District Conventions are always a lot of fun but you definitely don’t want to miss this one! Join over 400 Key Clubbers at the  2012 K-T District Convention from March 16–18 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

More videos about Chattanooga! You’ll definitely want to view the second video!

This year’s convention is jam-packed with activities and events. Bo Shafer will be joining us as our Keynote speaker this year. He will set the tone for an exciting weekend with his energetic, powerful, and entertaining presentation at Friday’s opening session.

Bo is past Kiwanis International President and member of the Knoxville Kiwanis Club who has wowed audiences nationwide with his motivational stories.

Download the ENTIRE 2012 K-T District Convention Packet! DOWNLOAD Please note that this is ONE(1) Adobe PDF file that is made up of multiple-page documents. If all you need is to download the Medical Questionnaire, you can do that here.

For any who do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, just go to www.adobe.com and click on the version that matches your operating system.

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season now that most of us are out of school for the holidays. Through reports from your Lieutenants Governors and those you submit yourselves, I have seen the amazing work all of you have been doing the past few months. You truly are making a difference in your home, school, and community. This year’s Fall Rally in October at Dollywood was an extreme success with well over 600 members and advisors registered to attend. It was a personal pleasure getting to interact with the members of the district. As we approach the second half of the year, I want to remind all of you of a few things. First of all, dues became delinquent December 1. Try to be getting these in as soon as possible. Very important is the district convention coming up March 16-18 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo in Chattanooga, TN. For those of you unfamiliar with convention, it is the biggest event of the Key Club year where the entire district gathers for a weekend of fun, learning, leadership training, awards, and a wide array of other activities. Convention mailings were sent out a few weeks ago and should have arrived at your schools. If you need this information feel free to contact myself of your lieutenant governor to receive it. As always, be checking out the monthly updates sent out to your division and trying to attend any divisional events going on in your area. If there is anything I can do to assist you or your club let me know. Have a great holiday break!

Sincerely,
Garrett Holt
KT District Governor

The Chattanooga Valley K-Kids club is sponsored by the Rossville, Georgia, Kiwanis Club and the Ridgeland High School Key Club. The Ridgeland Key Club is also sponsored by the Rossville Kiwanis Club. Key Club District Treasurer, Laura Boyle has been instrumental in forming the K-Kids Club and, and she works with the K-Kids members at meetings and projects.

The vision for the K-Kids Club came from one of the elementary school students who learned about K-Kids while attending her brother’s End of the Year Key Club Banquet at Ridgeland High School. As a result, she sent a letter asking, “Can we have a K-Kids at our school?”. From there the Kiwanis Club met with school administration, and the K-Kids Club was born.

Click on the following link to view the segment:

http://www.wdef.com/s/hrM7p8IgwkmZen3Ng-3KhQ.cspx#.Ttb_q4jwP1I.aolmail

For those that attended, the 2011 Fall Rally at Dollywood was a great success. Over 600 people registered for the event. If you weren’t able to make it or if you were there and wanted to review the information that Governor Holt went over, you can download the presentation by clicking on the link below. Of course you won’t have the benefit of having the Governor go over the details with you in-person but you can contact Garrett with your questions by emailing him.

Garrett covered information about the Eliminate Project, the 2012 K-T District Convention, Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF, Key Club Week, The Ronald McDonald House and the KT Tour planned around the 2012 Key Club International Convention that will be held in Orlando FL. There’s also information in the packet about paying your dues and filing your club’s monthly reports.

2011 Fall Rally, Dollywood – Pigeon Forge TN

I hope your year has been off to a great start so far. I want to remind you of three items. First of all, the 2011 Fall Rally at Dollywood on October 15 is fast approaching. The registration is due by Oct. 5. I strongly urge you and your club to attend this amazing event along side hundreds of fellow Key Club members.

Also, Trick or Treat for UNICEF materials should be arriving in the next few weeks to your school. Utilize these in helping raise funds for the ELIMINATE project. If you are unfamiliar with this project, the Kiwanis family’s pledge to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus, please visit http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/home.aspx.

Lastly, the Youth Opportunities Fund, a grant ranging from $100-$2000 to fund a project of your club, application is due October 15. This is a great way to do a lot of good in your community. Please see the link on the left-hand side of the site to download an application. If I can help you in any way or if you have questions for me, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Garrett Holt
KT District Governor

Ridgeland Key Clubbers work to get all members safely across “the toxic river”

Rossville Kiwanians sponsor the weekend. Says one Kiwanis member, “The retreat is the most important weekend of the Ridgeland Key Club year. The students need and enjoy the opportunity to be together in a relaxed atmosphere where they can learn about Key Club and themselves. It is exciting to see them discuss Issues, make plans, and set goals. For Kiwanis members the weekend is a great opportunity to get to know the students and gain an understanding of how we can help them. Mixed into all meetings and activities is a lot of fun.”

Each year the event begins on Friday evening and concludes Sunday morning. Friday evening is a time for everyone to get to know each other and settle in at the cabin. Saturday is jam-packed with meetings and activities. Topics for the meetings include Key Club Basics, Duties of Officers, Goal Setting, and Calendar Planning. The students also participate in a variety of activities that require them to work together, and to depend on and help each other to solve problems. Saturday evening the group heads into Gatlinburg for the evening. After dinner, the students divide into groups and participate in a scavenger hunt in downtown Gatlinburg, before returning to the cabin. The weekend concludes on Sunday morning with a board meeting.

Key Clubbers work together and help each other in order to succeed

What did Key Club members think of this year’s retreat?

Mariah Kilgore, first time attendee:
“I feel that the retreat helped us to become closer as a club and it helped to prepare us for the year ahead. I know personally that i feel more prepared for this year.”

Laura Boyle,
“I gained helpful ideas for the upcoming year and closer relationships to everyone who went…. I love the weekend ….All three that I have been to have been fantastic.”

Aubrianna Pennington, 2011-2012 Ridgeland Key Club President:
“I gained a better knowledge of Key Club International and my school’s club, as well as many ideas on the improvement and expansion of our service. The retreat impacted me by helping to motivate and encourage me for the upcoming year, not only with our service in the community, but also on a global level (like with Eliminate).”

Key Clubbers working with, and sharing resources available to complete a project.

You can download the registration packet HERE.

K-Family Conference (352KB)

Thank you,

Gene Harrell
Assistant Administrator
K-T Key Club District

Barbara Buckner, President
Kiwanis Club of Tullahoma
Tullahoma, TN

I hope you are having a great start to your year. Attached is my August newsletter with information I believe will benefit your club in the upcoming year. If I can help you in any way feel free to contact me.

Gov_newsletter.pdf (443 KB)

If you have a Twitter account, just tweet “follow ktkeyclub” and voila! You’re following the K-T District Key Club.