapter will be in attendance for this event!

Panhandle Division The Panhandle Division is made up of two CKI chapters: West Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University. With the help of the new Panhandle Lieutenant Governor, Morgin Hollie, we are planning to charter new chapters within this division as well as host more interchapters and Kiwanis-Family Relations. There will be a Divisional Officer Training (DOT) on April 25th, 2015, at Texas Tech University. Both chapters are excited to attend and have a great CKI year!

Best, Tori Gadney Oklahoma Panhandle LTG

2015 DCON Recap By: Brian O’Hara, DCON Coordinator Texas-Oklahoma, Almost a month ago, our District gathered to celebrate a successful year of service and to honor the chapters who made all of our achievements possible. While it was a weekend with opportunities for professional development and important responsibilities, it began with our opening session.

Later in the night candidates caucused, presenting their ideas for the future of the district, ultimately capping the first night's activities.

Early Saturday morning, delegates from each chapter woke up early to elect the next District Board of Officers and give their endorsement for international candidates. Following House of Delegates, attendees had the chance to experience a number of diverse forums, from leadership to professional development to public speaking. After being released for divisional lunches, attendees returned to participate in our service fair before getting ready for the Awards Banquet. After the presentation of awards, honoring the chapters within our District who entered competitions that were designed to highlight something they've excelled in over the past year, attendees danced the night away at the dance.

On our last day of convention, attendees had the chance to congratulate the outgoing District Board while seeing the installation of the incoming District Board. As everyone packed their luggage and said goodbye to the friends they had met from across the District, it was evident that it was only temporary. Even though convention is over, there will be more events, more service, and more opportunities to share moments with the friends that we've become so close to.

DCON 2015 was an incredible opportunity to unite the District and see all of our incredible chapters; please help us continue to improve our events by filling out the survey that is linked below! Additionally, you will find in this issue of the T-O Today the winners of awards from convention. We'd like to thank you, once again, to all of those who attended District Convention, without you the event would not have been as incredible as it was. You are all an inspiration, please continue to inspire others to achieve new heights as you have done for so many.

Yours in service, Brian O'Hara

If you attended 2015 DCON fill out the evaluation form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1X3hh9xRqpon4quGal5aatZhA5yK6l8n4rgt_YBqwyts/viewform

District Convention Award Winners Outstanding Kiwanis Advisor - Albert Rice, SWCC Outstanding Kiwanis Family Relations - UT Dallas Plus Five Membership Challenge - Texas A&M and UT Dallas Impromptu Essay - Christine Risheg, Texas A&M Oratory - Shawn Ford, SWCC Outstanding Traditional Scrapbook - UT Dallas Outstanding Non-Traditional Scrapbook - UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter T-Shirt - UT Dallas Chapter Video - UT Dallas Single Service Award - West Texas A&M Outstanding Website - UT Dallas ELIMINATE Project Award - UT Austin Membership Development and Education Award - UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter Committee Chairperson - Samhita Swaminathan, UT Dallas Outstanding Newsletter - UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter Editor - Nirali Govind, UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter Secretary - Megan Nations, UT Austin Outstanding Chapter Treasurer - Ian La Marsh, UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter Vice President - Rebecca Bingham, UT Austin Outstanding Chapter Vice President - Mariana Garay Romero, UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter President - Miti Patel, UT Dallas Fred and Dottie Seals Circle of Service Award - Linda Miller, West Texas A&M Tim Clipson People Builder Award - Rawand Abdelghani, UT Austin Most Improved Chapter Award - UT Dallas Outstanding Chapter Award - UT Austin

Star Performers:

Scholarship Recipients:

Al Hirani, UT Austin David Larsen, UT Austin Morgin Hollie, West Texas A&M Andrea Montenegro, UT Brownsville Imelda Tristan, Lamar University Emily Innes, Texas A&M Galveston Emily Tran, Texas A&M

Megan Nations, UT Austin Rawand Abdelghani, UT Austin Jennifer Wang, Texas A&M – Galveston Emily Innes, Texas A&M – Galveston Emily Sharp, Oklahoma University Katy Shumate, Texas A&M University Brandon Muñiz, UT Brownsville Demarkus Rhule, Southwestern Christian College Miti Patel, UT Dallas

Thank you to everyone who applied for awards and to the T-O Kiwanis Foundation

2015 DCON Memories

Thank you for attending. See you next year!

Freshman Leadership Incentive Program (FLIP)

By: Eric Yan, Membership Development & Education Chair Hello Texas-Oklahoma, The Freshman Leadership Incentive Program (FLIP) is focused on helping Key Club members make a smooth transition into college and continue their love for service by joining Circle K. Current Key Club members can fill out a simple online form that consists of some basic information including perspective colleges. This allows us to send the student's information to their perspective colleges, therefore allowing the CKI chapters to start reaching out as soon as possible. This year we made FLIP cards with every senior’s name on them. These personalized cards will be mailed out to the respective high schools.

in their journey of service.

The reason why the FLIP program works is because we build personal connections with the Key Club members. By reaching out to them individually, we hope to make them feel welcomed on our campuses and comfortable with continuing

Here is my personal anecdote on how the FLIP program helped me transition into CKI. During the Key Club district convention, Circle K hosted a senior reception. I did not want to attend at first, but the pizza convinced me otherwise. I had the chance to talk with CKI members, including Governor Marcelo, and get a perspective on the similarities and differences between Key Club and CKI. The reason why I wanted to "FLIP" into Circle K was because I wanted to continue being involved in the Kiwanis Family; a family consisting of people who are truly passionate for service. The FLIP Program is not what convinced me to join Circle K however. It was the people. The FLIP Program is merely a bridge. The connection I made with the people within Circle K is what kept me in this organization.

Circle K will be different from Key Club, but they are both organizations filled with people who are passionate for service. Building strong bonds between different branches of the Kiwanis Family is essential for its success. As big brothers and sisters, we need to reach out and welcome the incoming freshmen, letting them know “we would love to have you.” College can be a scary place, making it difficult for newcomers to take the initial step and explore new things by themselves. The FLIP Program solves this problem because it allows you to build a personal connection with the people in your perspective colleges.

Fill out this online form: http://www.jotform.us/FLIP_CKI/submissions and join us in making an impact on this world.

Be selfless, serve, and change the world.

Eric Yan

Project Outreach

By: Hunter Faubion, District Administrator

Hello Texas-Oklahoma, Each year the Texas Oklahoma District looks for ways to assist our student leaders in fulfilling their responsibilities to our organization.

Project Outreach is a program that the District promotes that allows Kiwanis Clubs (who are unable to directly sponsor CKI) to support CKI financially.

Many of our student leaders cover larger geographic areas then there Kiwanis Counterparts do. As you can image travel costs are high and it puts a strain on the CKI budget. Project Outreach allows Kiwanis Clubs two ways in which they and individuals can help.

1. Kiwanians or Kiwanis Clubs can make a $150 contribution to the Leadership Fund which helps current student leaders with travel costs and other expenses incurred during their term in office.

2. Kiwanians, Clubs, and other individuals might elect to provided support for the future of Circle K by making a $250 donate to the Legacy Fund which is administered by the Texas Oklahoma Kiwanis Foundation. This fund is an endowed fund to ensure future financial stability and support for the Texas Oklahoma District of Circle K. When Kiwanis Clubs donate to both Project Outreach Funds they will receive the credit towards the Distinguished Kiwanis Club criteria that has been set by the Texas Oklahoma Kiwanis District. You will find more information about project outreach here and a donor card at www.txokcki.org under the resources link.

Hunter Faubion|District Administrator|adminhunter@txokcki.org|(713) 412-6241

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