November 2007 Page 1

By Journalism Committee Member Rebecca Eddinger Madonna, leg warmers, neon colors, crimped hair; we’re not reminiscing about the 80s. We’re talking about InterPACK 2007! This annual conference held at Camp Hidden Valley in Loysville PA, promoted leadership, fellowship, and service, 80s style. With over

one-hundred-thirty Circle K’ers, the District Board, and representatives from every Kiwanis Family branch, the weekend was a big hit. Arriving Friday night to the camp, we checked into our cabins and got to socialize with members from all over the district. We were split into fifteen color teams so that we could meet new people, and after creating some awesome 80s team names and cheers, we headed back to our cabins for some needed rest. Saturday was a full schedule! We started our morning with a human game of “PACK-Man,” searching the grounds for fruit labeled with points, and completing 80s themed tasks and some leadership activities for points. The afternoon was filled with more teambuilding activities and then service projects. We made dog toys for an animal shelter in Pittsburgh, cards for kids who were going to be spending the holidays in the hospital, bookmarks to encourage reading, as well as several other projects. Later that evening, we participated in some fun

See “InterPACK” on pages 2 and 10.

Above: Dickinson prepares for the weekend! Right: La Salle poses for a group picture.

InterPACK 2007 Pictures!!!

The Pennsylvania Kiwanis Family is taking on a year of firsts! Hear what they are and what you can do to

help!!!

www.pacirclek.org Volume XLVI, Issue 3

Carnegie Mellon Circle K Helps Out at the

Pittsburgh Hispanic Heritage Festival and

Other Club Happenings!

The Official Publication of the Pennsylvania District of Circle K International

November 2007 Page 2

Pennsylvania Circle K’ers participate in InterPACK 2007 activities in Loysville, PA.

November 2007 Page 3

By Center LTG Heather Shadduck Kiwanis Kids, or K-Kids, is the youngest and fastest growing service organization for elementary students worldwide. These clubs are ideally suited for students in first through sixth grades (ages six to twelve). It is also

the youngest branch of the Kiwanis Family. K-Kids operate under school regulations and members are students, however clubs can also be established in other community-based organizations like libraries or Boys & Girls Clubs. Their motto is: We Build. K-Kids are sponsored by a local Kiwanis Club and can be co-sponsored by a Circle K. There are no dues or member fees for K-Kids. In place, the sponsoring Kiwanis club pays an annual fee of $150. This fee provides a kit with club and member materials for the K-Kids Club, as well as a subscription to K-Kidzone, the official member publication of K-Kids. The lack of dues for specific members opens up the opportunity of joining the K-Family to all kids!

K-Kids are exciting children to work with and are always ecstatic to do service projects with college kids. Projects can be done at meetings such as decorations for holidays, after school events like movie nights with canned goods as admission, penny wars among classrooms, and anything else you come up with! In Pennsylvania there are 41 active clubs with over 1,500 members. Circle K can get involved by co-sponsoring a K-Kids, helping at meetings and

projects, or helping with the Terrific Kids and BUG programs. If you need a place to get more information check out www.kkids.org which has endless recourses! We highly encourage you to do projects with your local K-Kids or if none exist, charter one yourself!

By District Administrator Jason Thomas Builders Club is an international organization for middle school students (ages 12-15) which provide its membership with opportunities of leadership and character development that leads to life changing service. Just like Circle K, Builders Club is a service leadership program sponsored by Kiwanis International. In PA, we have fifty clubs with over one-thousand-seven-hundred members. The Builders Clubs of the PA District are coming together with the entire Kiwanis Family to make a huge difference in the lives of children across our state, and we invite each of you to join us! The members of Builders Club are collecting soda pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pennsylvania (RMHC), or any children’s hospital if you don’t have a RMHC in your community. Every year, thousands of family members stay at a Ronald McDonald House in Pennsylvania while a child is receiving treatment from a nearby children’s hospital. These family members are provided a place to stay at little or no cost to the family. The Ronald McDonald House Charities has been collecting soda pop tabs since 1987, and the program has raised over four-hundred-million tabs generating over four million dollars which has gone right back into the community to make a difference in the lives of children. Builders Clubs are collecting the soda pop tabs in our “Fill the Whatever” service project. Over the next year we are collecting as many tabs as possible so at the end of the year we can fill whatever we can for the children hospitals. We’re going to fill a chest, a car, a minivan, a moving truck, or a school bus–whatever we collect we’re going to fill it in “whatever” we

See “Builders Club” on page 11

Above: Terrific Kids is a program that promotes character development, self-esteem, and perseverance.

November 2007 Page 4

By District Editor Brett Cutright Many of you already know that Kiwanis is Circle K’s parent organization. Many other service leadership programs, like Key Club, fall under Kiwanis as well. Kiwanis is currently made up of eight thousand clubs with two-hundred-sixty thousand members in ninety-six countries. Kiwanis got its start in Detroit, Michigan in 1915. A debate quickly escalated based on what Kiwanis should be about. Some people wanted it to become a business organization,

while others thought community service should be its focus. The community service advocates won the fight. A Kiwanis Club was chartered in Hamilton, Ontario in 1916, and Kiwanis would stay a North American based organization until 1962. The first club outside the United States and Canada was in Tijuana, Mexico. It became part of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District, but eventually broke off. The first International Convention held outside the United States and Canada was in Vienna, Austria in 1983. The first International President from outside the United States and Canada was Ian Perdriau AM of Australia in 1994. Pennsylvania plays a major role in Kiwanis history. Pennsylvania is home to three of the first fifty clubs in Kiwanis International: Pittsburgh, Erie, and Scranton. The Pennsylvania District was chartered with thirteen clubs on September 25, 1918 in Lancaster, PA. The first Governor was P.J. Wilson of Johnstown. Today Pennsylvania Kiwanis contains over six thousand members and over two hundred clubs. For the first time in Pennsylvania Kiwanis history, three female governors (Kiwanis, Circle K, and Key Club) have taken charge of the district. For more information on Kiwanis contact a District Board member to find the nearest Kiwanis Club to your campus!

Service Chair Greetings Pennsylvania

Circle K! My name is Andrew Blass and I am overjoyed to be serving as the District's new Service Chair! I am a one year member of the Kiwanis Family now serving as Shippensburg University's Vice President of Projects, as well as Service Chair. When

not enjoying Circle K, I am helping out with the Exercise Science Club on campus

Erie LTG Well to start off I am

twenty-one years old and attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where I major in History and minor in Religions Studies. I love football, soccer, and rugby. I have been a member of the Kiwanis Family since 1993 when I started out as a K-Kid.

My personal goal in life is to make peoples' lives better where ever I can. One fun fact about me is I love the Golden Girls!!!

Above: Pittsburgh skyline Right: Erie skyline Far Right: Scranton city banner

By District Editor Brett Cutright Key Club started in 1925 at a Sacramento, California high school. The first District Convention for clubs was held in Florida in 1939. In 1943 Key Clubbers from around the Southeast elected their first International President. By 1946 Key Club International was launched and Florida became the first chartered district. Like Circle K, the first nation outside the United States to charter a Key Club was Canada. Today Key Club is mainly based in North America, but is spreading to South America, Asia, and Australia. Key Club is also a branch of the Kiwanis Family. Feel free to contact a club near you and invite them to your upcoming meetings and projects. With over five-thousand-five-hundred

clubs and almost two-hundred-forty-five thousand members, Key Club is the oldest and largest high school service organization in the world! Pennsylvania Key Club is one of the largest and proudest Districts in International. With over thirteen thousand members, it ranks fifth in International. Pennsylvania’s largest Key Club can be found at Abington High School with three-hundred-forty-one members. The first club chartered in PA was Lincoln High School, whose charter still exists today. Today, PA Key Club has two-hundred-ten clubs from Erie to Philadelphia. Just like Circle K, Key Club has a District and International Convention. Key Club will also be having their DCON in Hershey and ICON in Denver (but at different times).

November 2007 Page 5

Above: PA Key Club sports up their flamingo attire at their International Convention in Orlando, FL from this past July.

Above: 2007-2008 PA Key Club District Board

By Governor Danielle Cozza Greetings Circle K Members! My name is Danielle Cozza and I am proud to be serving this year as the Key Club District Governor. One of the best parts of my job is being able to work with the Kiwanis Family. I am more than thrilled that Circle K has chosen the K-Family as their District Service Project this year. The Key Clubbers really appreciate all you do for them and our programs. Throughout this year, I have always been able to count on the support of Circle K and I would like to thank everyone for that. In addition to working with Circle K, Key Club has a lot of other programs going on for the year. This year our Youth Serving Youth Project is titled “Cheering Up Children.” This project involves any service hours that Key Club can give to children. The object of the project is to spend time with children and put smiles on their faces. As a district, we are hoping to have forty thousand hours

See “Key Club” on page 10

November 2007 Page 6

Hello Pennsylvania Circle K’ers! My name is Stephanie Wieland and I am your new Sub-Region E Representative! In case you weren’t sure, Sub-Region E is comprised of the Districts of Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky-Tennessee and the mighty PACK! You may be

wondering to yourself, why do we have a Representative now and not a Trustee, and the answer to this is because you voted on it at the Boston International Convention in 2006. Basically, the International Board structure was changed a little bit, so that now instead of counseling a few districts all over the country as a Trustee, we now get to represent districts that are much closer. Hopefully in the long run this will help save Circle K International some money, as well as make it easier for Representatives to really represent their districts. And that’s just it; I am here to represent all of you! So if there is anything that you or your club needs, please don’t hesitate to ask me! A perfect time to get in touch with me is during my Circle K office hours, which are Wednesdays from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. During this time block, I am completely available to you by telephone, email, and instant messenger! Currently, I am exploring ways to get our new Sub-Region better connected, so I have created a YahooGroup, so check it out and join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ subregione/. I will be using this group to send out information on Circle K International, my monthly newsletters, as well as updates on the districts and clubs in this sub-region. Hopefully this group will be a place where clubs can tell other clubs in the sub-region about their events, and we can start doing some sub-region inter-clubbing! This year on the International Board, I am serving on the Executive committee, as well as the secretary for the Marketing and Kiwanis Family Relations committee. So if you have

any suggestions for either of these, or suggestions at all for International send them my way! I am currently a senior at the University of Pittsburgh-Oakland where I am studying German and Psychology. I hope to one day work with children with autism, through Occupational Therapy. A little known fact about me is that I have been scuba diving since I was eleven years old and it is one of my favorite things to do! Other things I enjoy are photography, scrapbooking, and playing tennis. My favorite foods are potatoes, green beans, and red beets. This year marks my eighth year in the Kiwanis family; I started off as a member of the Upper Moreland High School Key Club (Go Bears!). My favorite Circle K project is Global Links, which is a non-profit organization located in Pittsburgh. Global Links collects surplus medical supplies from the local hospitals that would other wise be thrown away and repackages them to send to needy countries. We help them by sorting through supplies and packing boxes to be sent in their next shipment. I am really looking forward to this year and I can’t wait to watch the PACK and it’s awesome SUPERHEROS in all the great things you do! Keep up the great job!!

Stephanie Wieland Office Hours: Wednesday, 7:00 PM-10:00 PM

Email: ckirepstephanie@gmail.com AIM: CKIRepStephanie Phone: 267-251-7365

By Sub-Regional Representative Steph Wieland

Above: Stephanie (orange shirt) at InterPACK 2007 wit h her home club of Pittsburgh-Oakland.

November 2007 Page 7

By Vice President Melanie Delp On Saturday, September 22, five of Temple Circle K’ers headed deep into Northeast Philadelphia to paint the underpass of a bridge where cars drive by. Although we went into it thinking we'd be painting a mural and it turned out to just be a solid blue, we still had a great time. Apparently at night the underpass gets really dark, so people in the community wanted to brighten it up with a bright color! Partners in Action was also there to help us get the job done. We were happy to be a part of that - plus, we got some pretty sweet hats out of the deal.

This year the Dickinson Circle K has been involved with the weekly service project of serving dinner at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen in Carlisle. The project is led by our Club Secretary, Sarah Knoedler. Once a week, Sarah takes a group of about four to five students to the soup kitchen to serve food, interact with the people, and clean up. The Salvation Army really needs our help, because generally only one or two employees are working on any given night, and more people than that are needed to get food out to all of the people who attend the dinners. Generally, two club members will serve the meal, one will work the dish washing machine, one will serve dessert, and others will be on hand to help with little jobs during the meal. After dinner, everyone pitches in to clean up, including washing and sweeping the floors, taking out the trash, and cleaning all of the cooking surfaces in the kitchen. Both the Salvation Army employees and the people who get dinners there greatly appreciate the work that our members do. This project has turned out to be very successful so far, and it will hopefully continue to aid the needy population in Carlisle in the years to come.

By Vice President Laura Kopetski

Above: Dickinson helps out at the Carlisle Salvation Army Soup Kitchen.

Left: Temple Circle K paints an underpass in bright blue.

Circle K’ers from all around the state gathered at the Laurel Lodge in Altoona for IUP Circle K’s annual Gobble, Gobble overnight retreat on October 19-20. A superhero theme kept everyone entertained, as did the appearance of Cat Woman, Dish Man, and Quail Man, among others. Friday Night started off with fun icebreakers, a piñata, and painting gourds for the residents of an elderly home. The requisite late night trip to Eat ‘N Park was made before settling in to bed (or floor, technically) to get ready for the busy day on Saturday. Saturday included a lot of great activities including cutting out trauma dolls to help with our Aktion Club’s project, making cards for the same senior citizen home as the gourd project the night before, and round table discussions, along with officer training. Everyone seemed to get a lot of good information to take back to their clubs, besides just having a fun time with other Circle K’ers for the weekend! If this sounds like a great time, please keep this event in mind for your clubs next year, because IUP would love to see you there!!

Above: IUP CK’ers dressed up as their favorite superhero. Below: IUP CK’ers work on Trauma Dolls.

By Vice President Oscar de la Vega One of our projects over the past month was volunteering for the Latin Fair here at Carnegie Mellon. It was part of the Hispanic Heritage Month at the university. This event is held every year where local Latin churches and centers set up booths to inform the community about their traditions and all the benefits they can get from fellow Hispanics in the Pittsburgh area. There we helped people from different countries set up their booths for the fair. When we arrived, some of the volunteers were confused because the people at the fair assumed everyone spoke Spanish. Little did I know that was going to have to translate for the other volunteers. While some of us helped by carrying food, games, and other different surprises to the university center, others helped decorate inside by inflating balloons and giving them to children or adorning the tables. It was lot of fun because we learned about different cultures as well as taste some delicious food from Columbia, Venezuela, and other countries. Children were running around and people were singing and dancing to the rhythm of salsa music. I was really happy to be part of it because, as a Hispanic member of the Pittsburgh community, I was able to communicate with those that share my same experience. It is always fun to talk in your native tongue when you have the opportunity. The fair was complete success! At the end we filled out surveys and got complementary water bottles that said “fui voluntario”, “I volunteered.” I look forward in participating in this event when the next opportunity arrives.

November 2007 Page 8

By Vice President Erica Croce

2

8

4

By President Kristin Brewer

November 2007 Page 9

Juniata College: famous not for football, but for its young men. Juniata is home to the King of Hearts, the Eighth Wonder of the World, and a host of other outstanding accolades. How did Juniata become so fortunate? All thanks belong to the annual Mr. Juniata Pageant. Going on its twelfth year, this pageant seeks to honor and humiliate twelve lucky guys; no other beauty pageants can compare to the prestige and hilarity of Mr. Juniata. These twelve gentlemen, three from each class, are nominated by their peers to compete for the coveted title of Mr. Juniata. The show has a new theme each year,

with a catchy, creative title to match: “Mr. Juniata 2007: King of Hearts” played off a casino theme. All proceeds from the show are donated to charity, a new one every year. This year, about three thousand dollars was given to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Mr. Juniata Pageant is one of the most celebrated events on campus and is usually held at the end of September. The production of this event relies on three co-chairs, who work about eighty hours in the month; for the night of the show, roughly ten members help Mr. Juniata to success!

By Vice Presidents Andy Gladfelter and Andrew Blass Shippensburg held a campus wide day of service on October 13th which we called Ship-n-Serve. The morning projects consisted of trail work at Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails and King's Gap Environmental Education Center. In the afternoon, the club tackled cleaning up two miles of Interstate 81 for Adopt-A-Highway and making scarves for Operation Afghan Child, a project originating with Elizabethtown Circle K. We ended up making sixty scarves to donate. Finally, that night we finished the day by attending “Up 'Til Dawn” for St. Jude's Children's Hospital hosted by the Greek organizations on campus. Up 'Til Dawn is a letter-writing campaign directed towards raising money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Each person in attendance sent letters to fifty people they know in the hopes that the recipients would donate to the organization. The Greek Life had other festivities during the event, such as music, food, card making, painting, and some good old time with the Nintendo Wii. As a club, we performed one-hundred twenty-five service hours overall.

Above: Shippensburg prepares for Adopt-a-Highway.

Left: Mr. Juniata contestants.

November 2007 Page 10

1: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia 2: Mercyhurst 3: Penn State-University Park 4: Shippensburg

1

2

5

4

3

“InterPACK” continued from page 2.

workshops like “Learn the Thriller Dance.” There was also a bonfire, talent show, and an amazing 80s dance party, where everyone was rocking their off-the-shoulder tops, side pony tails, and leggings.

InterPACK was concluded with some words from our PACK Governor, Kady Snyder. She inspired everyone to keep up the great work they are doing for Circle K and the community, and encouraged us once more to be someone’s everyday hero. Overall the weekend was so much fun and totally worthwhile. It was a great chance to bond with members from other clubs and learn how we can make our Circle K better through leadership. I encourage everyone to

6

7

attend more district events, because they really demonstrate what Circle K is all about: service, leadership, and fellowship.

“Key Club” continued from page 3

of service. A second project is my Governor’s Project. This project is fundraising based and it will benefit Autism. This year, we are trying to reach a goal of twenty-five-thousand dollars. Key Club is looking forward to working with Circle K for the rest of the year. Our K-Family experience would not be the same without the impact that Circle K has on us. As a member of the Kiwanis Family you serve as a role model and “older siblings” to Key Club members within the organization. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at governor@pakeyclub.org.

Left: Danielle Cozza, PA Key Club Governor (Loyalsock Township Key Club)

5: Misericordia 6: Millersville 7: The District Board’s first complete Board photo. 8: West Chester

8

By District Editor Brett Cutright Aktion Club can best be defined by their motto, “Where Development Has No Disability.” The idea was started in the Florida District in 1987. This was the brainchild of Past Governor George D. “Jake” Swartout. Aktion Clubs are a branch of the Kiwanis Family that comprise of mentally challenged adults. They became an official sponsored Kiwanis Program on October 1, 2000. Pennsylvania became the first District to hold an Aktion Club District Convention in Altoona. Today, Aktion Clubs can be found in the United States, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, and Malaysia.

What can your Circle K do to get involved with Aktion Club? Invite Aktion Club members to service projects, socials, and fundraisers, like car washes, service marathons, dances, bingo with the elderly, and anything else you can think of. If there is no Aktion Club in your area, you can co-sponsor one with your Kiwanis Club! If you would like more information on Aktion Club or want to try and contact one, get in touch with PA Aktion Club District Administrator Luida Shearer at aktionclub@pakiwanis.org

November 2007 Page 11

“Builders Club” continued from page 3

Above: PA Key Club’s Mascot Pinky the Flamingo

Shippensburg

Elizabethtown

Drexel

IUP

Pittsburgh-Oakland

La Salle

West Chester

Millersville

Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Penn State-University Park

Millie the Dalmatian

Curious George

Petey the Blue Penguin

Milton Cow

Piglet

Bobo the Bear

Burl the Squirrel

Koala

Stitch

Scorch the Dragon

specifics on the project and help us coordinate how we are going to get your tabs to Harrisburg to help us fill “whatever.” We would like to make this a total Kiwanis Family effort and we hope you will seriously consider your participation in this project. Your club will be recognized at the end of the year for joining with Builders Club on our first ever District Service Project! In addition to the Builders Club District Service Project, we are honored to be working with your Circle K clubs with your District Service Project of “The Kiwanis Family: One Family. Touching Lives. Through Service.” The opportunity for middle school aged students to work side-by-side with college students on service projects or social events is very exciting to the members of Builders Club. You become a mentor to these students– someone who these kids can look up to and emulate. For more information on a Builders Club near you, or how you can co-sponsor a new Builders Club near you, contact District Administrator Jason.

Above: Answers to “Match the Mascots.”

Above: PA Builders Club Mascot, Bruce the Bear

District Editor -Brett Cutright

Journalism Committee -Kara Baxter, West Chester -Emily Claus, Shippensburg -Rebecca Eddinger, Penn State-University Park -Amanda Lengel, Millersville -Jenna Leverknight, Pittsburgh-Johnstown

2007-2008 Class of PACK Vice Presidents

2007-2008 District Board

Disclaimer: The Krier is the Official Publication of the Pennsylvania District of Circle K International. This publication is supported by the district dues. All members are encouraged to submit articles. They may be edited for length and clarity. Please submit articles to District Editor Brett Cutright at editor@pacirclek.org.

Look out for:

November 2007 Page 12

Club Updates Project Updates and much, much

more!

DCON Preview A Club Building

Update

These are Pennsylvania’s District Goals. The tracking period will be from April 1, 2007 until March 31, 2008. Each issue of “The Krier will include an update of Pennsylvania’s progress.

1. The Pennsylvania District of Circle K International will strive to obtain 1000 members. Pennsylvania currently has 510 members, making it the third largest District in Circle K International.

This is 51.00% of our goal.

2. The Pennsylvania District of Circle K International will perform a total of at least 45,000 reported service hours for the 2007-2008 Circle K year.

Pennsylvania currently has 25,361 service hours. This is 56.36% of our goal.

3. The clubs of the Pennsylvania District of Circle K International will earn an average of 10 PERK Points per member.

Pennsylvania currently has 4.39 PERK Points per member. This is 4.39% of our goal.

4. The clubs of the Pennsylvania District of Circle K International will raise an average of $5 per member for the Governor’s Project.

Pennsylvania has currently raised $1.47 per member. This is 29.40% of our goal.

5. The Pennsylvania District of Circle K International will see a 15% increase of membership attendance during the 2007-2008 Circle K year at District and International events.

The determination of this goal will not be considered until the end of the year.

Circle K’s Mission Statement: Developing college and university students into responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to serving the children of the world.