YOU ARE INVITED TO THE DISTRICT CONVENTION APRIL 12-15, 2017 DALLAS, TEXAS

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1 YOU ARE INVITED TO THE 69TH ANNUAL DISTRICT CONVENTION OF TEXAS-OKLAHOMA APRIL 12-15, 2017 DALLAS, TEXAS

2 Hey T-O Key Clubbers, With great privilege and honor, I officially invite you to the 69th Annual District Convention in downtown Dallas, Texas from April 12th-15th,2018. This is a celebration of all the super service that you all have completed this year! So why not celebrate with other heroes? For three days and nights with nearly 1,000 Key Clubbers, join me at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas where you will learn new skills to help your community, interact with other members in the district and make amazing memories. Along with a plethora of fun activities and exciting forums, there will be a variety of contest in which anyone is welcome to participate in! This weekend should strengthen your passion as servant leader. There will be plenty of opportunities to gain a sense of passion through the forums that range form Key Club basics to public speaking to even event planning. You will be able to learn from your district board how to grow in leadership, improve your club and so much more! This bulletin includes important information about how to register, requirements for attending DCON, and descriptions on what will happened at DCON. After you have read this bulletin, be sure to look at all of the other resource packages that include the code for contest and awards, candidacy form, patch requirements, and much more! If you have any questions about DCON, contact your lieutenant governor or myself! Hope you see you at DCON 2018 April 12th 15th! Yours in Service, Dajah Brooks Convention Liaison Texas-Oklahoma District Key Club International cl@tokeyclub.com

3 Registration Prices (per person) Early Registration Fee: $135 Early Registration Deadline: March 9th Regular Registration Fee: $175 Hotel Information The Sheraton Hotel is a clear landmark in Downtown Dallas with its gorgeous city views from 242 suites. Convention guests will enjoy relaxing in the comfort of the modern rooms provided by the fourdiamond rated hotel with a crisp white Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, flat panel HDTV, and eco-friendly features. With its $90 million redesign, attendants are sure to have a luxurious stay. All hotel reservations must be made through the HOTEL by each club separately before registering for District Convention. You will need to contact the convention hotel to make room reservations for your club (making note of the confirmation numbers). To reserve your rooms, call the Sheraton at Then submit your convention registration online and mail your convention registration fees as instructed by the site. You cannot make room reservations through the T-O District office. Be sure to inform the hotel that you are with the Texas-Oklahoma Key Club Convention to ensure you get our discounted convention rate. The hotel price is set at $160.00/night per room plus tax. It is a requirement that all convention attendees stay at the appropriate convention hotel. Failure to register at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel will effectively cancel your convention registration. If the hotel becomes over-booked, contact the T-O District Key Club Administrator for overflow hotel information at (325) Be sure to request a confirmation of hotel reservations from the hotel. This will ensure that your rooms will be available and eliminate confusion or problems when checking into the hotel. The total occupancy tax rate in Dallas is 15%. Of that, the state sales tax rate is 6.0%. Schools are encouraged to use their tax-exempt status (TX schools only) to remove 6.0% sales tax (NO exemption for remaining hotel tax). To take advantage of this, a club must pay for room and tax by school or organization check and pre-sent a copy of their tax-exempt certificate. This may be done upon check-in. Before requesting a school check or determining your means of payment, confirm with the hotel the total cost of all rooms, including all taxes. We suggest that any club that plans to arrive late contact the hotel to make sure room reservations are held. Check-in time begins at 3:00PM on April 12th and checkout time on April 15th is at 12:00PM. Per Key Club International policy, no adult may share a sleeping room with a student. In addition, male and female students are prohibited from accommodating the same room. Please make your reservations accordingly..

4 Getting Your Money's Worth The $135 convention registration fee covers admission to all general sessions, including the Opening Session, Leadership Luncheon, and Awards Banquet. In addition, convention guests gain admission to all breakout forums, the opportunity to enter a variety of competitions (see Code of Contests and Awards), entry into the Governor s Ball, and rights to vote in Regional Caucuses and the House of Delegates (see District Bylaws and Code for Elections and House of Delegates for eligibility). Each attendee will receive forum materials, access to our new convention app, official convention t-shirt, and a Texas-Oklahoma District convention lapel pin. Key Club guests will enjoy two meals and dining service. Advisors are also invited to attend a special Advisor s Round Table lunch on Friday to share ideas and learn from their peers. It is important to register early! Registering after March 9, will result in an increased registration fee of $175. Additionally, late registration may cause issues with T-shirt orders as time is necessary for their production. House of Delegates According to Article VIII, Section 3 of the Texas-Oklahoma District Bylaws, Each club in good standing shall be entitled to two (2) voting delegates at convention. These delegates (and 2 alternates) should be elected by a vote of the club membership during the month of February. They will represent the club on all matters of business, including elections and amendments to the bylaws, to come before the House of Delegates. The students elected as delegates and alternate delegates from your club are indicated during registration. Be sure to select the right students for this position prior to beginning the registration process. We recommend the delegates learn parliamentary procedure before attending the House of Delegates on Saturday. Sergeant At Arms Each club must submit a specified number of Sergeant-at-Arms representatives to aid in the enforcement of the Code of Con-duct at convention. The students who are chosen must be responsible and willing to stay up late. The main job of a Sergeant-at-Arms representative is to make sure students are not outside of their rooms after curfew (12:00 AM) by patrolling a specific hallway. The required number of Sergeant-at-Arms representatives is determined as follows: 2-10 attendees...2 SAA attendees...3 SAA attendees...4 SAA 31 + attendees...5 SAA

5 Contests and Awards At each District Convention, over 75 trophies, plaques and other honors are given to both clubs and individuals that show achievement in specified contests and categories. Any Key Club member interested has an opportunity to participate in our wide array of exciting contests! For more information, see the Code of Contests and Awards on what competitions are available, found in the DCON Resources Package. Be sure to thoroughly read the rules and learn how to enter. Club Clubs can participate in numerous contests to award themselves for their success and of course, represent! Some examples include the Governor s Project, District Project, Major Emphasis, Single Service Award, Service Fair Award, and Outstanding Club Officers. Entering contests as a club and presenting your accomplishments will be a great way to sum up your year of service. Share ideas with other clubs and prosper! Individual Put yourself in the spotlight! You can show off your skills in multiple contests. Got the smarts? Sign yourself up for the Quiz Bowl! Are you a good writer or speaker? Go for the Impromptu Essay or Oratorical Contest! Enter the Talent competition, and show off any skill you have! The contests at District Convention are all for having a good time, so remember to enter some contests and have a blast! Theme Contest The tradition of a theme contest continues this year as you have the opportunity to make your own miniature action figure with its own 500 words or less biography! The action figure will portray your club s originality, uniqueness, creativity, and artistic ability. The action figure is open for interpretation, but must be appropriate with your club represent on the action figure. You ll be judged on the following: originality, creativity, visual impression, durability, and content of excerpt/biography. For more information on this contest, refer to the Contest and Awards folder in the DCON Resource Package. Video Game Contest Are you into head-to-head combat games? We hope so, because the video game contest this year is a fast-paced brawl between your favorite Nintendo characters Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Nintendo Wii! If you are interested in entering this contest, be sure to register during check-in. Let s see if you have the skills to make it into the final match during the Leadership Luncheon!

6 What's New? This year at District Convention, Appointed Candidacy Forms for District Editor, Convention Liaison, and Technology Producer respectively will be due BEFORE District Convention on April 2, 2018 to appropriate District Administrator as indicated on the form. Financially, we are introducing a new method of payment for District Convention 2018 by allowing the transaction of credit cards. This payment type will require a processing fee, but will allow for an easier method for clubs to pay. This method will be on the registration page. For more information, see the How to Register page. This year we will not be using paper programs but rather we use an app for our convention! All information previously found within the paper program will be available on the FREE app. This means that there will not be paper to read and make notes on the candidates. To ensure that you are prepared for Caucusing and House of Delegates be sure to download the app and prepare for questions and voting. There will also be new changes and updates in Contest and Awards that include: talent contest rebate, impromptu essay contest, hall of fame guidelines, and outstanding rookie club of year award. For a complete list of every change please look on the website under Code of Contest and Awards.

7 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Each year at the Opening Session, we invite a key- Each year at the Opening Session, we invite a keynote note speaker to give a funny and inspirational speaker to give a funny and inspirational experience. experience. This year, Marc Mero, a former This year, Marc Mero, a former professional wrestler (he professional wrestler (he wrestled The Rock), will be wrestled The Rock), will be coming to deliver his coming to deliver his message on what is important in message on what is important in life. Listeners feel a life. Listeners feel a greater sense of appreciation greater sense of appreciation toward their relationships toward their relationships and the gift of time and and the gift of time and are empowered to make a are empowered to make a difference in their home, difference in their home, school, and community. school, and community.

8 How To Register Step-by-Step Advisors must register their clubs for District Convention on the T-O District website. One chaperone may only oversee up to 10 students. Gender of chaperone must be the same as attending students. DO NOT REGISTER until you have ensured you have the proper number and gender of chaperones and have booked your hotel rooms through the Sheraton, as you will need the chaperone name(s) and hotel confirmation numbers in order to complete your registration. Please follow the steps below to register your club: 1. Prior to beginning, you will need to know the following information about each attendee: Name, Position/Office, Gender, T-Shirt Size and Meal Option. In addition, you will need your hotel confirmation number(s). 2. Go to 3. Click on the Login link on the upper-right corner of the page. 4. Log in using your club user ID and password. If you do not know your user ID or password, contact District Assistant Administrator, Kelly Poland, for assistance at or 5. Once logged in, click on DCON INFO Tab. Then click the link that will take you to the registration site, which will open in a new window. 6. After you ve submitted your registration, it will be in Pending status until approved. Make sure the address you enter is a working address, as you will receive notification at that address once your registration is updated or approved. 7. Any money not paid will be due at check-in in order to participate. 8. All payments should be mailed to Dennis Hogan at the address below. For checks, please write Convention Fees AND YOUR CLUB NAME in the memo line to ensure proper credit to your account. Dennis Hogan T-O District Convention 203 Collins Dr. Terrell, TX If you have additional questions, you can us with specific convention registration related questions at dconregistrar@tokeyclub.com.

9 District Staff Elections Along with the celebration of all the service accomplished over the year, District Convention will hold the election of certain District Staff members, including the Governor, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each leadership position is unique, but together, become the chief executives of the district, overseeing the work of Lieutenant Governors and clubs. If you are chosen to represent your school and fellow Key Clubbers, the future of T-O is in your hands! You, as a member, will have the opportunity to be a part of the District s decision in who the next leaders are of Texas-Oklahoma. Interested? Go onto the district website for details on each officer position. The candidacy forms are available for download from the website and are included in the DCON Resource Package. If you have any questions, please don t hesitate to contact District Administrator, Kenyon Black at Administrator@tokeyclub.com. Senior Scholarships Are you a senior? If so, don t miss out on the chance to win college scholarships! Provided by the Texas-Oklahoma District Kiwanis Foundation, thousands of dollars are granted in scholarship funds each year. The program is also exclusive to Key Club and CKI members in the Texas-Oklahoma District! Be sure to take advantage of this great opportunity to help fund your college tuition. Candidates must maintain a strong Key Club service record and high academic performance. If accepted, the chosen applicants will be scheduled for an interview at District Convention. For more information about the T-O Kiwanis Foundation scholarship program and application, look in the scholarship folder in the DCON Resource Package. APPLICATIONS ARE TO BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN FEBURARY 10th, 2018! Welcoming Activity In order to kick off the convention, we prepared a Welcoming Activity that gets everyone in the mood of the theme and excited for the weekend. This year, we have placed extra charms on the Welcoming Activity in order to create an even better atmosphere for Saving the World Through Service.

10 ConventionDress Code Formal Professional Professional Casual Ladies and Gentlemen Gentlemen Ladies Ladies and Gentlemen Professional or tasteful formal dress will be permitted. Formal or semi-formal dresses no shorter than finger-tip length; spaghetti straps, halters, one-shoulder, and strapless dresses are acceptable; all other rules for professional attire apply Suit or dress coat and tie with dress slacks or khakis, socks, and dress shoes. Dress coat and tie are mandatory Unacceptable: shorts, denim, sneakers, sandals of any kind, or letterman jackets Dresses, suits, pant-suits, skirts (no shorter than fingertip length) with blouse (sleeve at least dollar bill width (around 3 ), dress shoes, and sweaters/dress jackets. Unacceptable: flipflops, sneakers, denim, shirts with sleeves less than dollar bill width (halters, spaghetti straps, oneshoulder, strapless, etc.), bare midriff, shorts, excessively low-cut blouses, or letterman jackets. Appropriate dollar bill width shirt straps and fingertip length shorts/skirts. - Unacceptable: any excessively lowcut shirt, tattered or torn jeans, shirts not abiding by proper measurements (dollar bill width and fingertip length; ex: halters, spaghetti straps, one-shoulder, etc.), bare midriff, or excessive skin, any clothes with explicit language or symbols (includes sexual innuendo, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, foul language, etc.)

11 Reminders Seating Assignments Medical Release and Seating for general sessions is as-signed by letter grouping. The earlier the money from your registration is received, the better your seat is! The letter groupings range from A to D. The A seating group will be invited to enter all sessions first, followed by B, C then D. Sit close to the front for all sessions by registering your club and submitting your registration fees as soon as possible. Code of Conduct Form All Key Club members, chaperones, and advisors attending MUST sign a Medical Release and Code of Con-duct form before registration can be completed. The advisor or his/her representative must present a copy of all the forms upon convention check-in and should retain the originals for his/her own use. This form is included with the DCON Resource Package. Parking Self-parking is available for cars in the hotel parking garage. The cost is $12.00 per day plus tax (about 40% off the normal price). There is no bus parking available at the hotel. For information on where buses can park, contact Marellie Robinson at The Sheraton Hotel is located 10 minutes from Dallas Love Field Airport and 25 minutes from DFW International. Judges Each school must register at least one adult judge for contests. This judge shall meet all requirements listed in Article V of the Code of Contest and Awards. No sponsor may judge a contest in which the Key Club he/she represents is entered. Sponsors may not judge the same contest for consecutive years. Judges are registered upon convention check-in.* *Contest entries will be penalized for clubs whose judges do not appear at their required judging times

12 Tentative District Convention Schedule Thursday, April 12, 2018: 3:00 PM- 11:00 PM Convention and Contest Check-In Casual Dress 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Welcoming Activity Casual Dress 8:30 PM-9:00 PM Advisors/Judges Orientation Meeting Casual Dress 9:30 PM-10:00 PM Candidates Orientation Meeting* Casual Dress 10:00 PM-11:30 PM Sergeant-at-Arms Orientation Meeting Casual Dress Friday, April 13, 2018: 7:00 AM-12:00 PM Last-minute Contest Check In Casual Dress 7:00 AM-12:00 PM Late Convention Check In Casual Dress 8:00 AM-12:00 PM Forums Casual Dress 8:00 AM-4:00 PM Scholarship Interviews Professional Dress 9:00 AM-2:00 PM Contests N/A 12:00 PM-2:00 PM Advisors Round Table Lunch Casual Dress (Advisors/Sponsors Only/Meal Provided) 2:00 PM-4:00 PM Forums Casual Dress 5:30 PM-7:30 PM Opening Session Professional Dress Saturday, April 14, 2018: 8:00 AM-10:00 AM Regional Caucuses Professional Dress 8:00 AM-4:00 PM Scholarship Interviews Professional Dress 12:30 PM-2:00 PM Leadership Luncheon (Meal Provided) Professional Dress 2:30 PM-4:30 PM House of Delegates Professional Dress 6:30 PM-9:00 PM Awards Banquet**(Meal Provided) Professional Dress 9:00 PM-11:45 PM Governor s Ball (Dance) Casual Dress Sunday, April 15, 2018: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM Board Installation Breakfast Professional Dress(Past/New District Board & Families Only) (Meal Provided) 10:00 AM-10:30 AM District Board Meeting N/A *Mandatory for Candidates only **Dress is optional formal for the Awards Banquet ***All events and times are subject to change