Below is what I believe is everything you would want to know about Key Club International, namely how it is structured and its history. There is so much to say, that some information about Key Club that otherwise might be found here is located on the Fun Facts/FAQ page. Let me know if you think something is missing or want to see more information about Key Club added to this page!
E pluribus unum-One of Many
By Michael Rovner, Past Lieutenant Governor of Division 4
As a Key Club member of a school in Division 4 here in Nassau county, you are one of many members in the world's largest service based organization for high school students. You may have wondered why I address my updates and letters to "Division 4," and for that matter what Division 4 is. Below is an explanation of Key Club International as an organization. My goal is for you to come away knowing not only what Division 4 is, but how you as a member fit into this amazing global organization.
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Key Club is a service leadership program run by Kiwanis International for high school students. Key Club has over 260,000 members in over 5,000 clubs in 31 countries. (For those interested in which countries click here for a list.) With such a large organization, it is imperative to be well organized and have strong leadership. As Key Club International has grown, it has adopted the following organizational hierarchy:
1. The most basic component of Key Club International is the club level. Members join clubs at their high school (although clubs are allowed to be chartered in other institutions such as YMCA's). Clubs are run by club officers, usually a president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary. However, many clubs have other positions including webmaster, bulletin editor, and public relations chair among others. Clubs organize and carry out the service projects and fundraisers that make Key Club such a potent force for good worldwide. All clubs are sponsored by a local Kiwanis Club. If you do not know which Kiwanis Club sponsors your Key Club, take a second to find out. Key Clubs could not exist without their sponsoring Kiwanis counterparts. Thanks to the work of clubs, Key Club International can boast that its members have participated in thousands of service hours and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Because clubs and members actually volunteer and fundraise, they are the most important parts of Key Club International. Without them, the other organization levels would have no purpose.
2. The next level of Key Club International is the division level. Divisions are composed of several clubs that are adjacent to one another, and are led by a Lieutenant Governor (that's me) elected to a one year term. Division 4 encompasses all of the clubs in northern Nassau County. All of the clubs in a division attend monthly divisionals and division-wide service projects organized by the Lieutenant Governor. There are 28 divisions in New York State. Ideally, all of the clubs in a division should be relatively close to each other. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. While all of the clubs in Division 4 are within a 30 minute drive from each other (with no traffic), some clubs in divisions in upstate New York are over 2 hours away from each other!
3. Above the division level is the district level. A district encompasses several divisions. Some states, such as New York and New Jersey act as the boundaries of districts. Therefore you are all members of the New York District. Some districts, however, are comprised of several states. Two examples of this are the California-Nevada-Hawaii District and the New England District (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and the country of Bermuda). Furthermore, some countries such as Jamaica and the Bahamas, are the boundaries of districts. For a map of all districts click here. Districts collect dues, and are led by district boards. A district board is comprised of a District Governor, District Secretary, District Treasurer, as well as all of the lieutenant governors within that district. The governor, secretary, and treasurer are elected at district conventions (click here to learn more about New York's district convention called the Leadership Training Conference). The governor has the authority to appoint additional people to the board as he or she sees fit. In the New York District, the governor traditionally appoints a District Editor, District Webmaster, and one or two Executive Assistants. For a complete list of the members of the 2013-2014 New York District Board, click here.
4. The highest level of Key Club International is the international level. At the international level there is the international board which consists of an International President, International Vice-President, and 11 International Trustees. All of these officers are elected at the Key Club International Convention held annually in July (click here to learn more about the International Convetion, ICON). Each trustee is assigned to oversee three or four districts. The districts that a trustee oversees are collectively known as sister districts. The International President decides what the sister districts are, and appoints his or her trustees to the districts as he or she pleases. The International Vice-President assists the International President in his or her duties. International Trustees act as liaisons from the International level to the district levels working closely with the district governors in their assigned districts. The 2013-2014 International President is Raeford Penny, the 2013-2014 International Vice-President is Rachel Benoit, and the International Trustee assigned to the New York District is Michelle Petersen. New York's sister districts this year are the Capital District (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.) and the Ohio District.
So to recap, you are a member of your high school's Key Club, which is part of Division 4 in Nassau County, which is a part of the New York District, which is a part of Key Club International. Clubs are overseen by club officers, clubs are overseen by lieutenant governors, districts oversee lieutenant governors and their divisions, and districts are overseen by international trustees, the international vice-president, and the international president.
Got all that? If you have any questions about Key Club or its structure, please contact me or visit the Key Club International website. I love to talk about Key Club and would be happy to answer any questions you may have!
***
Key Club is a service leadership program run by Kiwanis International for high school students. Key Club has over 260,000 members in over 5,000 clubs in 31 countries. (For those interested in which countries click here for a list.) With such a large organization, it is imperative to be well organized and have strong leadership. As Key Club International has grown, it has adopted the following organizational hierarchy:
1. The most basic component of Key Club International is the club level. Members join clubs at their high school (although clubs are allowed to be chartered in other institutions such as YMCA's). Clubs are run by club officers, usually a president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary. However, many clubs have other positions including webmaster, bulletin editor, and public relations chair among others. Clubs organize and carry out the service projects and fundraisers that make Key Club such a potent force for good worldwide. All clubs are sponsored by a local Kiwanis Club. If you do not know which Kiwanis Club sponsors your Key Club, take a second to find out. Key Clubs could not exist without their sponsoring Kiwanis counterparts. Thanks to the work of clubs, Key Club International can boast that its members have participated in thousands of service hours and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Because clubs and members actually volunteer and fundraise, they are the most important parts of Key Club International. Without them, the other organization levels would have no purpose.
2. The next level of Key Club International is the division level. Divisions are composed of several clubs that are adjacent to one another, and are led by a Lieutenant Governor (that's me) elected to a one year term. Division 4 encompasses all of the clubs in northern Nassau County. All of the clubs in a division attend monthly divisionals and division-wide service projects organized by the Lieutenant Governor. There are 28 divisions in New York State. Ideally, all of the clubs in a division should be relatively close to each other. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. While all of the clubs in Division 4 are within a 30 minute drive from each other (with no traffic), some clubs in divisions in upstate New York are over 2 hours away from each other!
3. Above the division level is the district level. A district encompasses several divisions. Some states, such as New York and New Jersey act as the boundaries of districts. Therefore you are all members of the New York District. Some districts, however, are comprised of several states. Two examples of this are the California-Nevada-Hawaii District and the New England District (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and the country of Bermuda). Furthermore, some countries such as Jamaica and the Bahamas, are the boundaries of districts. For a map of all districts click here. Districts collect dues, and are led by district boards. A district board is comprised of a District Governor, District Secretary, District Treasurer, as well as all of the lieutenant governors within that district. The governor, secretary, and treasurer are elected at district conventions (click here to learn more about New York's district convention called the Leadership Training Conference). The governor has the authority to appoint additional people to the board as he or she sees fit. In the New York District, the governor traditionally appoints a District Editor, District Webmaster, and one or two Executive Assistants. For a complete list of the members of the 2013-2014 New York District Board, click here.
4. The highest level of Key Club International is the international level. At the international level there is the international board which consists of an International President, International Vice-President, and 11 International Trustees. All of these officers are elected at the Key Club International Convention held annually in July (click here to learn more about the International Convetion, ICON). Each trustee is assigned to oversee three or four districts. The districts that a trustee oversees are collectively known as sister districts. The International President decides what the sister districts are, and appoints his or her trustees to the districts as he or she pleases. The International Vice-President assists the International President in his or her duties. International Trustees act as liaisons from the International level to the district levels working closely with the district governors in their assigned districts. The 2013-2014 International President is Raeford Penny, the 2013-2014 International Vice-President is Rachel Benoit, and the International Trustee assigned to the New York District is Michelle Petersen. New York's sister districts this year are the Capital District (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.) and the Ohio District.
So to recap, you are a member of your high school's Key Club, which is part of Division 4 in Nassau County, which is a part of the New York District, which is a part of Key Club International. Clubs are overseen by club officers, clubs are overseen by lieutenant governors, districts oversee lieutenant governors and their divisions, and districts are overseen by international trustees, the international vice-president, and the international president.
Got all that? If you have any questions about Key Club or its structure, please contact me or visit the Key Club International website. I love to talk about Key Club and would be happy to answer any questions you may have!
The History of Key Club International
It was in May 1925 in Sacramento, California, that the eleven charter members comprising the first Key Club met officially for the first time. Prior to that meeting came a full year's activity and thought, through which the idea of the Key Club developed and finally reached fruition. The following describes that flowering. In California during the twenties, high school fraternities were in their heyday. Educators and others were concerned with the pernicious side of these groups and sought some means of replacing them with more wholesome activity for youth. Fraternities were banned by law; they merely went underground, to be heard of only when their excesses received glaring publicity. The idea of junior service clubs, similar to Kiwanis and other civic clubs, was broached in 1924, but the practical application was not put into effect until 1925.
Two men in the Sacramento Kiwanis club, who were high school administrators, approached their club with the idea of a junior service club in the high school, to be patterned after Kiwanis and to have its own classifications based on school interests and to hold luncheon meetings. Through this group in the high school, the Kiwanis club hoped to provide vocational guidance, first to boys who had decided upon their future occupation, and then to the entire school. The Kiwanis club president liked the plan and appointed a committee to look into the matter. The principal of the high school was most receptive and assisted in finding boys interested in joining such a group. Next, the plan was presented to the Board of Education upon the principal's request, and following its approval, the first Key Club meeting was held early in May 1925. Evidence of the value of this group and its program is found in the fact that the Sacramento High School Key Club is still in flourishing existence today.
The club held weekly luncheons in the school, where Kiwanians came to speak to the group on various vocations. Key Club members attended Kiwanis meetings as guests of the club to enhance further the value of Key Club membership by bringing high school students into constant contact with the business and professional men of the community. As the experience of the Key Club grew, a noticeable trend toward expanding the original purpose and activity was found possible, and the club was soon a complete service organization for the whole school. It also offered a social program to balance its service activities.
This history of Key Club International was taken from the Key Club International Website. For more the complete history of Key Club and how it grew following the first club, please click here.
The timeline below is a brief overview of the entire history of Key Club International. It was published by Key Club International.
Two men in the Sacramento Kiwanis club, who were high school administrators, approached their club with the idea of a junior service club in the high school, to be patterned after Kiwanis and to have its own classifications based on school interests and to hold luncheon meetings. Through this group in the high school, the Kiwanis club hoped to provide vocational guidance, first to boys who had decided upon their future occupation, and then to the entire school. The Kiwanis club president liked the plan and appointed a committee to look into the matter. The principal of the high school was most receptive and assisted in finding boys interested in joining such a group. Next, the plan was presented to the Board of Education upon the principal's request, and following its approval, the first Key Club meeting was held early in May 1925. Evidence of the value of this group and its program is found in the fact that the Sacramento High School Key Club is still in flourishing existence today.
The club held weekly luncheons in the school, where Kiwanians came to speak to the group on various vocations. Key Club members attended Kiwanis meetings as guests of the club to enhance further the value of Key Club membership by bringing high school students into constant contact with the business and professional men of the community. As the experience of the Key Club grew, a noticeable trend toward expanding the original purpose and activity was found possible, and the club was soon a complete service organization for the whole school. It also offered a social program to balance its service activities.
This history of Key Club International was taken from the Key Club International Website. For more the complete history of Key Club and how it grew following the first club, please click here.
The timeline below is a brief overview of the entire history of Key Club International. It was published by Key Club International.
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