Video Submissions pg. 25
ISSUE NO. 17
DCON pg.20
A Publication of the Texas-Oklahoma District of Kiwanis International
Summer Fun
New Pr Chair pg. 3
KI-NOTES
June 2021
Many things await us this summer!
IMPORTANT Announcement We are going Virtual
Courtney Harris
4 Governor's Message 8 News 10 A Look at Clubs 20 District Convention 24 District Content
Courtney Harris has been chosen by Governor Elect Pastor Brad McKenzie as his appointed PR chair for the district. Courtney, who is already an active Lt. Gov. of division 40 in Oklahoma, has agreed to start official PR duties with the blessings of current Governor Paul Heinz. This is exciting news by itself, but it gets better. The district has been in need of a specialized person who could take on duties of telling news stories via video format for the district. That person would operate as part of the marketing and PR teams and share the PR budget 50/50 for the purposes of travel and materials. That person will be our own Lakewood Kiwanis President Mark Jones from Division 2!
Contents
Mark Jones
Paul Heinz
G
From the Governor
reetings fellow Kiwanians of the Mighty T-O, Our year is going by so fast!! It seemed like only yesterday I started this journey with you and now we have less than 4 months left. It has been a great journey so far and one I will never forget. I asked the clubs to keep their rolls clean and most have done a great job!! We have gotten over 260 new members and we have only shown a net gain of 92. Having an accurate membership count helps us identify clubs that may need some help. With the pandemic slowing more every day, this is the best time to get out and find new Kiwanians. We still have room for new members, so keep asking people to join!! I am sure some have heard that the building in Pantego, Texas is for sale. This was a difficult decision for the T-O District board to make, but the expense was just too great. When we purchased the building we had approximately 12,000 members and we now have roughly 5,700. The money spent on the building could be used better with our Service Leadership Programs or even to help support communities during disasters. The T-O District board would like to thank the Texas Oklahoma Foundation for helping us by agreeing to sell the building. I and the Texas Oklahoma Board appreciate the continued support of the Texas Oklahoma Foundation and look forward to a long friendly relationship. We are going to retrieve all of the memorial bricks and the bench so we will have them for display at a future location. More clubs have been meeting in person and I have been accepting invitations to travel around the district. I have met a lot of wonderful hard-working people. Even though we are meeting in person, do not forget we have the Zoom option to allow those that are still not comfortable to join us and also to invite some interesting speakers that are way outside our local area. I attended the Division 2 Council Meeting and they had a virologist from The University of Texas. That was a great opportunity for everyone that joined to get some great facts about the COVID-19 virus and vaccine. Use every tool at your disposal to keep your meeting and projects interesting. I don’t know if I will have time to have another Texas Oklahoma District Governor’s Zoom Social, but I still want your feedback. It is important to get feedback so we know what was done right and what needs work. Kiwanis International will provide me feedback, but it is more important what you think. I still have some time left, so please feel free to send me invitations to club meetings, division council meetings, or other activities and I will try to get them scheduled. If you want me to speak to your club for a couple of minutes, let me know in the invitation and I will RSVP, otherwise, I will just pop into your meeting when I can to enjoy your company. Don’t forget to make your donation to the Texas Oklahoma Foundation and Kiwanis Children’s Fund. Be sure to mail your T-O Foundation check to the District office!! I thank you for the privilege you have given me to represent the Mighty T-O, we set the standard in service!! Please contact me if you need anything and thank you all for your service. Paul Heinz Governor Texas/Oklahoma District of Kiwanis International (405)246-5972 #KidsNeedKiwanis
817-640-7711
"Recruiting new members has a huge impact on the community, the division, the district, Kiwanis International — and the entire world! For every person we bring into Kiwanis (whether into existing clubs or while opening new ones) we extend our service to another 206 children around the world. And when we bring together 15 people to open a new club, we can assist another 3,090 children. It’s all about gaining more hands for service. Now more than ever, kids and our communities need Kiwanis. And to extend the scope of our support, we need more members with new ideas and energies. But to do our best and most meaningful work, we need happy members. What does your club do to ensure its members are getting what they want from the Kiwanis experience? Here are some ways to think about the value of a Kiwanis club membership. 1. Conduct a member survey What do your members want from their Kiwanis club experience? When is the most convenient time to meet? Would members rather meet completely online? What service projects appeal to them? 2. Host social events outside of meeting time Clubs thrive when members have fun. Get together for a dinner or a movie. Plan an adventure. Have fun off the Kiwanis clock. 3. Value and respect all members’ opinions Sometimes the same members seem to have all the ideas. But maybe they’re just the ones most comfortable speaking up. Make it a point to hear from everyone. 4. Offer many service project opportunities Hard labor isn’t for everyone. Vary your projects. Offer one a month. Divide and conquer. Not everyone has to work every event. 5. Make club activities meaningful and relevant Does your club know what your community really needs? If not, your service might go unnoticed. Take advantage of Kiwanis’ Achieving Club Excellence (ACE) tools to ensure your programs and service address what your community needs. For more, visit kiwanis.org/acetools for more information." - https://www.kiwanis.org/news/newsitem/news/newsitem/5-ways-to-improve-the-member-experience
texas oklahoma district
txokdist@swbell.net
Text
https://www.facebook.com/texasoklahomakiwanis
www.txokkiwanis.org
5 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE
The first Kiwanis Club in what is now the Texas-Oklahoma District, was officially completed February 10, 1917, at Dallas, Texas, with a membership of 200. Due to the increasing number of clubs across the country members realized the need of setting up the District organization. In October 1918, the Dallas Club selected one of its members to serve as interim Governor of the Texas-Oklahoma District until an organization conference could be arranged. The first meeting was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and on February 10, 1919, the Texas-Oklahoma District was organized.
OUR STORY
3010 W. Park Row Dr, Suite 100 Pantego, TX 76013
THE VOICE AUDITIONS The Lake Granbury Kiwanis Club is holding an Audition Night at Granbury Live on September 16. They are looking for competitors for their Main Event next January.
Halos 2021 Spring T-ball McKinney's Halos team finished up their spring season on May 26th, 2021. The children were awarded with medals and a pizza party. You can find out more about the McKinney Kiwanis Club's program at http://www.mckinneykiwanis.org/Halos.
CITIZENSHIP AWARDS The Kiwanis Club of Harker Heights presented 3 citizenship awards. The MG Robert M Shoemaker Citizenship Award student exhibits and is involved in selfless service in the school and or community, demonstrates responsibility, is honorable and is a positive leader. Harker Heights Elementary School best citizen is 5th grader River Sibole (first image). Eastern Hills Middle School best citizen is 7th grader Izzabella Glick (second image). Harker Heights High School best citizen is 11th grader Alyah Williams (third image).
VIRTUAL DCON The Texas Oklahoma Kiwanis District will take the convention live, virtually, August 7th, 2021.
BARTLESVILLE'S FISHING DERBY The Bartlesville Kiwanis Club Fishing Derby for Kids will be held Saturday, June 12th from 9 AM - 11:30 AM at Jo Allen Lowe Park on Price Road, between Silverlake and Highway 75.
OUR DISTRICT KIWANIS TEXAS-OKLAHOMA DISTRICT
NEWS FEATURE The Purcell Kiwanis Club was featured on their local news channel. The newscasters highlighted a coloring book submission by a student named Kooper Trent. Kooper Trent was their submission to Lt. Gov. Lew Case as the Purcell Club winner. Since that news cast, Kooper's Hero drawing was selected as our Division 30 winner. Kooper was presented with her helmet and bicycle at their May 10th meeting.
Memorial Day The Allen Kiwanis Club members gathered together in person to celebrate Memorial Day. Over 27 members were in attendance.
The Kiwanis Club of Harker Heights awarded (5) $1,000 each to Harker Heights High School seniors. The 2021 Scholarship Awards were distributed as follows:
Kiwanis Club of Harker Heights Scholarships SUBMITTED BY Vivian Marschik
Bill Davis Memorial Scholarship Raphael De la Cruz (1st Image) He will attend Rice University to study civil engineering P R Cox Memorial Scholarships Ju Hee Julia Lee (2nd Image) She will attend the University of TX at Austin to study biomedical engineering Elizabeth Lim (3rd Image) She will attend the University of Minnesota to study nursing Kiwanis Club of H H Memorial Scholarship Sarah Kennison (4th Image) She will attend the University of TX at Austin to study mathematics MG Stewart C Meyer Memorial Scholarship Gloria Hayoung Kim (5th Image) She will attend the University of TX at Austin to study Biology
Summertime is a prime time for Kiwanians to show what they are made of.
A Look at Clubs
Kiwanis Club of Harker Heights SLP Pride SUBMITTED BY Vivian Marschik
The Kiwanis Club of Hrker Heights is very proud of their SLPs. They have been very active throughout the year. Harker Heights Kiwanis EHMS Builders Club The Eastern Hills Middle School Builders Club did their Adopt-a-Spot clean-up at the Harker Heights Community Park. They also made about 50 chew toys out of old t-shirts for the Harker Heights Pet Adoption Center. They were given a tour of the entire facility including some of the things to watch out for such as snakes, venomous and nonvenomous, scorpions, and tarantulas. They ended the semester doing their annual fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. HHHS Key Club The HHS Key Club has been active in their school and community the entire school year. Here are some of the projects they have been doing this Spring Semester Valentines Dance in a Bag packing for the Activities Center – The Key Club organized their members and the Interact Club to help prepare these fun kits for families! Spring Break food drive for the Killeen ISD HARP – The Key Club headed up this food drive to provide food and funds for those students who had little to eat during Spring Break. Readying the New Community Garden at Kern Park for the Activities Center and Parks and Recreation, mulching tees at kern Park – For the first time the city of Harker Heights is offering a Community Garden in Kern Park. Individuals and families may rent small plots in order to grow their own food. The Activities Center will provide educational sessions and videos regarding planting, mulching, and more! Fun Day in the Park – assist with Activities Center Pop Up Park activities area – This encouraged families to run and play together as they enjoyed the wonderful outdoors at Carl Levin Park. Brain Break filming for the Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library – These short “Brain Breaks” share music, music, and literacy elements to help children who may be home. They are made available on Facebook, but they can be viewed at any time that kids need a break or a perk up from their regular activities. Filming guest reader spots for the Stewart C. Meyer Harker Heights Public Library -- These short guest reading videos share rhyme, rhythm, narrative skills, vocabulary, and a love of literacy with families who view them on Facebook. The Mayor of Harker Heights made a Proclamation declaring the Harker Heights High School Key Club as a "Bright Star of Central Texas"
Greenville Golden Kiwanis We're Back SUBMITTED BY Pat Bowman
Covid was a real disaster for lots of folks and GGK was no exception. Our meeting place closed down so we had no meetings for 5.5 months. Since membership is in that age group most negatively affected by the disease, most of our members hunkered down in our foxholes and waited for an all-clear. We started with some virtual meetings and resumed physical meetings (twice monthly) at an interim location in September of last year. Covid canceled all the summer programs we normally worked so we stayed dormant. We are now back to meeting every week!!! The one exception was the brave souls on our Ramp Team. After a one-month suspension of operations by the Texas Ramp Project, our team got the go-ahead to resume work and they did finishing 20 ramps by the end of our Kiwanis (K) 19/20 year (30 Sep 2020-first link below). Despite Covid and some serious weather issues, they have continued their stellar performance during the first 7 months of K 20/21 year (1 Oct to date-second link below with 19 ramps as of EOM April 2021). The cost of lumber has become a serious issue as in a one-year time frame (as shown in the chart in the second link below), current funding can only finance the building of one-half as many ramps as previously expected, and the situation will probably get worse. We are frantically looking for ways to get more funds to build ramps for folks that desperately need and can’t pay for a ramp. GGK Ramps Kiwanis Year 19/20 Link-https://photos.app.goo.gl/CckKE7snsJQCEzXi7 GGK Ramps Kiwanis Year 20/21 Link -https://photos.app.goo.gl/HohBuauiK8RhtrPr6Still In Work When Covid hit in mid-March last year, the AARP Tax-Aide Program immediately ceased operation. Back in September/October of last year, the AARP/GGK volunteers began planning for the 2020/2021 tax year. Extensive volunteer training was conducted and an appointment system established, AARP Tax-Aide folks completed 472 tax returns between February and 27 April as described in the link below. GGK SUPPORT TO AARP TAX AID PROGRAM -https://photos.app.goo.gl/s92b6VZrzPy9weYK6 On 15 March last year, our team made their last deliveries of the year for Meals On Wheels (MOW) due to Covid. All of our members have received their Covid vaccinations, and we voted to start doing MOW again. We began doing MOW again on 2 March as shown in the link below. We also have begun to look for ways to partner with the Senior Center Resource & Public Transit (SCRPT).One of the MOW routes delivers to homes in North Greenville which is an older and less well-maintained area of Greenville. In making deliveries, we could see some positive changes being made in Greenville due to a City Program (Project Restore) as briefly described below. GGK RESTARTING MOW(MARCH 2021) -https://photos.app.goo.gl/Si6anCN2qWpCp81Y7 When Covid hit in March of last year and the schools essentially closed, the FISH Ministries were forced to suspend their Meals for At-Risk KIDS (MARK) Program (see below link). When school started back in September of last year, the MARK Program was restarted and we began to pack 700-1,000 bags of food to be distributed through the local schools so that at-risk kids got some food for the weekend. We are proud to be associated with this important program for children in Greenville and Hunt County. Hunt County FISH Shared Ministries MARK Program:-https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q9W2kZ5uxcDZbhQt5 As you can see from the above programs, GGK is an organization dedicated to doing its part to make this city and county better places to live and work. We would love to have you help us in this effort. We meet every Tuesday at the Wesley Methodist Church at 10 AM. Come to one of our meetings and join up!!
Kiwanis Club of Bartlesville Student Scholars and Leaders SUBMITTED BY Konrad Brandemuhl
On Wed. May 26, 2021, the Kiwanis Club of Bartlesville hosted scholars and leaders from our local area schools to receive awards. 4 students were selected for 8th Grade of the Year from Bartlesville’s 2 middle schools. As part of the TO Kiwanis Foundation Sophomore of the Year (SotY) process, our club selects 1 student from each of the 5 area schools to compete for our club’s nomination for SotY. We also awarded 5 Senior of the Year awards, 1 each from area high schools. Additionally, in collaboration with Tri-County Tech, two students were selected for High School of the Year and Adult Student of the Year. In total, $5,800 in scholarships were awarded to 16 area students. The event was well attended by 45 students, parents, and school guests.
Sharon Hurst, long-time Kiwanian and co-owner of Crossing 2nd, a downtown Bartlesville Bistro, collaborated with our club and a local wine distributor to put on a wine-tasting fundraiser. The concept was wine tasting, with education on the wines and food pairing suggestions combined with some entertainment and sampling of the food pairings all for a fundraising effort. Sharon selected 4 wines that had unique backstory which added flavor to the event. (These 4 wines were later to be featured in her bistro.) The wine distributor/sommelier provided writeups of each wine and suggestions on wine/food pairings. The evening started with member Grace Farmer leading the participants in a wine trivia ice breaker. The remainder of the evening was a 4-course wine sampling each served with a unique sample food pairing along with a sommelier explaining the wine and the food pairing options. Between each course, a little bit of local entertainment was provided by The Blues Guys. Grace Farmer also provided a wine basket with a choice of 2 wines from the evening and glasses for a raffle drawing. Konrad Brandemuhl provided an additional 2 wines for additional prizes for the raffle drawing. The economics: for each $40 ticket sold, $20 for wine, venue, food, staff, and entertainment. The remaining $20 for our club for handling the sale of tickets, etc. Wine distributors provided 1 bottle of wine for every bottle of wine sold or used for the event.
Kiwanis Club of Bartlesville Wine fundraiser SUBMITTED BY Konrad Brandemuhl
Kiwanis Club of Arlington SUMMER Packs SUBMITTED BY Evelyn Herrera
The Kiwanis Club of Arlington has once again partnered up with the Arlington Public Library. Last year the Kiwanis Club of Alrington and the Arlington Public Library worked together to supply their community with school supplies. Together they were able to supply over 500 children with a pack filled with school supplies and fun activities. Last year's bag included things such as notebooks,folders, crayons, scissors, the Texas Oklahoma Kiwanis District coloring book and more. After that project the Kiwanis Club then partnered with an established program called the School Supply Squad. This program directly supplies teachers at participating schools with school supplies. The program allows teachers to give out supplies to students most in need, thus ensuring they receive items directly. Because of this, instead of prioritizing creating packs of school supplies, the Kiwanis Club of Arlington sought to assist the Arlington Public Library with distributing other types of packs. Before partnering with the Arlington Public Library, the public library was distributing activity packs. These packs would contain a few supplies and a set of instructions for children to do over the summer. This summer, the Kiwanis Club of Arlington wished to partner up with the Arlington Public Library again and suggested the activity packs be expanded. With the club's money and donations made by supporters we were able to purchase a vast quantity of supplies. With these supplies we will be able to distribute over 300 activity packs each month over the summer. Each pack will contain different activities. These will allow children to exercise their creativity and expand their thinking. All packs combined contain supplies that children can use for the upcoming school year. These supplies include scissors, glue, rulers, erasers, folders, pencil pouches, pencils, and more!
Virtual DCON
Our District convention is being held online!
The Texas Oklahoma District Convention has been changed to a virtual convention this year to accommodate our members who still cannot meet in public and may not be able to do so by August. We totally understand the frustration about not being able to meet in public but are working hard at establishing some in-person events to take place in the fall and winter. We are planning an awesome "virtual" event with activities, videos, guest speakers, and news from around the district. It will be a 1-day event which will take place on Saturday, August 7th, and you will be able to watch the speakers and activities either on YouTube or on a video channel on our district Facebook page. We have an awesome day planned for the district and everyone can tune-in and watch the events either on their computer, phone or smart-tv. We have guest speakers from around the country, visits from our Key Club and CKI governors, cool little videos provided by clubs around the district, a memorial service for our members who have passed this last year, and an installation of Pastor Brad McKenzie as our incoming Governor for 2021-2022. There will be news about upcoming events and some short educational sessions too. So, we hope everyone will join us and have fun with this great program!
DCon videos Submitted by Marshall Kregel
District Content
Practice taking short videos to market your club. Show us your favorite club videos! We are looking for 1 to 2-minute news videos from our clubs around the district. These will be played randomly during the virtual District Convention. The little videos can be about a service or fund-raising project or can be about a fun club activity, or something about your SLP programs. The deadline is July 15th so that gives your club a couple of months to plan your video news clip. If you need tech help, contact Marshall at mkregel@hotmail.com and one of the marketing team members will get back to you immediately. Have fun with this! We're anxious to see what you come up with! You can email the videos to TxOkKiwanis@gmail.com, or send them to a Dropbox or Vimeo or YouTube account and then send us the link, or copy them to a thumb drive and mail the thumb drive to Marshall, or lastly, send the video by text message straight from your phone. Contact Marshall if you have questions about taking videos and sharing them. I did a quick google search on “Taking a Video” and came up with dozens of great tutorials. Here are 2 of them that I thought would help the amateur club videographer get started. Notice how the phone is held to take the videos. Very important! https://www.franco.com/blog/five-tips-taking-video-phone/ https://www.hellotech.com/blog/quick-guide-taking-great-smartphone-video-beginners
More content from the Texas Oklahoma Kiwanis District.
Kiwanis Decals Submitted by Marshall Kregel
The Growth and Marketing Team put together an interactive coloring book for 3rd-grade students from all over Texas and Oklahoma asking who their hero has been in this Pan-demic. The contest first took place in 5 Divisions and then the second round was open to clubs. Prizes ran from gift cards to a new bike for the Division contests. We have some books left over so if you are interested in having your club participate this summer have your club President send an email to susan.hennum@hotmail and ask for all the details and rules for the program. Books are first come—first serve. While there is no cost for the books and shipping your club must provide the prizes.
We have responded to over 110 clubs around the district that wanted some free decals and documents on how to get corporate members. We still have lots of decals! We will keep a stock permanently in the district offices. Each club in the district gets a free pack of decals for business windows along with some teaching material for the club. Contact Marshall at mkregel@hotmail.com and request the free kit for your club. Now, we have enough decals that if your club wants to purchase huge quantities, you can send in a check and purchase these. The decals are 50.00 for 60 decals and that includes postage. You will get 10 Partner decals, 20 Sponsor decals, and 30 Member decals. I can customize your kit if you need different quantities. Send me a note.
Runner up for Purcell Kiwanis Club
Division 2 winner and Pleasant Grove President, Walter Clinton
Who is your hero? Submitted by susan hennum
This video is a how-to on building flags for fundraising . If you cannot play the video ypu can watch it at https://youtu.be/gDF6NmYEeU8.
From the Texas-Oklahoma Kiwanis Foundation Submitted by Konrad Brandemuhl
Another Kiwanis Year is zooming by and hopefully your clubs are starting to resume normal club activities. Among the primary activities of the Foundation is awarding scholarships to worthy students. Like clubs, the Foundation also adapted and continued with our mission despite Covid restrictions. Later this summer the Foundation will be announcing $12,000 in scholarships to 20 recipients of the Sophomore of the Year award. The Foundation has already awarded $6,000 to 5 CKI students and $37,500 to 30 Key Club students. Number Awards Total Amount Key Club 30 $37,500 CKI 5 $6,000 SotY 20 $12,000 Total 55 $55,500 We want to thank all the students who applied. We want to thank all the clubs, club officers, their scholarship committee & volunteers, various levels of the District leadership and members of the Foundation who help with the information dissemination, collection/processing of scholarship applications and selection of recipients. We’re all making a difference in these students’ lives. If your club hasn’t contributed to the Foundation this year, please consider making your Annual Club Gift (Tom Duncan Memorial Fund) before the end of the year. Any per member amount helps the Foundation sustain its mission of providing support for student leaders. Please consider budgeting $10.00 per member. Your contributions go towards funding these scholarships. For more information: https://www.tofoundation.com/ If you had members who during this year went above and beyond and are worthy of special recognition, the Foundation has the C. T. Bush Award ($500) and the Gary Hicks Award ($1,000). (See above website.) As your club begins preparing for new officers and new budget cycle, please consider putting the Annual Club Gift as part of your permanent budget so the Foundation can continue to award and expand the scholarships for our students. 100% of your contributions stay in the District. As your club makes budgetary recommendations, please also consider similar contributions to the KI Children’s Fund.
Flag Program Assembly and installation Submitted by Mark Jones
Month
Division
Club
Name
April
23
Harker Heights
Gayle Honaker
May
24
Austin-Northeast
Clarence Cossey
28
Pasadena
Charles Knight
June
32
Greenville Golden K, Greenville
Larry Eastwood
8
Bonham
James Woods
All listed with sympathy and memory.
Gayle Honaker Obituary
In Loving Memory
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” ― Thomas Campbell
Ms. Honaker died April 28, 2021, in Houston. She was born Oct. 13, 1948, in El Campo, to the late Owen Roades, Jr. and Audrey Clayton Roades. She grew up in El Campo and resided there, until her marriage to Thurman Dean Kinsel in 1966 and moving to Brazoria. They had two daughters, Kimberly and Dina. She moved to Gatesville in 1983, where she worked at Commercial Credit in Killeen, until her retirement in 1989. She married Gary Honaker on Dec. 24, 1989. They were stationed in California, Korea and Alabama, before returning to their permanent residence in Harker Heights. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Killeen, until becoming a member of Soldiers of the Cross Cowboy Church in Nolanville. Gayle is survived by her husband, Gary Honaker; daughters, Kimberly Livingston and husband, Steve, Dina Schuman and husband, Darrel; sister, Debbie Smaistrla and husband Mike; seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren..
From the Editor
H
ello Fellow Kiwanians, First off I would like to say Happy Pride Month! I want you to know that you are all cherished and loved! Secondly, I want to give a great shout out to Laura Arnhart. Her birthday is coming up on the 18th of this month. Laura is the one who introduced me to Kiwanis and has become a very important person in my life. Happy early birthday Laura! Please feel free to send her a Happy Birthday message the 18th. Finally, there is a lot happening this summer! The primary thing being DCON. I have high hopes for our virtual convention. If you did not attend our virtual convention last year, I urge you to check out this year's!
Evelyn Herrera