T-O TODAY
Official Newsletter of the Texas-Oklahoma District
Volume 30, Issue 4
A Celebration of Family Novmeber is the month to celebrate our Kiwanis Famly. A family composed of many parts, we are all working towards a comon goal. Organized in Detriot, Michigan on January 21, 1915, Kiwanis focuses on the needs of ordinary people and children to create extraordinary life-changing moments. Kiwanis International is the only service organization that builds leaders at every level. K-Kids is the youngest and fastest growing service organization for elementary students worldwide. These clubs are ideally suited for students in grades 1 through 5 (ages 6 to 12). K-Kids clubs can also be established in a community-based organization. Such organizations might include, but are not limited to: community library, Boys Club, Girls Club, YMCA, YWCA, or a church. Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school students (ages 12 to 14), with more than 40,000 members worldwide. The first Builders Club was chartered in 1975. Today, there are more than 2,000 clubs in Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States.
Table of Contents Kiwanis Family Month Texas-Oklahoma District Directory Kiwanis History CKI History UPDATE: District Board UPDATE: Governor’s Project UPDATE: T-O District Goals District Convention Preview South Texas: Diversity Dinner Front Lines: It’s Not Just a Meeting Just for Fun CKI TV Sodoku
Terrific Kids is a student recognition program that promotes character development, self-esteem, and perseverance. Students work with their classroom teacher and establish goals to improve behavior, peer relationships, attendance, or schoolwork. Students then work toward achieving the goal during a specific time period. The teachers and principal determine the best schedule for recognition. Some schools recognize Terrific Kids during each grading period; others recognize students more often.
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TX-OK CKI District Board DISTRICT STAFF
Bring Up Grades, or BUG is a program designed to provide recognition to students who raise their grades to an acceptable range, and maintain or continue to raise them from one grading period to the next. Recognition includes being placed on the school’s BUG Honor Roll; a pizza, ice cream, or other food-themed party; and presentation of certificates, pins, and other giveaways.
Governor Secretary Treasurer Editor
John Cano, Univ. of Texas-Austin Genna Offerman, Univ. of Texas-Austin Kris Robles, Univ. of Texas-Austin Jessica Burkemper, St. Edward’s Univ.
governor@txokcki.org secretary@txokcki.org treasurer@txokcki.org editor@txokcki.org
Adam McEndree, Univ. of North Texas Delisa Arredondo, Univ. of Texas-P.A. Monica Caudillo, Texas A&M Univ. Brittany Davis, Univ. of Texas-Austin Ben Chadek, Oklahoma State Univ.
redrivermetroltg@txokcki.org southtexasltg@txokcki.org southeasttexasltg@txokcki.org hillcountryltg@txokcki.org oklahomaltg@txokcki.org
Will Walker, West Texas A&M Univ. Megan Walker, West Texas A&M Univ. Chris Konstantinidis, Univ. of Texas-Austin
kfamilychair@txokcki.org districteventschair@txokcki.org web@txokcki.or
LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS
Key Club is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. What makes Key Club so successful is the fact that it is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through serving others. Members of the Kiwanis International family, Key Club members build themselves as they build their schools and communities. Today, Key Club exists on more than 5,000 high school campuses, primarily in the United States and Canada. Circle K International (CKI) is the largest collegiate community service, leadership development, and friendship organization in the world. With more than 11,000 members in 17 nations, CKI is making a positive impact on the world every single day.
Red River/Metro South Texas Southeast/Gulf Hill Country Oklahoma/Panhandle DISTRICT CHAIRS
K-Family & Membership District Events Web Ad-hoc
Submissions to the T-O TODAY should include the writer’s name, school or location, and Kiwanis-Family affiliation. They may be sent by e-mail to: editor@txokcki.org. All submissions become property of the Texas-Oklahoma District of CKI and may be edited for length and clarity as needed.
T-O TODAY
November 2008
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InKiwanis Brief: International
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oday, as in the early 1900s, Kiwanians demonstrate in many ways how they join together, understand, and help to solve the pressing problems their communities face.
THE BEGINNING
THE MOTTO
In 1920, something important crystallized for Kiwanis; something that inspired Roe Fulkerson, the gifted editor of the Kiwanis magazine, to propose two simple words— “We Build”—as the Kiwanis motto. It was the coining of the Motto, after five years of painful and exhilarating growth, that put Kiwanis into its stride. Then in 2005, during the 90th anniversary year of Kiwanis, delegates to the International Convention voted to adopt a new motto, “Serving the Children of the World,” to emphasize the primary focus of Kiwanis service over those nine decades and make a commitment for the years to come.
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With the founding of the Kiwanis Club of Detroit Number One, Michigan, in 1915, Kiwanians discovered they were having a good time and they could make a noise in the world, but not by scratching one another’s backs in business. They could do it by rendering important community service without thought of personal gain. Yet trouble loomed. The founding club of an organization faltered, and nearly failed, only six months after it had so proudly adopted its new name. The cause? Allen S. Browne. Or, more specifically, club members who did not like Browne and the financial arrangement Kiwanis had with him. The membership fee, collected and kept by Browne, was up to $10 by mid-July 1915. And Browne legally “owned” Kiwanis. During a club meeting, accusations were made against Browne. Though untrue, a disturbance developed that left the first Kiwanian watching helplessly as the first Kiwanis club disintegrated before his eyes. After the situation, Joe Prance wrote: “Everyone started talking at once, all 175 of them. When the smoke cleared, we had about 50 members left. Secretary Ottie Robertson and Allen Browne, disgusted, left for Cleveland to organize a Kiwanis club there.” It was a wise move. Browne and Robertson started a club in Cleveland that attracted a membership of 135 in 10 weeks. The Cleveland Kiwanians enthusiastically began building other clubs. And it was in Cleveland that Kiwanis service and its special concern for children took firm root. The new club started a nursery school for underprivileged children. Meanwhile, Detroit president Don Johnston diplomatically pulled his club together. More important, he eagerly supported a membership drive to bring the club to full strength. Kiwanis had stumbled during the summer of 1915. But it did not fail. And, now, with major clubs in Detroit and Cleveland and with others on the way, it was back on its feet—stronger than ever with continued growth. Those first Kiwanians sensed the destiny of their small but spirited organization. THE PRESENT
Today, Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization of men and women who share the challenge of community and world improvement. Since its founding in Detroit, Michigan, in 1915, Kiwanis has grown to more than 8,400 clubs in 96 nations. There are about 606,608 active members in the Kiwanis family, representing nearly every culture on every continent, all seeking to improve people’s lives. Kiwanians give their time to make their communities and world better places in which to live and work. Learn more at www.kiwanis.org
T-O TODAY
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ircle K International (CKI) is the largest collegiate community service, leadership development, and friendship organization in the world. With more than 11,000 members in 17 nations, CKI is making a positive impact on the world every single day. THE HISTORY
CKI began in 1936 as a Kiwanis club service project to provide an opportunity for capable, ambitious, and worthy young men to acquire a college education by assisting them, where necessary, with their financial problems, by means of a scholarship fund, if available, or securing part-time employment. Soon after the concept of CKI was recognized and accepted, the element of community service was introduced, thus creating an appealing outlet for collegians around the globe. Today, as the largest collegiate service organization, CKI boasts a membership of more than 11,000 collegians on more than 500 campuses worldwide. CKI is a student-led organization with an International Board of Representatives elected by its membership each year. Embodied by its tenets of leadership, fellowship, and service at the club, district, and International levels, CKI continues to grow through service to the world's
campuses and communities. THE TENENTS
Service is the heart of CKI. Collectively, CKI members perform more than 1 million hours of service on their campuses and in their communities every year. Without service, CKI would be just another campus activity. Through service, college students are making the world a better place. The potential of CKI lies in its ability to positively influence members of society who are facing ultimate personal decisions and those who will one day create the vision of mankind for generations to come. Leadership opportunities afford CKI members the resources and tools needed to become active citizens. Members can assume leadership responsibilities at all levels of the organization and through various experiential training conferences. CKI members experience fellowship and develop lifelong relationships with fellow collegians, advisors, Kiwanians, and citizens in their communities every single day. Whether a member is mentoring a child, networking with a businessman, or bowling with members, he or she is developing social skills, meeting new people, and strengthening relationships.
1936 Circle K concept presented at the collegiate level at Washington State University. 1947 First CKI club chartered at Carthage College, Illinois. 1949 CKI becomes an international organization with the chartering of a club at the University of Western Ontario. 1953 Kenneth B. Creasy of Ohio Wesleyan University is elected as President of CKI. 1955 CKI Constitution and Bylaws adopted. 1957 Texas-Oklahoma becomes the first district of CKI. 1971 Females welcomed into CKI. 1982 CKI membership surpasses 14,500 members. 1999 CKI leadership dedicates 1999 as the Year of Service. 2000 Members of CKI surpass the US$420,000 mark in the effort to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders. 2005 CKI marks its 50th anniversary. 2007 CKI announces its international fundraiser, Saving Lives: The Six Cents Initiative, which focuses on getting clean water to children who need it most.
November 2008
TIMELINE
Two natives of Detroit, Michigan, Allen S. Browne, a professional organizer, and Joseph C. Prance, a tailor, had an idea one day in August of 1914. It was a concept, rather, to develop an organization that provides not only fellowship, but insurance features as well. They wanted to develop a group that was like no other organization. They first constructed this group as a strictly fraternal club that only young professional businessmen could join. They also wanted to provide an opportunity for other men to experience new ideals in human relationships. Together, these two men began recruiting new members. Browne, as a professional, would receive the $5 membership fee from each man. Prance was the first member to sign up. But he was not yet the first Kiwanian, for the name that Browne had chosen for the group was truly in the spirit of the times: The Supreme Lodge Benevolent Order Brothers. Kiwanis it was not. The growing membership soon fixed that. They quickly grew tired of belonging to an organization known as “BOB”. With a helping hand from Detroit’s official historian, an Indian phrase—“NunKeewan-is”—was adapted as a name. During a club meeting in the first week of January 1915, Kiwanis was approved as the new name for this club, which translated as, “We trade.” A more thorough check later revealed that a truer meaning is, “We have a good time - we make noise.” The club attracted nearly 200 members in only six months. The corporate charter was returned by the state of Michigan, dated January 21, 1915. This date has been the birthday of Kiwanis ever since.
THE FIRST CLUB AND BEYOND
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UPDATES from around Texas-Oklahoma
DCON 2009
Super Stars of Service
Board to provide resources soon, appoints new secretary
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he planned Back-to-School resource disk from the district unfortunately failed to materialize because of time differences between the production of the disks and the mailing of the T-O Today. The district board still wants each chapter to have every available tool for success so the resources will be included in the new district site, which is now expected to launch in early January. In September the board saw some more changes in members. Klint Neal resigned from his position as District Secretary to step up and serve as the International Representative of SubRegion D (consisting of the Kansas, Missouri-Arkansas, Louisiana-Mississippi-W.Tennessee, Nebraska-Iowa, and Texas-Oklahoma Districts). While we were saddened
TCU sets standard, $180 raised in one day
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he Governor’s Project is well underway across the district as chapters work towards raising $200 to sponsor the education of a child living in Northern Thailand through Rejoice Charity. It’s because of a desire to help others that CKI members at Texas Christian University were able to raise $180 in one car wash. One day is all it could take to change the life of a child who needs a good education to overcome the ravages of HIV/ AIDS in Thailand. Beset by production problems and committee changes, the Rejoice Charity Fundraising Guide will now be completed at the Kiwanis Family Board Meeting October 31 – November 2. Submitted by:
John Cano
University of Texas at Austin
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to see him leave, he will still be very involved with the district in an advisory and representative capacity. Filling the vacancy is Genna Offerman, a distinguished secretary from The University of Texas at Austin. Genna has done a phenomenal job jumping straight into the role and the board is truly enhanced by her presence. The most recent board meeting was held October 31-November 2 at the DFW Marriott in Irving, TX. A full report will be included in the next edition of the T-O Today, until then, members are encouraged to contact the district board members with any questions or concerns that they may have.
Take a step out on the red carpet at the CKI TexasOklahoma District’s biggest event of the year; District Convention. This year’s convention will be held in the trés chic DFW Marriott Hotel in Irving, Texas, Friday, March 6th, thru Sunday, March 8th. The weekend will include: Your Fellow CKI Super Stars, Fun Workshops, Keynote Speaker, House of Delegates, District Board Elections, Governor’s Gala and Awards Banquet, Scholarship Opportunities, And a whole lot more!
Submitted by:
John Cano
University of Texas at Austin
Clubs join together across T-O District, Board hopes for growth in membership
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elow you can see the most recent statistics on progress towards our district goals since April 1. The number of members and Chapters in Good Standing are subject to change significantly with the beginning of the new dues cycle on October 1. ♦ Service Hours: 1665.5/8000 ♦ Members: 548/650 ♦ Inter-clubs/chapters: 101/150 ♦ Chapters in Good Standing: 17/20 ♦ Attendance of Chapters at Events (75% Goal): • Summer Reunion: 6/19 Submitted by:
John Cano
University of Texas at Austin
T-O TODAY
Mark the date on your calendars NOW and look out for more information -you won’t want to miss it! Submitted by:
Megan Walker
West Texas A&M University
Kiwanis Family diversity honored, South Texas
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n October 10, UTPA’S CKI hosted its Restaurant on November 22. first Diversity Dinner at Gios Villa in Brownsville, Texas. Gios is the “Home of the Flying Pizza” so eating in its authentic Italian atmosphere was a great place for dinner. In attendance were many members from UTPA’s and UTB’s CKI as well as members from the Los Fresnos and Harlingen Key Clubs. Each club was able to share their upcoming plans and many ideas were exchanged. Asides from CKI and Key Club business, everyone got to know each other a bit better. The dinner was a huge success and the next one is planned to take place at Kahn’s Mongolian
November 2008
Submitted by:
Delisa Arredendo
University of Texas-Pan American
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FRONT LINES:
It’s Not Just a Meeting
Just for Fun! CKI TV
I realize I may be reaching here, but have you ever been to a really interesting class where you learned something so cool and new that you just could not help telling your friends about it? Sure they may have called you a geek for taking that much interest in class, but chances are your friends thought it was pretty cool too! Circle K meetings should be the same as an amazing course that you recommend to a friend. They should be “the best show on campus” and this
can be accomplished in a few ways. First, evaluate your current meeting structure and attendance trends. Is the meeting interesting? Will your members want to attend? Most importantly, you need to find a time that works for the majority of your members. I’ve outlined a few things that could help improve the effectiveness of meetings:
Problem:
Problem:
Meetings don’t start on time Why that’s bad: This is being disrespectful of the time of your members and guests.
Solution:
Make sure the members are aware that meetings start promptly. On your end, start meetings on time so members get accustomed to not wasting time.
Problem:
The agenda is full of far off projects and irrelevant news. Why that’s bad: The agenda should just give brief and relevant information.
Solution:
Even if it looks short, it’s better to put down things that matter.
The meeting is 10 minutes long. Why that’s bad: Can you possibly call a 10 minute meeting “the best show on campus?” This goes back to consideration of people’s time. Many people need to commute and once they get there it should be for a real reason!
Solution:
Plan a program for every meeting! It could be a community leader, a member of the faculty or staff, a representative of a service partner - anything that will be interesting and educational for the members and fulfills the objects of CKI.
Problem:
The agenda is just read off. Why that’s bad: An agenda is meant to keep order at the meeting and can be used by members to take home and know when things are happening. As college students they know how to read everything and only a brief explanation of upcoming projects is needed.
Are you already a YouTube surfer? Or have you always wondered what the big deal is with online movie watching? Now, CKI is the big deal. CKI’ers have so many postings on YouTube, we have our own channel... CKI TV. Just search CKI TV on YouTube and check out all the fun, see what other clubs from around the world are doing. Make your own movie of your CKI club performing a service project, inducting new members, or joining in fellowship together. Post your event planning or fundraising tips for other clubs to view. Log on now!
Sudoku The sodoku puzzle starts with some of the 81 squares already containing a number. These numbers are called "givens". The goal of the game is simply to fill the puzzle so that every row, column and region contains the digits 1 through 9. Therefore each number from 1 to 9 only appears once in each of the 3 "directions" (row, column, region).
Solution:
Simplify your agenda and keep business to summarized and relevant. Nobody likes a boring meeting and there will be plenty of time for business during elections. Use your time for a program! Submitted by:
John Cano
University of Texas at Austin
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T-O TODAY
November 2008
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Live to serve, Love to serve.
a Kiwanis-family member www.circlek.org www.txokcki.org 3636 WOODVIEW TRACE INDIANAPOLIS, IN USA 46268 • 1-317-875-8755 • US AND CANADA: 1-800-KIWANIS