The Kiwanian
NE-IA KIWANIS DISTRICT NEWSLETTER
July, 2018
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IN THIS ISSUE
District Convention: "Early bird"
Deadline Extended
District Awards: Nomination
Period Extended
Josh the Otter
Comforting Children
Hastings Gives Away Bikes
SAVE THE DATE
World Series District Convention
QUICK LINKS
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Greetings!
Welcome to The Kiwanian, the newsletter for the Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District. The Kiwanian is published the 1st week of every month. The next Kiwanian will be published in August. Article submissions are due to our District Secretary by the 15th of every month. Please feel free to share this issue with potential new members. Thank you to this month's content contributors Jan Burch, Jim Dane, Jane Erickson, Mary Langdon, Bob Mitchell, Susan Pohl, Diana Sickles, and Steve Siemens.
Click
HERE
to print this issue of
The Kiwanian, July 2018
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EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FOR DISTRICT CONVENTION EXTENDED UNTIL
JULY 5
We are extending
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION
for District Convention. Take advantage of this opportunity and register
now.
Our goal is to have at least one member from each club in the NE-IA District attending this World Series.
This is a priority for the planning committee and the District, because we know how important it is for each club to be represented at the Convention.
Does your club have at least one member registered for District Convention? If not, why? That's not a rhetorical question. We would really like to know why. If you have insights or feedback to share about challenges keeping you or your fellow members from registering for Convention please send your comments to our District Secretary, Amber Patterson. Also consider, when was the last time at least one member from your club attended District Convention?
No club is an island.
While we understand that attending District Convention is an investment in both time and money, there are numerous benefits to be gained by having a member attend.
- First and foremost, to have a good time with fellow Kiwanians!
- To gain key self development skills
- To improve and expand communication with other clubs, as well as gain insight from other's activities
- To gain expert knowledge by attending keynote addresses, general sessions, and round table discussions
- To make and nurture meaningful connections
- To share and promote your club's projects and successes
- To take back information to your club
- And, most importantly, to renew your enthusiasm for Kiwanis!
This Convention is for you! There are many ways to attend. Can't make both days? Choose a one day registration option. Cost of registration not something you budgeted for? Check with your club for assistance. Many clubs offer to pay partial or full cost of registration; some have extra incentives for first-time District Convention attendees.
Our 2018 "WORLD SERIES" District Convention will be an event you won't want to miss! Get ready for a GRAND SLAM for success!
Kids need Kiwanis and the NE-IA Kiwanis District needs you!
Jan Burch, Governor, 2017-18
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DISTRICT AWARDS NOMINATION DEADLINES EXTENDED
TO
JULY 15
Want to recognize individuals or organizations that are making a difference in your community? Here's your chance!
Here is an excellent opportunity to recognize individuals and organizations that, like you, make a difference in our communities! The impact of the work we do is often reward enough. However, it's equally as important to take a moment to appreciate the efforts and passion demonstrated by our communities' best and brightest volunteers.
Note that the Everyday Hero and the Everyday Organizational Hero awards DO NOT need to be Kiwanians. Also note that the nominating club's Board of Directors needs to approve the nomination before submitting the application.
The following award applications are due to Amber Patterson, NE-IA District Secretary, by
July 15th
.
The forms can be found on the NE-IA District website under District Contests as well as linked above. An award will be given to
each
of the five Service Leadership Program areas as well as to the two "Heroes." Criteria for the awards are listed on the back of the nomination forms.
Remember, not all heroes wear capes!
Jim Dane, Immediate Past Governor
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FORMULA UPDATE
The Formula for strengthening Kiwanis is to
Love IT!
Share IT!
Live IT!
This month we are putting an emphasis on
Inviting your friends and colleagues to join you in Kiwanis. As mentioned before, Kiwanis International has provided extensive tools to help clubs implement strengthening strategies. These tools are available to
everyone and easily accessible through the
kiwanis.org website.
To access these great tools, follow these steps:
2.
When the Front page appears, look at the top right to find “
Member Resources”
(Just above the word “Featured”) and click on it.
3.
When the “
Member Resources” page appears, scroll down a bit to the
large “
FORMULA” box and click on it.
4.
Now you will see the “Formula” page with the following headings:
- What's your formula
- Open a club
- Strengthen your club
- Celebrate success
- Community impact
5.
Put your mouse over “Strengthen a Club” and a whole list of resources comes up,
among them:
·
Achieving Club Excellence
·
Tips and Tools for Inviting Others
·
Retaining Members
·
Membership Committee
·
Building Leadership
·
Hosting a Membership Drive
6.
Now, pick
“
Tips and Tools for Inviting Others
” and another list of resources appears on the right “Invite a Friend; Hosting a Membership Drive; PR Toolkit; Flexible Membership Options and New Member Application.” As you can see, Kiwanis’ Formula website uses a lot of cross-referencing to provide access to the Formula tools.
7.
Click on the video that is on the first page. It shows an easy way to invite a friend or colleague to a meeting. Share your story: Tell your friends “WHY” you are in Kiwanis and invite them to join you. Then, go to the bullet on the right that is “Invite a Friend.” Very useful information here as well.
8.
I promise that if you do these steps, including the follow-up, you will be successful in adding new members. AND, you can even have fun doing it!
Make it a GOAL to have a guest, or a number of guests at every meeting and service project! Remember, Everyone’s job, becomes No-one’s job. So, assign a go-getter (someone in your club who
Loves IT
and wants to
Share IT!) to be your Membership chair! Form a committee and have a contest for inviting guests! Put your best recruiter next to the guest at the meeting or service project. Let them close the sale! Have the Application at the ready.
9.
As Don Meredith famously said: “If wishes and Buts were Candy and Nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.” Translation: We actually have to DO something to change the status quo.
10.
And now that you have those new members, how do you
Keep them?
...Stay tuned for the next issue of the Kiwanian for the answer!
Kiwanis:
Love IT,
Share IT and
Live IT!
Bob Mitchell, District Formula Chair & Past District Governor, 2013-14
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THREE THINGS ABOUT ALLEVIATING CHILDHOOD HUNGER
1.
Share with all your friends and colleagues
about the great opportunity to hear 2 experts (Roger Thurow & Dr. Wil Blechman) speak at District Convention 2018 on our ongoing work to alleviate childhood hunger in our District.
2.
Summer
is always a hard time for children who count on school breakfasts and lunches to keep them well fed. When school is out many of
our children suffer
with less nutritious food to keep their bodies strong.
Do what you can
to help the children in your community.
3.
It's not too soon
to make plans for
Kiwanis One Day
coming up on
October 27th
. With the change in leadership the first of October Kiwanis One Day often gets short-shrift.
A question to ask now:
What can your club plan to do to help alleviate childhood hunger in your community that is a special way to celebrate our service day?
Share your great projects with all of us in the District!
Diana Sickles, Co-Chair, District Childhood Hunger Service Project
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JOSH THE OTTER
One never knows what your District Governor might be called upon to do when accepting an invitation to a Division Council Meeting! Little did we know what LG Elaine Armstrong and PLG Steve Green had "up their sleeves"! Being up for just about anything, I found myself inside an otter suit during the Division 17 meeting in Atlantic last month. Following a great lunch and an inspiring speech by the co-founder of the Josh the Otter Foundation, we traveled to the elementary schools in Atlantic.
The parents of Josh created
Josh the Otter Foundation after the tragic death of their 2 1/2 year old in their backyard swimming pool. After much research, they learned that kids aren't told
"Don't go near the water without an adult with you." Josh the Otter communicates that very important message to as many youngsters as possible.
Each year for the last seven or eight, Atlantic Kiwanis has sponsored Josh the Otter--reading Josh's story to ALL kindergartners (over 120), presenting each student with his book, and getting to say "hi" or hug the Otter.
The pictures below tell all: Blake Collingsworth, co-founder, and Josh the Otter with a group of the kindergartners is on the right. At left, of course, your district governor before putting on the head!
You can learn more about this amazing story at joshtheotter.org. Perhaps this could be a new service project for YOUR club?
Jan Burch, 2017-18 District Governor
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COMFORTING CHILDREN AND CREATING COMMUNITY
Liz Coffman, a 17-year member of Northwest Des Moines Kiwanis and mother of three, had aspired to be a doctor, but life got in the way. Instead she pursued science and math, teaching and following her husband around the Midwest from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Champaign, Illinois and finally Des Moines. Her creative bent led her to start a crafting business. The lightbulb went off in about 2003 when she learned about "Trauma Dolls" at a Kiwanis meeting that could combine her interest in medicine to partner with her crafting skills. The dolls are made of muslin and are given to children prior to surgery. Medical staff mark the location of the surgery on the doll to help the child understand what will be happening to their body.
Originally, Liz donated the dolls to Blank Children's Hospital. When it became apparent that the dolls were only given to children undergoing surgery, Liz was disappointed that all hospitalized children were not receiving them. Thus, the dolls underwent a transformation and became
Kiwanis Kuddle Kids for Komfort
and are distributed to children undergoing any type of trauma through Visiting Nurses, Children & Family Services of Iowa, Hawthorne Hill and YESS (Youth Emergency Shelter and Services). Following a drug bust, the children taken to YESS for emergency shelter each received a Kuddle Kid.
The transformed Kuddle Kids are made of colorful, soft fabrics such as flannel. While all maintain the basic shape, they are as varied as the creators are resourceful in using the fabrics and scraps available to them - fabrics often donated and even mysteriously found in Liz's front porch.
The
Kiwanis Kuddle Kids for Komfort
are more than just a great project. Liz Coffman's entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm has brought in new partners. A group of women living at The Reserve (retirement center) in Urbandale get together monthly to sew and stuff Kuddle Kids. Other centers have been involved through the years. As more women pitch in, the creativity explodes and community is created. And kids get a new friend to love.
Susan Pohl, friend of Des Moines Kiwanis Club
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HASTINGS KIWANIS GIVES NEW BICYCLES TO A DOZEN KIDS
(Hastings, Nebraska) – A dozen Hastings middle and elementary school kids received a free bicycle and helmet at the June 6 Hastings Sodbusters baseball game thanks to an effort by Hastings Kiwanis, CycleNebraska and Healthy Hastings.
The children and their parents were admitted to the game free, with the kids thinking they were going to throw out the first pitch, which is always an honor. Little did they know that each would be getting a brand-new bicycle and helmet!
The bicycle giveaway follows the Hastings Kiwanis and CycleNebraska bicycle tour fundraiser that occurred in April. Proceeds from the Touring Adams County for Kiwanis Youth (TACKY Tour) were designated to promote youth bicycling. Healthy Hastings worked with Hastings Public Schools and Hastings Catholic schools to select the 12 children set to receive bicycles.
The high-quality bicycles were purchased from Wayne Cyclery of Grand Island, Nebraska, which provided a right-sized bike for each child at cost for the giveaway.
“We’re excited to be able to give a dozen kids a new bicycle,” said Hastings Kiwanis Gwen Ruppert, past president of Hastings Kiwanis. “The kids will have so much fun riding around town and on the Pioneer Spirit Trail. It’s a great way for them and their families to get out and stay active. We appreciate the support of CycleNebraska for helping organize the TACKY Tour and working with Wayne Cyclery to get the bikes, and to Healthy Hastings for helping select kids to receive the bikes.”
The June 6 Sodbusters game was sponsored in part by Hastings Kiwanis, so many Kiwanis members were in attendance and able to present the bicycles on the playing field. The game’s charity partner was the Kiwanis-backed Hearts & Hands Against Hunger, so all proceeds from the Sodbusters’ “upgrade your seat” raffle tickets during the game went to Hearts & Hands Against Hunger.
The Sodbusters team, District Governor Jan and First Gent Bob, and many Kiwanis members packed 60 boxes of meals at Hearts & Hands Against Hunger the next morning—a very successful outcome.
Mike Howie, Hastings Kiwanis PR/Marketing Chair
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WHAT'S YOUR CLUB DOING?
SEND YOUR CLUB'S KUDOS TO
AMBER PATTERSON
TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT KIWANIAN
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POUR DECISIONS BY STEVE
Michael David - Inkblot Cabernet Franc 2014
Wine ranking of wines in the world – 1%; wines from Lodi 2%. This wine has aromas of freshly crushed fruit (blackberry and plum), pepper and tobacco. Velvet-smooth tannings, dense and rich, this elixir fills every corner of the mouth with it decadence. Pairs well with beef, pork, game (deer, venison), and poultry. This vintage rates better than any other year for this wine. It is featured in Top 25 Californian Cabernet Franc wines in the United States right now. Average price $36.99
Steve Siemens, Kiwanis International President, 2005-06
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TRAVEL ADVENTURES BY MARY
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Cairo, Egypt and Palmyra, Syria
In 2007, Dick and I took a cruise from Rome to Istanbul. It was one of the most fascinating and interesting trips we had made. Looking back, we are so grateful we got to see Palmyra before ISIS destroyed most of the city.
Cairo is the largest city in Africa with 15 million people in 2007. It was the tenth largest city in the world. It was named after the planet Mars and stands for “victory.” Cairo is also called “The Mother of the World”, or “Paris of the Middle East.”
Giza is a suburb of Cairo and is the most populated area of Egypt that has the most pyramids. What surprised us was the location of the pyramids—almost downtown Giza! There are 110 pyramids in Egypt.
Palmyra is/was located an equal distance between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River. The columns were gigantic! Anyone or anything entering the city of Palmyra came through the arch. Water flowed under the arch. The ground started floating away and the animals had to swim in deeper and deeper waters. This helped to recognize the healthy animals from the ill ones--only healthy animals could be sacrificed and eaten!
Palmyra in the heart of the Syrian desert is the most magnificent and famous of the country’s historic sites. It made an ideal stop for caravans trading silk from China to the Mediterranean. It was considered an oasis .
Full body busts of important residents were placed on top of the columns. When they ran out of columns, they would put a new head on the existing body. I guess back then they believed in recycling!
Mary Langdon, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Trustee, 2010-13
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To Be, or Not To Be, Fourth Edition
Every minute of every day we have a choice; to be, or not to be the positive leader, the leader whose behaviors others wish to emulate. Here are some “leader be’s” to work on this month.
Be grateful
Have you ever noticed that you can’t be hateful and grateful at the same time? Gratitude gives us a warm feeling of appreciation and acceptance and definitely sets our entire human system up for a win. It’s hard to be crabby when you’re grateful for someone or something in your life. So how can we program ourselves with gratitude? Here are two ways to try.
1.
Every night
fall asleep thinking about someone in your life who lifted you, hugged you, helped you, encouraged you, patted you on the back, gave you a gentle push forward and made you feel better about yourself. Fall asleep being grateful for that person in your life.
2.
In the morning
wake up feeling grateful and immediately think of someone YOU will help, hug, congratulate, and encourage. Then get up and go do it! Your day will start on a positive note, your assistance will help someone else, and your day will just plain be a better one.
Be ready
To put yourself in a positive ready state to take on the day, the appointment, the challenge, the whatever, try the following exercise. Perform it as many times a day as you need for a relaxer or a refresher, whatever you need most.
Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. As you exhale slowly, perform the following:
- Smooth your forehead (relax all those stress wrinkles)
- Sag your jaw (relax the muscles in your face and let your face relax)
- Shrug your shoulders (don’t hold all the stress in your shoulders, let them drop)
- Smile (make it big and bright)
- Sparkle with your eyes (pretend you have a secret no one else knows)
- Sigh a nice positive, audible sound
Do this three times in a row and feel your energy return. Sounds silly? Try it anyway because it works.
So, from this moment on,
be grateful and ready
….to be, or not to be. The choice is yours.
Jane Erickson, Kiwanis International, Immediate Past President, 2017-18
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HAPPY 4TH OF JULY
Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!
Plan to give your fur family (a.k.a. your pets)
a little extra love and attention
as the sound of fireworks can cause stress for many animals.
Also, remember
nothing would make Uncle Sam happier than you registering for our World Series
District Convention
.
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WORLD SERIES
DISTRICT CONVENTION
NE-IA Kiwanis District Convention
Des Moines, IA
August 10-11
Holiday Inn Airport/Conf Center
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