KICKSTART KIDS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2014

be the difference.

On Tuesday, May 6th, Keith Mosing and Frank’s International held their 31st Annual Crawfish Boil in support of KICKSTART KIDS. The Crawfish Boil has been held annually for over two decades with all proceeds benefiting KICKSTART KIDS.

Frank’s International employees, customers, vendors, and friends attended the event tackling over 10,000 pounds of crawfish and 3,000 servings of jambalaya.

A $50,000 check was presented to KSK on June 2nd, 2014 (pictured to the right.) KICKSTART KIDS is extremely grateful for the generos-ity and heartfelt support from Mr. Mosing and Frank’s International.

Pictured above: Frank’s International CEO and Founder, Keith Mosing with Burbank Middle School Demo Team and Johnston Middle School Demo Team with their coaches Roy White and Chelsea Kennedy

AnnuAl CrAwfish Boil rAises $50k for ksk

Pictured above (left to right): Top Row: KSK Director of Operations John Kurek, KSK Houston Regional Manager Sonia Moreno-White, KSK Director of Administration Chuck Loggia - Front Row: KSK Director of Development Carlos Blandino,

Frank’s International Chairman and CEO Keith Mosing, KSK Executive Director Pat Kaufman

The 2013-2014 school year has come to a close. What a wonderful year of growth and accomplishment! Now we focus our energies on getting ready for the upcoming school year. When school starts again in August, we will have over 8,000 students participating in the KICKSTART KIDS program throughout Texas.

Our school partners report that KICKSTART KIDS students have better attendance, bet-

ter grades, stay in school, and are more likely to be a positive influence on their campuses and in their communities. We are grateful to our donors, instructors, staff, fellow educators and volunteers who participate with us every year so we can make a difference in the lives of children.

Looking to the future, our planned expansion is targeting the addition of 5 new schools in the 2015-2016 school year (15 months from now). We are seeking donors who want to partner in this expansion, including corporate sponsors. If you would like to participate, or if you would like to nominate a school, please contact us.

Thank you to all of those who share our dream of making the benefits of the KICKSTART KIDS program available to every middle school student in Texas. You ARE making a difference and blessing the lives of many terrific young people.

Pat KaufmanExecutive Directorpkaufman@kickstartkids.org

As each school year comes to a close, KICKSTART KIDS students have the opportunity to participate in our Summer Martial Arts Program. This is a four-week program that operates as a continua-tion of training that occurred during the school year and gives participating students a head start on next semester. The event culminates in a trip to a

local entertainment/water park where we celebrate the completion of another year of hard work and dedication. The session begins on the Monday immediately following the last day of school and ends just before July 4th holiday. We are looking forward to a safe and enjoyable season before we break for summer.

KICKSTART KIDS board member, Bill Hickl of UHY Advisors with Executive Director, Pat Kaufman at our 2014 Gala

A Word fromOur Director

KICKSTART KIDS SUMMER KARATE

Visit kickstartkids.org for Summer schedules and more info!

KSK IN ACTION

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KICKSTART KIDS REGION UPDATES

CENTRAL TEXASCentral Texas is celebrating the promotion of students to their next ranks and wide-spread participation in school and community events. Students from the nine schools and Central Texas City-Wide Demo Team performed over 55 demos during belt ceremonies, diversity fairs, Asian Heritage celebration, Pep Rallies, talent shows, and State competition.

Central Texas KSK would like to thank the parents of our Central Texas students for their commitment, espe-cially on Saturday’s, in transporting students to events and partnering to develop innovative ideas to help our area grow. We are looking forward to celebrating the graduation of several students to the rank of black belt by the end of the summer and we wish them luck in this endeavor.

NORTH TEXAS As the school year winds down we are excited to add Mr. Michael Pana as an Instructor in Training in North Texas. He not only brings an extensive base of martial arts knowledge to the team but was a certified substitute teacher in Irving ISD. With that experience comes a strong foundation in classroom management as well as relationships within the district he will be working.

Mr. Pana has been training in the martial arts since the age of nine and spent part of his life living in Southeast Asia. With a diverse background in systems such as traditional Japanese Karate, Jeet Kune Do, Kali, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu, Western Boxing, Silat, and Western Combatives, Mr. Pana will have much to share with our students and staff.

Mr. Pana has known about the KICKSTART KIDS program since he was a teenager and is excited to be part of our team.

SOUTHEAST TEXASOur belt ceremony season was very successful. Students’ hard work and dedication was apparent not only in the physical martial arts but in the character and behavior demonstrated as well. Students’ new belt ranks bring new responsibilities as they continue to grow into the future leaders of KSK.

Southeast Texas will welcome five new programs in the upcoming school year. As a result, we would like to welcome to our instructor ranks: Hakim Walker, Chris Pfinninger, Amanda Meisner, and Tim Conkel.

Finally, the Brazos Valley team area has promoted their first group of students to black belt! This is such an exciting milestone as they set the tone for the future of that area.

KIM MORGANLancaster Middle SchoolMr. Kim Morgan was selected by graduating senior Vileigh Lewis to attend an end-of-the-year ban-quet with her. The purpose of this banquet was to honor the most influential teacher in the life of each student.

This young lady comes from the most humble beginnings and has struggled for a good portion of her life. At the dinner, she read a let-ter to the graduating class defining Mr. Morgan as the father she never had. Evoking much emotion from

Mr. Morgan and the audience, she spoke on how participat-ing in his KSK class saved her life and helped shape the person she has become. Con-gratulations Mr. Morgan and thank you for your constant commitment to our students!

TEAM KICKSTART, our national sport karate competition team was established five years ago. In that time, Coach Jason Holmes and Team Manager Dona’ Pettway have established KICKSTART KIDS as a championship-caliber team within the National Black Belt League (NBL) competing against teams from coun-tries from all over the world. The purpose of the team is to bring awareness of our organization and its mission to the martial arts world and they work diligently to achieve this aim. What makes TEAM KICKSTART unique is that we recruit members of our student-base and train them to become World Champions while re-maining consistent with the values and code of conduct taught in our classrooms. So, TEAM KICKSTART is built solely from KSK alumni.

This time of year represents mid-season for the team as they pursue their placement at SuperGrands, the world championship tournament which will be held December 26th-31st in Buffalo, New York. In this pursuit, the team competes every weekend and, most recently, participated in the Pacific Jewel tournament on May 9th-10th where seven competitors brought home nine medals! The Mexican Open held in Mexico City on May 23th and 24th brought multiple medals as well.

TEAM KICKSTARTCompetition Team Update

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be the difference.

KICKSTART KIDS10260 Westheimer Rd., STE 340

Houston, TX 77042

Inside This Edition: Frank’s International - XXXI Crawfish Boil Thank YouSummer Karate Program - Instructor Spotlight Team Kickstart - Area Updates - and more

KSK JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER

phone: 713.868.6003 fax: 713.880.1279 mail@kickstartkids.org