Nebraska-Iowa District's First Newsletter

NE-IA Circle K

The Nebraska-Iowa Circle K District Board has been busy throughout the summer taking advantage of a couple amazing opportunities. This summer District Advisor Lenora Hanna, officers Sergio Orozco, Nicole Wilson, Jamie Steenson, and Kelsey Oltmanns, along with members Kevin Rogers, and Jordan Wehmeier flew to Virginia Beach to attend LSSP and ICON. LSSP stands for Large Scale Service Project, there were about 180 Circle K members doing service projects all over the Virginia Beach area. Some projects included; cleaning up beaches, helping out at the YMCA, visiting nursing homes, doing paper work for various companies, and many more. LSSP was a lot of fun and it was awesome to see how appreciative the different places were of Circle K’s hard work. Along with volunteering and some hard work they met a ton of amazing people from all over. Later on in the week they attended ICON, which is like a GIANT DCON. They had the opportunity to attend many sessions that were very helpful and loaded with information and they cannot wait to share what they learned with the rest of the district. Some of the sessions included; how to lead a meeting, successful recruitment; ELIMINATE project, and many others. ICON was a great chance to focus on the ELIMINATE project and how we as a district can help out. The district board would like to encourage all clubs to get involved in this outstanding project so we can ELIMINATE maternal/neonatal tetanus. To wrap up the convention, a new International President and Vice-President were elected. Steven Spriggs was elected International President and Melanie Walters Vice-President for the 2011-2012 year. ICON was an awesome opportunity to connect with other members not only from around the country, but also around the globe. If you have any questions about LSSP or ICON feel free to ask any of the participants, they would love to answer them!!!!! All Nebraska-Iowa Circle K members had the opportunity to attend the Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District Convention and sit down with Miss America Teresa Scanlan. Teresa first spoke in front of all Kiwanis, Circle K, and Key Club members about her success, and all the hard work she put into becoming Miss America. Teresa won the competition at age 17, which makes her the youngest Miss America in over 40 years. Now at age 18, she is traveling the world to visit Military Hospitals, Children Hospitals, and speaks to audiences about eating disorders. Circle K and Key Club members were then escorted to a meeting room so they could ask questions and be up close with Miss America. She filled an hour and a half with humorous stories of her childhood, and touched on her platform of eating disorders. Questions ranged from what kind of work goes along with being Miss America to how does her crown stay on and if people are allowed to try it. Teresa then posed for many pictures, and signed autographs. She truly is an inspirational speaker and person, the opportunity to meet and talk with a person that awesome is once in a lifetime. Finally, to start of the school year, the District Members put together a list of people who will be reappearing throughout the year.

Live to Serve, Love to Serve

People You Should Know District Governor Sergio Orozco Greetings Nebraska- Iowa

Circle K members, my name is Sergio Orozco and I am a senior attending Wayne State College. I hope your summer was great and that you have a great start to your school year. The district board has started to plan and bounce ideas about how we can create a stronger district as a whole, and in order to make this happen I need your enthusiasm and cooperation. Your district board has started to plan the Falliday event, which consists of a weekend camping with other CKI members from across the district. This event will be held on the weekend of September 30th - October 1st in Blackhawk State Park, IA. I am very proud to be a Circle K member, and I look forward to hearing from you in ways in which the entire district board and myself can continue helping you, or your clubs get better and stronger. I want to thank you for taking the first step to making a difference in our communities and in this world, by being a CKI member. Together we are going to create a new environment, which will inspire others to take a positive action, Thank you.

NE-IA Circle K

District Secretary/Treasurer Andee Christensen I am a junior majoring in Biology at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, but I am originally from the Panhandle of Nebraska. I grew up on a farm outside of Mitchell, and I have a love for the great outdoors. I also like to sing, cook, read exercise and bask in the sun. I am thankful for the many friends I have made through CKI and proud to be the Secretary/Treasurer for this district.

Area 1 District Lieutenant Governor Lynette Kistler I am a Senior majoring in History as well as Youth and Family Ministry. My passions in life are the earth and the environment. Someday, I would like to travel to all 50 states and all 7 continents! One of my favorite foods is celery with peanut butter. My job is to visit the University of Nebraska At Kearney, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Nebraska Wesleyan University to see how these clubs are growing and offer advice.

Area 2 District Lieutenant Governor Jamie Steenson I am majoring in Secondary Education with an endorsement in Spanish. One of my favorite places to visit is Arizona to visit my Grandfather. I do not have favorites, but rather I like a bunch of different things. I enjoy swimming, but LOVE Circle K International!!!! My job is to visit Midland University, Wayne State College, and University of Nebraska At Omaha to see how these clubs are growing and offer advice.

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Area 4 District Lieutenant Governor Nicole Wilson My name is Nicole Wilson and I will be a Sophomore at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall. I am currently majoring in elementary education. My volunteering started in middle school with the Builders Club and continued with Key Club and now Circle K. Besides volunteering I love hanging out with my friends and playing soccer. I am very loud and outgoing person and love meeting new people! My job is to visit Mount Mercy University and University of Northern Iowa to see how these clubs are growing and offer advice.

District Media Relations Specialist Kelsey Oltmanns I will be starting my second year at Wayne State this fall, and currently majoring in Sport Management. I joined Circle K my second week of college and have been intensely involved with it since. I love volunteering, making new friends, and laughing, which is why I love Circle K. Aside from volunteering, I love hanging out with my friends and family.

District Administrator Lenora Hanna Lenora is in her 4th year of being the NE-IA Circle K Administrator, but she is certainly no stranger to Kiwanis International. She has been a member of Kiwanis International for 18 years and has held the offices of club President, Division 21 Lt. Governor twice, and is in her 13th year as club secretary. Her husband, Milford is a past District Governor of Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis and her daughter Susan Johnson, son-in-law Scott Johnson, son Andrew Hanna, his fiance Jill Kessler and Lenora's brother and sister-in-law Arlyn and Kathie Uhrmacher are all members of the Lincoln Northeast Kiwanis Club. Currently, Lenora is serving as the District Coordinator for The Eliminate Project. She loves spending time with her 7 grandchildren.

Area 3 District Lieutenant Governor Manuel Montes

The Nebraska-Iowa District Board was in need of an Area 3 Lieutenant Governor and Manuel stepped up for the job. Manuel previously has served on the Nebraska-Iowa board, but had to step down due to moving out of the district. Now he has moved back to Iowa and is eagerly waiting to start his duties as a Lieutenant Governor.

International Sub-Region D Representative Lauren Perkins- When I came to West Texas A&M University for college, I was nervous. In high school, I had not really been involved in any clubs, but I felt I needed to join something so that I could meet people and make friends now that I was in such a different environment. Because of my SAT scores, I was inducted into the honors program, and as luck would have it, one of the coordinators of the program just so happened to be the faculty advisor for CKI and, after a bit of convincing, I went to a meeting. I was instantly hooked, signing up for as many service projects as I could, even though this way only my first meeting. My love for service has grown and guided me through this past year as lieutenant governor for the Oklahoma-Texas Panhandle Division of the Mighty Texas-Oklahoma district and as fellowship chair of the International LSSP Committee, and continues to be my driving force this year as the International Representative for Sub-region D. Service has my heart and I can truly see the goodness in every person I have met in the Kiwanis Family. Even though I have pretty heavy course load this year as a communications disorders major, I still have time for myself, my club, my schoolwork, my job, and service to my community because, honestly, service and CKI “work” are what I do when I am stressed, when I am bored, when I am tired, and when I have free time. It is the best part of my life.

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International President Steven Spriggs

International Vice-President Melanie Walters

International Representatives