The Kiwanian - NE-IA Kiwanis District Newsletter

February 2023 District Newsletter

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.

QUICK LINKS

Nebraska-Iowa District Website

Nebraska-Iowa District Facebook

Nebraska-Iowa District Foundation

Kiwanis International Member Resources

Hello Kiwanians!

There are a lot of things going on and planning taking place in the Nebraska-Iowa District. Exciting things, things that will strengthen our district and our clubs. Are you ready?

Click Here to Read

Gov. Lynda's

February Message!

TIME TO CELEBRATE!!!

Join Kiwanians from across the Nebraska-Iowa District and watch the celebration of successes from the 2021-2022 Kiwanis year!

The Mid Year Awards Celebration will be a virtual livestreamed event, but will also be available to view following the celebration.

Mid Year Awards Celebration

Feb. 16, 2023

7 p.m. (Central Time)

Watch Live Here:

Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District Video - YouTube

Governor's Distinguished Awards for Clubs, Members and Divisions
Mid Year Awards for Exemplary Clubs, Outstanding Clubs and Interclubbing
Signature Project Recognition
Announcement of Signature Projects to represent the District in 2023 international contest

Registration Closes March 3 (or When Seats Filled)

Registration Link

CLUB LEADERSHIP CHATS

The Nebraska-Iowa District's educational chat series will next hold a virtual meeting on Monday, March 20. This Club Leadership Chat will cover topics of relevance for secretaries. Pre-register to receive the Zoom link for the chat.

Club Leadership Chat for Secretaries

Monday, March 20 2023

7 p.m. (CT)

Pre-Register Here!

THE GLUE THAT MAKES NEW MEMBERS STICK

When a new member joins your club, will they STICK? A good percentage won’t. Why? Because our club members don’t know what to do to assimilate them into the membership so they feel like they are “one of us.”

What do new members want?

What do they need?

How can we help them enjoy a long membership

that is rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful?

Learn five sticky insights to help glue your new members to your club. The presenter will be Steve Siemens, past president Kiwanis International.

Growing Kiwanis:

The Glue That Makes New Members STICK

A Virtual Training Opportunity All Club Members Should Attend

Thursday, March 2

7 p.m. (CT) Zoom

March 2 Registration

Thursday, March 23

7 p.m. (CT) Zoom

March 23 Registration

CHILDREN'S FUND NEWS

Every year, the president of the Children’s Fund issues a challenge to the district chairs. This year’s challenge is to raise 10% more than last year. It is hoped that will be achieved by every club giving 10% more than they did last year.

Read More Here

REGIONAL MEETINGS

The regional trustees in the Nebraska-Iowa District have staggered terms and this year, the current terms expire for Region 5 Trustee Andy Webb and Region 6 Trustee Jim Dane. Region 5 will hold its regional meeting with election on April 18 and Region 6 will hold the regional meeting with election on May 2. Both regional meetings will be conducted virtually via Zoom. Clubs in the region have been notified and trustee candidates for the 2023-2026 term in each region are being sought.

A candidate for trustee must:

• have served as a lieutenant governor of his or her division within the region;

• be an active member in good standing of a club(s) within the region from which he or she is elected;

• be endorsed as a candidate for trustee by the candidate’s primary club;

• be willing to fulfill the trustee requirements as stated in the Nebraska-Iowa District Bylaws; and

• have and maintain a clear criminal history background check conducted and verified by Kiwanis International.

Read more about the qualifications and duties of a trustee in the District Bylaws and the Policies and Procedures.

See Bylaws & Policies/Procedures

Candidate applications are being accepted through March 15.

Candidate Application Form

During the regional meeting elections, each club is entitled to two votes: the president and the president-elect OR their designates. Delegate certification forms are available on the website and need to be filed with the district office by April 3.

Club Delegate Form

CONVENTION REGISTRATION OPENS THIS MONTH

Kiwanis International has lined up a great 2023 International Convention with education, entertainment, service, fun and more June 21-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Convention details are available online at

www.kiwanis.org/convention/2023-convention

Watch "Why Attend" Video

More Details

Coming Soon!

DISTRICT CONVENTION

Mark your calendars for this year's District Convention -- Aug. 4 and 5 in LaVista, Nebraska.

The convention committee is lining up a great two days of activities, education, fellowship and fun. It promises to be above and beyond!

The committee is again seeking sponsors to help with the costs of the program booklet and other printed material. Deadline to be a sponsor this year is Friday, April 14. Click the button for more information.

DCON Program Sponsor

AMPLIFY YOUR SKILLS

Build your leadership skills and improve your career, your community and yourself. Kiwanis Amplify is a leadership program for those who want to amplify their ability to lead a team.

Participants will take a deep dive into eight leadership topics. The participation fee is $200 for members of Kiwanis International. The program is open to non-members this year and that fee is $600.

Registration Is Open Through March 24

Click Here For More Information!

TEAM Relay!

Each member of a relay team has a position and to that position they bring their unique skills and strengths. It is no different with the 2022-2023 Nebraska-Iowa District Leadership TEAM.

Meet TEAM member Linda Placzek

FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANTS

By Nebraska-Iowa District Foundation President Jody Melcher

Hello Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanians! All members of Kiwanis are members of the Nebraska-Iowa District Foundation. I am planning to write a quarterly article for the Kiwanian to update you on what the District Foundation has been doing.

This article will include information from our Board Meetings in October and January, since I didn’t write an article for the November Kiwanian. In October, we welcomed two new members to our board. Barb Sanders is representing Division 8. Carter Jones is representing Division 20. We are so happy to have them on the board. We have eight new board members! We held a training session for them in December, but I think we all learned something that night. It was a good session.

The following Divisions do not have a representative on the board: Divisions 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 15, 18, 25. If you are in one of these Divisions, please consider joining us, or talk with people in your Division who you think would do a good job as a liaison between the Foundation and your Division. It’s very important to have a representative on the Board from every Division.

Grants awarded in the first and second cycles include:

West Omaha Diamond K—Winter Clothing for Elementary Students

Florence—Anti-Cyberbullying Program

Capital City Key Club—Materials for making fleece blankets

Capital City Key Club—Needs for Spartan Village—a school based clothing closet

Alta—Repairs to their new can redemption trailer used in fundraising for projects

Ames Golden K—Books for their Reading Buddies at two Elementary Schools

Cedar Rapids—Benches in a park

Cornhusker Kiwanis—Diaper Drive

West Branch Area—One School One Book project

For a grant to be considered, it must be a project in which your club is physically and financially invested. Checks are written to the club. We do not help fund building projects or write checks to a third party. We do not want clubs to rely on the Foundation as an annual “budget” item in helping with ongoing projects. If a club is going to continue a partnership with an organization or school over multiple years, the club needs to find a way to fund that themselves after a year or two. If you have questions about grants, please ask your Division Representative. If you don’t have one, you may contact a member of the Executive Committee. They are listed on the website in the District Leadership Guide. There are many outstanding projects happening in Nebraska-Iowa. We wish we could fund all qualifying grants totally. However, we do have limited funds and do what we can.

Also, at our January meeting we approved a letter that was composed with the help of an attorney who specializes in Foundation work. That letter was sent to clubs that had a Camp OK Endowment. Those clubs are being asked to let us know if they want those funds returned or left in the Foundation. If your club received a letter, please respond as promptly as possible. We know you will need to consult your Board and members. Thank you!

In April, we will consider by-laws and policies that need to be updated, mainly in regards to Camp OK. We will also consider grants that are submitted before the March 1 deadline. At each Board Meeting, we receive the list of clubs in each Division that have donated to the District Foundation so far. It is hoped that your Board Representative will share that information with the clubs. If you do not have a Board Representative, have your Lt. Governor contact me. I will share that information with her/him.

KEY CLUB CONVENTION

From Key Club District Administrator Tracey Domgard

Kiwanians, please join us for any or all of the 2023 Nebraska-Iowa Key Club Convention and see for yourself what amazing work they do for your communities! You are able to sign up for any meals or all of the event. Keynotes will be presenting both Saturday morning and evening! See you all there!