Spring 2010 Key Leader Date Set

by Nicolle McDermott

I am very pleased to announce that we have finalized the date for the next Capital District Key Leader weekend! Our spring 2010 weekend will be April 23-25, 2010, at Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center, in Millersville, Maryland. This date is approximately one month after Key Club District Convention and does not conflict with Passover, Easter, SATs, or local spring break weeks. Arlington Echo is the same location as the 2008 and 2009 spring Key Leader events and consists of 24 wooded acres on the Severn River and boasts heated cabins, a dining hall, an outdoor ropes course, and more. Arlington Echo is about 45 minutes from Washington, D.C., and about 20 minutes from Annapolis. Corey Goggin from the Kiwanis Club of Tysons Corner/McLean will be our 2010 Arlington Echo site coordinator.

Kiwanis International has determined that the 2010 registration cost will be is $215.00 per student. Kiwanis Clubs are strongly encouraged to plan to sponsor students now and include Key Leader in club budgets for the 2009-10 Kiwanis year. Meals, lodging, t-shirt, participant manual and more are included in registration fee. Unfortunately, while the Kiwanis International Foundation is still financially supporting the Key Leader program, they are no longer offering scholarships or discounts for Key Club or Builders Club members.

The spring Key Leader events are open to any current 8th-12th grade students (in or out of Key Club or Builders Club). Once again, our goal for this event will be 60 students plus an additional 8-10 student facilitators. We were so beyond thrilled that our 2009 event "sold out" with 80+ students benefitting from this amazing program!

Because our 2009 event was so successful and we look forward to repeated success in the spring of 2010, the Capital District will also be hosting a fall 2010 Key Leader weekend in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. More details will be announced soon. If the Arlington Echo event is not geographically-desirable, please plan to support this second 2010 Key Leader and also include this in your 2009-10 Kiwanis Club budgets. Heather Congrove will be our site coordinator for the Hampton Roads Key Leader.

Key Leader is a leadership education weekend for high school students focusing on the concept of service leadership and five principles: integrity, growth, respect, community and excellence. The weekend is casual and includes hands-on exercises; writing and reflection activities; cooperative, team activities; physical challenges and more. Students arrive between 4-6 p.m. on Friday and depart between 11 a.m.-12 noon on Sunday. All adult chaperones have undergone background checks, and the weekend is run by a professional facilitator who has successfully completed a training course on the curriculum and who brings experience working with young people.

Thank you again to all of the Kiwanis Clubs that supported Key Leader in 2009! All clubs that sponsored at least one student to attend the March 2009 weekend will receive a club banner patch. These patches will be distributed to clubs soon.

For more information, please contact Capital District Key Leader Chair Nicole McDermott at CapitalKeyLeader@gmail.com or 703.917.8877. Search Capital District Key Leader on Facebook and become a fan!