Bama Bulletin

The weekend board meeting began Friday afternoon at Cheaha State Park, and it felt like a family reunion. Friends were greeting each other so warmly; it was a great start to a great weekend. The first meeting began after dinner, and each of the following meetings throughout the weekend were terrifically lead by Governor Shirin Torabinejad. The topics were mostly about duties the Lt. Governors need to concentrate on now, as well as planning for District Convention.

After lunch on Saturday, everyone took a hike down the road to a trail, which led to a cliff, for pictures to be made. It soon began thundering, and all had to hike back to the cabin. There was some storming over the weekend, and there was extremely thick fog. Saturday afternoon, all were startled by the power cutting off, but the generator cut on momentarily. Due to the generator not powering the stove, dinner was delayed until power returned, thus delaying the evening meeting. All still went well.

Sunday was a sad day because it meant everyone had to go home, leaving what felt so closely like family. The bonds between friends grew even stronger over the weekend. Without question, the weekend was a fun and interesting one, indeed.

Submitted By: Lieutenant Governor Blake Johnson

As many Key Clubbers know, Keeping Promises is our five year District Project for Alabama.  We have pledged to raise $150,000 within five years to allow two new rooms to be built in the expanded Benjamin Russell Children’s Hospital, one where the parents of babies in the NICU can stay and one for teenagers like us to spend time in between treatments.  So far, we are two years and approximately $50,000 into our promise.
 
For those of us not so great at math, this $50,000 means that Alabama Key Club is currently $10,000 behind the yearly donation needed to reach our goal within five years.  Well, one Key Clubber decided she wanted to change that.  That would be…me.  On Saturday, August 19th, I unloaded brushes, towels, soap, posters, and hoses into a parking lot for a benefit car wash for Children’s Hospital.  The car wash was free; any donation was guaranteed to go straight to Children’s.
 
It was about 8:30 when my first helper pulled up: Marlee Shaw.  A Lt. Governor from Division 10, she drove all the way from Fayetteville, Alabama to help.  Other volunteers were Lt. Governors Maani Kamal, Jeremiah Stone, and Adam Quinn, from Divisions 11, 3, and 1, respectively, and Bailey Douthit from the Key Club of Homewood High School.  Their help in washing around fifteen cars was greatly appreciated!
 
Just as business was starting to pick up around 11:30, we heard our first clap of thunder.  Well, that was unfortunate, because no one wants to get their car washed right before a thunderstorm!  Soon it was POURING down rain.  This pretty much eliminated all possibilities of a carwash from that point on, forcing us to become a little more creative.  Since we had Children’s Hospital banks, we instead went around in the rain to all of the shops around the area asking for donations.  We made almost as much asking for donations as we did washing the cars!
 
All said and done, we raised a grand total of $327.23.  Special thanks to DWP Construction for the use of their parking lot and Riley and Jackson for their corporate sponsorship.  Their help was greatly appreciated.  Thanks also to everyone who has supported Children’s Hospital in the past or does currently, and hopefully to those who will support it in the future as well!  Please consider holding your own projects for Children’s Hospital; everything you can do directly impacts a child right here in Alabama.

Submitted By: Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Riley

International Convention, what more can I say? This was the best experience for the entire Alabama District. The convention was very close to home: Memphis, Tennessee. We met all kinds of people. We made friends from Washington State all the way to Germany. Being in Memphis, the theme was centered around Elvis. It was extremely interesting and informative. On the Alabama District tour, we traveled to Graceland and learned all about Elvis and his life. During the convention they provided us with an extremely, intriguing Elvis impersonator.

The convention planners were amazing. They presented us with all sorts of entertainment. There were bands playing and talents shows. One of Alabama’s own, Hannah Jacobs, wrote and performed a song. The most astonishing performance was displayed by the one and only, Relient K. That was very exciting for Key Clubbers all over! We were given the opportunity to attend two dances. They were themed 1970’s and jailhouse rock! It was like going to prom with people from all over the country.

The convention was not all just fun and games, we were able to participate in Key Club politics. We spent a day caucusing all of the candidates. Then we, the Key Clubbers, chose the International President, Vice President, and International Trustees. We also went to workshops. Workshops are classes that help you to learn more about something; they were an absolute blast. There was anything from dance workshops to leadership workshops.

If you have never been to convention before it may sound a little strange, but an experience like this can help you not only grow as a leader, but also as a follower. The experience you are left with will leave you with the feeling that you can change the world!  My life was changed through Key Club and yours can too! I hope to see you next year in Phoenix, AZ June 29-July 3, 2011!

If we were to take a poll of how many Key Clubs have started a Kiwanis Club, there would only be one club in the entire world that could say yes, and that club is here in the Great Alabama District of Key Club International!

The Winston County High School Key Club was chartered by the Jasper Kiwanis Club a few years ago. At this time, there was not a Kiwanis Club in Winston County so the Key Club was chartered by the nearest club, which was in Walker County. This situation was brought to light at the 2010 Alabama District Convention, and the Winston County High School Key Club was challenged by International Kiwanis President Paul Palazzolo and Alabama District Kiwanis Governor George Aiken to start a Kiwanis Club in Winston County. Normally, a Kiwanis Club starts a Key Club. In fact, this rare reversal of events is the first time in international history that this has been done.

Once the Winston County High School Key Club returned home from DCON, we earnestly began to inform the community of this opportunity. We had tremendous success, and on June 17, 2010, the Winston County Kiwanis Club was chartered with 34 members. Winston County was very honored to have many distinguished guests at the Chartering Ceremony. Some of these included International Kiwanis President Paul Palazzolo, Alabama District Kiwanis Governor George Aiken, Alabama District Kiwanis Secretary David Allison, and Alabama District Key Club Governor Shirin Torabinejad.

Thank you to all that helped in this process. We see this as a marvelous addition to the K Family. This has been a great experience, and we hope that other Key Clubs will undertake the challenge of beginning a Kiwanis Club in their area.

Written by
Jessica Bloom