September 2022 District Newsletter |
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Greetings!
Welcome to The Kiwanian, the newsletter for the Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District. Please feel free to share this issue with potential new members or make a copy for those who don't have email. An online link to this newsletter will be made available on the District Website.
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Never Enough Kiwanis Moments
This is my last article as governor for The Kiwanian newsletter! Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of traveling the great states of Nebraska and Iowa. I have met wonderful Kiwanians! I have participated in great service projects! And I have had many “Kiwanian Moments!” Tired of hearing about these? Sorry, you get one more!
Recently, I was volunteering at an Emergency Food Pantry. A young man with a toddler entered and registered for his first visit. Soon I turned and saw him just standing and looking at the shelves of food. He said, “I don’t know what to do?” This caught me off guard a bit and I just wanted to say, “Start shopping!” But I didn’t. I offered to help. He shared that he was a newly, single father with two young daughters, one with a congenital birth defect. And he really didn’t know what to do. Clearly this was an emotional moment for him. I gently ask about his favorite foods. I asked about his daughters’ favorite foods. I described how the shelves were arranged. I even joked that I could do some menu planning, but it would only consist of soup and chips! He smiled and said that he thought he could handle the menu planning! Shortly, his daughter was sitting in the lap of my fellow Kiwanian, playing. He completed his shopping and left with 30 pounds of food. For me, this was yet another “Kiwanian Moment!”
Being a Kiwanian is about fellowship with other like-minded people; it is about learning about our communities; it is about raising funds to donate to various causes; but first and foremost, it is about service! If you are not having these very personal experiences periodically, get more involved. If your club is not creating these moments for your members, look for service projects that can help create these moments. If you are not celebrating these moments, start doing so! If you are at loss on how to do all of this, ask the over 100 volunteers at the District level to assist. We stand ready and willing to help. Just ask. Why? It is these “Moments” that keep Kiwanians going!
As I reflect upon my year as governor, I have seen wildly successful clubs, doing wildly impactful work. I have seen excitement from both Kiwanians and the youth and communities they serve. I have seen smiles and laughter. But I have also seen clubs that are struggling; clubs that have lost their momentum. Clubs that question their commitment to Kiwanis. However, I do not believe that any Kiwanian has lost the willingness to serve. We all just need the opportunity, and it is up to all of us to create those opportunities (and yes, it does take work). As I transition the governorship to Lynda Henningsen, the entire District is ready to work with all Kiwanians to keep our service alive and well! Thank you for allowing me to serve the District and thank you for giving me so many “Kiwanian Moments!”
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Gov. Don
Don Fritz, District governor, 2021-2022
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The Nebraska-Iowa District Foundation Board met the evening of Aug. 31 to make the final decision about Camp OK. That was the last day to notify the Boone Y-Camp about whether or not the camp could be held in 2023. The following report is from Foundation President Jody Melcher.
In order to hold camp, we had to have three co-directors on board. Unfortunately, we had two. Many phone calls were made in the last two months to try to find three co-directors. Thank you to those of you who supplied me with names of people who may have been interested. I appreciate it. I am so sorry we weren’t able to make it happen. I was hoping that we would.
Camp OK will not be a project of the Foundation in the future. Once we sign the contract, we have to pay half of the cost of the camp even if we cancel before Aug. 31. It is full cost if we cancel after that. That is not a fiscally responsible way to spend our funds. We need to put your club and individual donations toward a better use than to use them for a project we cancel and then pay for. We are working on what to do with the Camp OK Endowments and are being advised by an attorney who works with foundations. Those of you who have Endowments will be contacted in the coming weeks.
The Foundation board is looking into possible projects to enable us to partner with clubs to help children in Nebraska-Iowa. We have a few ideas from the annual meeting in August. If you have suggestions of projects we can offer, please let a Foundation representative know. Projects that we had in the past included Pediatric Trauma Kits and Backpacks.
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KEY LEADER REGISTRATION HAPPENING NOW
Key Leader is an extraordinary opportunity for our high school students to gain leadership experience and to grow personally. I encourage all Kiwanians to actively recruit students from your Key Clubs and your high schools. I also ask that clubs provide scholarships for students to attend. Please click on the links below for more information about this impactful student experience! The time to act is now!
Gov. Don Fritz
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How many Key Leader participants is your club ready to sponsor?
$250 per student
Bus Transportation Available (from Des Moines only): $75 per student
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NEW YEAR ABOUT TO BEGIN
The new fiscal/administrative year for Kiwanis International begins Oct. 1. Clubs should be preparing for the new year by reviewing projects, generating new budgets and invoicing members for annual renewal dues and fees.
International dues and fees - $82
$52 Dues
$8 Magazine Subscription
$17 Member Liability Insurance/Director and Officer Insurance
$5 Risk Management Fee
District dues - $25
Clubs may also assess club dues or fees.
Please Note Club Secretaries and Treasurers: New members for 2021-2022 must be entered by Friday, Sept. 30 to count for this year. Non-renewing members for 2022-2023 must be deleted from the roster by Monday, Oct. 10 for the club NOT to be charged for them next year.
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REGION 1 TRUSTEE VACANCY
A notice of vacancy for Region 1 Trustee was declared Aug. 6 during the Nebraska-Iowa House of Delegates Annual Meeting. This vacancy is effective Oct. 1, 2022 and shall be for the remaining two years of the 2021-2024 term that has been held by John Boltz, who was elected Aug. 6 as the 2022-2023 District vice governor. Region 1 is comprised of Divisions 21, 22S, 22N, 23, 24 and 25.
A virtual Region 1 meeting will be held
Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. central time/7 p.m. mountain time.
The agenda will include election of a new trustee.
Region 1 trustee candidate applications are being accepted through Friday, Sept. 9.
Candidates (as of Sept. 8)
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David Kempf, Hastings Kiwanis Club |
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Keith Prettyman, Lincoln Center Kiwanis Club |
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Rex Cross, North Platte Kiwanis Club |
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Information on each of these candidates can be found HERE.
Region 1 clubs may be represented by two delegates with voting privileges during the election of trustee. Clubs need to submit a delegate form to have their delegates pre-registered by Wednesday, Sept. 14.
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DISTRICT KEY CLUBBERS TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON
Submitted by District Key Club Administrator Tracey Domgard
In July, nine representatives from the Nebraska-Iowa Key Club District represented the District at Key Club International Convention, accompanied by District Key Club Administrator Tracey Domgard and Assistant District Key Club Administrator Cooper Domgard. The seven students were District Board of Directors members.
The students joined representatives from five other districts for a first-ever multi-district tour of Washington D.C. prior to the convention. Together, the 147 members from the Southwest, California-Nevada-Hawaii, Louisiana-Mississippi-Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Nebraska-Iowa districts joined in a tour and fun times between July 3 and July 6. The tour included Fourth of July at King’s Dominion Waterpark, a night tour of the monuments, time to explore the many museums, and a group dinner at Buca de Peppo Restaurant. Fun was HAD BY ALL prior to Convention time! Adults were not spared sleep time.
Convention time gave all students the opportunity to play a role in electing their new International Board of Directors for 2022-2023. Students experienced caucusing with extensive speeches by each candidate as well as the follow day’s election to finalize the election.
The Nebraska-Iowa Key Club District greatly appreciates the support of the individuals and clubs that donated financially to help students travel to the convention. These donations allowed students to travel that normally wouldn’t have had the opportunity, but more importantly, these donations served as a statement that the Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District supports our service leadership clubs!
Donors were Elaine Armstrong; George Cook, Lincoln Northeast Kiwanis Club; Sally Dietze, Lincoln Nebraska; Don Fritz, governor, Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis; Lynda Henningsen, governor-elect, Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis; Ames Town & Country Kiwanis Club; Des Moines Kiwanis Foundation; Lincoln Center Kiwanis Club; Lincoln Northeast Kiwanis Club; Lincoln Southeast Kiwanis Club; Marion Metro Kiwanis Club; and Marion Sunriser Kiwanis Club.
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CELEBRATE COMMUNITY
Celebrate Community, a joint initiative of Kiwanis International, Lions Clubs International, Optimist International and Rotary International, will happen again this year with a focus on local community service. Events and projects that improve and benefit communities are scheduled for the week of Sept. 11-17, 2022.
“We have so many common goals and objectives,” said Stan Soderstrom, executive director of Kiwanis International. “The Celebrate Community initiative is one way to join together to work on a project that will have a measurable impact on communities around the world.”
Kiwanis clubs are encouraged to work with other international organizations in their communities to develop projects during Celebrate Community Week, or any week that can be arranged.
More information about this initiative can be found on the Kiwanis International website here: Celebrate Community
And, when you visit that webpage, be sure to check out the video created to promote this initiative! A big shout out to the Des Moines area clubs for being involved in the initiative last year and being featured in this year’s video!!!
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KIWANIS CHILDREN'S FUND
Submitted by Kiwanis Children's Fund Chair Jody Melcher
Happy September, Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanians! It’s almost the end of our Kiwanis year. I hope it’s been a good one for you, your clubs and the children in your communities.
I haven’t had a recent update of clubs donating to the Children’s Fund. Most clubs that donate have already done so. There are some that donate in August/September. I hope I have some thank you calls to make yet this year.
Thanks to those of you who have purchased the Wil Blechman Fellowship. Your generosity is appreciated. This is a $2,500 gift to the Foundation in memory of Wil Blechman, past international president and promotor of Young Children Priority One. If anyone wants information about this, please contact me at peptuck@midiowa.net.
Thanks also to those of you who attended my District Convention breakout session on applying for grants from the Children’s Fund and District Foundation. If you were unable to attend and would like the information, contact me at the above email address. I will send you the handout with where to find steps to take to apply for a grant from both. I can also send you the digital flyer with information on grants from the Children’s Fund.
The grant I would like to share with you this month is from the Kiwanis Club of Charlevoix, Michigan. They received a grant to help them purchase a book vending machine with a special Kiwanis-branded wrap for a local school. Books can be purchased from the machine using a gold token. The tokens are given to children for good behavior, good grades, and good attendance. Great idea! There are probably many ways children could receive tokens including individualized goals that students may have. The more ways to earn tokens, the more books children may buy. I haven’t heard about these book vending machines. Anyone have information on these you can share with others?
I am always happy to share information about the Children’s Fund. If you have questions or would like a program about the Children’s Fund, please contact me at the above email address.
Keep saving those “K” Dollars. I had $75 worth to put towards the second half of my annual donation to the Children’s Fund. I know of several clubs and individuals who save these. Remember, they are the dollar bills that have a K at the beginning of the serial number.
Thanks for reading. I hope all of you have a great finish to this year and an outstanding 2022-2023 Kiwanis year for you, your clubs and the children in your communities!
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DATES TO KNOW
- Sept. 11-17: Celebrate Community
- Sept. 19: Region 1 Virtual Region Meeting
- Oct.1: Start of New Kiwanis Year
- Oct. 10: Final Day to Report 2022-2023 Club Roster
- Oct. 14-15: District Board Meeting/Retreat, Mahoney State Park, Ashland, Nebraska
- Oct. 28-30: Nebraska-Iowa Key Leader
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BE SURE TO READ THIS MONTH's NEWS FROM AROUND THE DISTRICT,
SENT IN A SEPARATE EMAIL, TO LEARN ABOUT GREAT CLUB PROJECTS AND CELEBRATIONS!
Clubs Featured This Month Are...
- Seward
- Lincoln Southeast
- Ottumwa
- Greater Missouri Valley
- Kearney Golden K
- Lincoln Aktion
- Omaha
- Ames Golden K
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WHAT'S YOUR CLUB DOING?
LET US KNOW!!!
SEND YOUR CLUB'S NEWS TO LISA BRICHACEK BY THE 1ST OF EACH MONTH TO BE FEATURED IN THE NEXT KIWANIAN
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