SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEES Communications Services
R. P. MERRIDEW
4. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The Committee recommends that the International Board considers reinstat- ing the International Relations Committee as a standing club committee.
2. The Committee recommends that, without interfering with present activi- ties in the International Relations field, Kiwanis should focus activity on one major International Relations project.
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3. Is there any practical way in which Kiwanis could consider sponsoring or promoting or encouraging:
a. Youth visits to so-called underprivileged countries
i. The idea would be to have them see conditions in these countries as they actually exist pertaining to education, food, and living conditions and give them an appreciation of the problems existing.
ii. The Committee is not recommending the usual type of vacation or holiday trip but rather an educational project to enable the participants to see conditions for themselves and realize the discrepancies that exist between the "have" nations and the
"have not" nations.
It has been said that if you want to plan for one year, form a committee - if you want to plan for ten years, pass a law - if you want to plan for 100 years, adequately educate the younger generation.
b. Kiwanis visits
i. Again, the Committee is not recommending the usual type of holiday or vacation trip, but an opportunity to assess the needs of the nations visited and the best manner in which Kiwanis might partici- pate in a programme of assistance.
ii. A by-product of visits of this nature would, of course, be the fraternizing and socializing between peoples of the North American continent and other continents.
4. Any assistance should be in a form that will create the political~ economic and social climate most conducive to human dignity.
Members:
Too many well-intentioned efforts of various governments and organizations in the past have completely overlooked the dignity of the recipient and as a result they have, to all intents and purposes, destroyed the value of the programme.
It is suggested that Kiwanis participation be limited to programmes aimed at helping people to help themselves and building them towards being self-sufficient.
Respectfully submitted, JACK P. DELF, Chairman Carl W. Kietzman
E. Alton Reeves, Jr.
COMMITTEE ON KEY CLUBS
Annual Report of the 1972-73 Chairman to the meeting of the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees, February 2-6, 1974
COMMITTEE FUNCTIONING: It was decided that each Committee member would handle specific problems and commur:i,ications within his zone, attempting to establish a rapport with his individual District Chairmen. General problems,promotions and communications would be coordinated by the Chairman, with the other Committee members contributing as required. Inter-Committee communications on a regular basis would be established., so that each member would be apprised of activities regardless of zone.
Plans were made for emphasizing certain promotional areas -- increased new Key Club building efforts -- reclaiming of non-meeting Key Clubs -- early and contin- ued emphasis on the collection of dues - intensified promotion of the Interna- tional Sponsorship Award -- improved "K Family" relations at both district and club levels -- greater involvement of the Kiwanis governor and lieutenant gover- nors in Key Club problems -- and wider distribution of communications. These plans incorporated the ideas of all Committee members, including appropriate comments about timing.
For the most part, the Committee functioned as planned. There were a few inter- committee communication problems because of the press of other business. Counsel- ing of the zones was handled effectively. Our plans were implemented as scheduled.
It should be noted that, overall, the Committee functioned well. In the Chairman's opinion, the level of activity of the members was very high -- their dedication and interest was exceptional -- the cooperativeness was all that could be desired-- they gave all that could have been asked of them.
COMMITTEE COMMUNICATIONS: The principle medium of communication throughout the year was the International Committee's BULLETIN. A total of 12 issues were pub- lished on a monthly basis, with an average mailing of 255 copies per issue. In addition· to district chairmen, copies were sent to Kiwanis governors, governors- elect, secretaries, International Board members, other International Committee Chairmen and staff members. Key Club governors and International Board members also were on the mailing list. In addition to the BULLETIN itself, most mailings ,included other information, such as lists of delinquent Key Clubs and summaries
of various reports. From the comments received, we concluded that 'the BULLETIN was _well accepted and was useful to the recipients.
Zone members wrote numerous letters to di.strict chairmen, Kiwanis and Key Club presidents, and individual Kiwanians needing assistance. Letters of congratula- tions and encouragement were written to every new Key Club and its sponsor.
It'·s doubtful that any International Committee ever wrote more.
Communications from the 30 district chairmen were fairly good -- somewhat above average, in our experience. We heard from 17 districts regularly, and from 4 others somewhat less frequently -- 2 districts communicated now and then, while 7 were not heard from at all. The information received from the districts was very informative and quite helpful in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Key Clubbing in those districts. We would highly recommend the use of a brief Monthly Report Form for other International Committees.
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Inter-committee communications were raasonably good. Copies of all letters were sent to the other Committee members -- regardless of originator, addressee or subject matter. In addition, the members wrote to each other on a fairly fre- quent basis, exploring problems and possible solutions -- making plans for promo- tional activities -- proposing ideas for the others to study.
Overall, the Committee feels that communications were good during the year. The one area that needed improvement -- and which the Committee was unable to imple- ment -- was direct communication with the sponsoring Kiwanis club, particularly,
the club that needed to improve its sponsorship activity~
COMM:ITTEE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: While steps were taken to implement the plans that the Committee had formulated, the degree of fulfillment varied greatly. Some goals were approached closely, some hardly got out of the starting blocks, so to speak. A brief summary of our major accomplishments -- other than the area of communications, discussed in detail above -- is presented below:
1. NEW KEY CLUB BUILDING Knowing that a strong effort was needed to overcome past and projected losses, we asked the Kiwanis governors to pledge the build- ing of as many new Key Clubs as possible. They responded with pledges total- ing 262 new clubs. Constant promotion of new club building in the BULLETIN, as well as in individual correspondence to governors and district chairmen produced a good effort -- 196 new Key Clubs were built (75% of goal), and 14 districts met or exceeded their goals. The total for the year was the second highest in the past 5 years, exceeded only by the 205 total for 1971-1972, and was better than the 5-year average of 191 new clubs. TEXAS-OKLAHOMA led the districts with 15 new Key Clubs, followed closely by CALIFORNIA-NEVADA-HAWAII with 14 and LOUISIANA-MISSISSIPPI-WEST TENNESSEE with 12. While we fell short
of our goal, we feel that we had a successful new Key Club Building program.
2. RECLAIMING NON-MEETING KEY CLUBS -- At the beginning of the Kiwanis year, there were 213 Key Clubs not in good standing. Kiwanis Governors in 20 dis- tricts made pledges to reclaim 58 of these clubs. Actually, 44 clubs were reinstated, but an additional 15 clubs became "non-meeting" during the year -- and it was necessary to revoke 184 charters at year-end. As a result, some 14 districts ended up with fewer Key Clubs than they had at the beginning. This was one of our bigger disappointments -- we had expected to do better than
this in saving Key Clubs, and we believed that most, if not all, Kiwanis dis- tricts would have shown growth in the number of Key Clubs during the year.
But we were happy that 5 districts reached their goal, and 2 districts ended up with NO charter revocations -- the latter being MINNESOTA-DAKOTAS and WEST VIRGINIA.
3. DUES COLLECTIONS -- For several years, collection of International and district dues frorn individual Key Clubs has been a problem. We planned to emphasize dues collection from the start, furnishing delinquent club lists to distirct chairmen, Kiwanis governors, governors-elect, district secretaries and Key Club governors every month. Individual letters to chairmen and governors hav- ing a particularly hard problem with dues were also written. Despite our ef- forts, the results were not good. At year end, there were 221 delinquent Key Clubs -- compared to 218 in 1971-1972 and 221 in 1970-1971. Thus, dues were collected from just over 94% of our Key Clubs this year. The problem seemed to be more severe in the Canadian districts -- 78% in EASTERN CANADA AND THE CARIBBEAN, 82% in WESTERN CANADA, and 87% in the PACIFIC NORTHWEST -- for some unknown reason. Other than this, no real pattern was discerned, Three dis- tricts -- ILLINOIS-EASTERN IOWA, MONTANA and WEST VIRGINIA -- had no delin- quent Key Clubs.
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4. INTERNATIONAL SPONSORSHIPAWARD -- With the objective of recognizing above- average Kiwanis sponsorship of Key Clubs, and thereby, encouraging all Ki- wanis sponsors to improve the quality of sponsorship, we continued the Inter- national Sponsorship Award, with increased promotional effort. The award form and grading sheet were completely revised and simplified, at the sugges- tion of the district chairmen. Award forms and grading sheets were mailed in early fall to all Kiwanis club presidents, for their early information about the form and requirements. Another mailing of forms and grading sheets was made in May to these Kiwanis presidents, with a letter aBking them to partici- pate. While we have no final figures on the number of Awards presented to sponsors at Kiwanis district conventions, we know that the number has grown quite a bit -- and we believe that the program is beginning to achieve its objectives. The best Award form from each of 10 districts has been received, and a plaque for the most outstanding sponsor in all of Kiwanis International will be presented at the International Convention in Denver.
5. INVOLVEMENT OF KIWANIS GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS -- In addition to the usµal efforts to involve Kiwanis governors in the problems and needs of Key Clubbing -- such as promotional talks and written handouts prior to and at Council -- additional steps were taken to obtain greater involvement of the governors, and through them, their lieutenant governors. A monthly CHECKLIST was given to each governor, listing month-by-month 2 or 3 items that needed
the governor's attention if he was to have a successful Key Club program.
Within this CHECKLIST, there were items requiring the involvement of his lieutenant governors in assessing problems and quality of sponsorship. Each BULLETIN issue contained a "Governors' Corner," in which pertinent advice was given and the CHECKLIST items for the coming month were reiterated. We have no real way of determining how well this plan worked. Most district chairmen were high in their praise of the help and cooperation received from their
governors; however, few gave indication of receiving support from their lieu- tenant governors. Over the year, their comments reflected their frustration at not receiving help from Kiwanis lieutenant governors, and they had several suggestions for improving the relationship between the Kiwanis lieutenant governor and Key Clubbing:
a. More joint meetings of the Key Club and Kiwanis district boards.
b. Begin involving them as lieutenant governors-elect, when they can devote greater attention to learning about Key Clubbing.
c. Prepare a special instructional pamphlet for lieutenant governors, outlin- ing his responsibilities toward his divisional Key Clubs, as well as how to form Key Clubs, how to work with Key Club lieutenant governors, how to help collect dues, etc.
d. Have the International Board impress on lieutenant governors that they DO have a responsibility for the health of the Key Clubs in their iridi~idual divisions.
e. Include a detailed section in the lieutenant governor's divisional evalua- tion Report form that covers the status of the Key Club and the quality of sponsorship being provided by each Kiwanis Club.
f. Require each lieutenant governor to visit each Key Club in his division, and have the Key Club lieutenant governor participate in at least one divisional council meeting.
g. Require the lieutenant governor and Kiwanis president to personally pick up the charter of a defunct Key Club in a formal ceremony at the Kiwanis meeting or a school assembly.
While it might not be possible to implement some of these suggestions, they show the type of help that the district chairmen need from the Kiwanis lieu- tenant governors in handling their Key Club problems.
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6. IMPROVED "K FAMILY" RELATIONS -- As a means of increasing Kiwanis involvement in Key Clubbing, the Committee planned to promote the holding of joint Kiwanis- Circle K-Key Club meetings on local, division and district levels. Our point of focus was the district -- we hoped to encourage each district to hold joint meetings, and by example, promote similar meetings in divisions and local clubs.
The plan was included in the material given to each governor, along with a sample agenda -- and the holding of two such meetings was included in the Gover- nor's CHECKLIST. While we were not able to assess to what extent the districts participated in this program -- or to what extent the plan filtered down to the divisions and local clubs -- we are aware of several districts that reported on successful "K Family" meetings. The most notable, perhaps, was in the NEW ENGLAND district, where joint dinner meetings -- with Kiwanis serving as hosts -- were held at the Key Club and Kiwanis district conventions. The
program was so favorably received that plans have already been made for similar meetings in the coming year. Other districts report similar experiences, and we urge that this "K Family" program be continued and expanded in the years ahead.
7. DISTRICT SUPPORT SURVEY -- At the request of several district chairmen, the Committee undertook a survey of the support given to the Key Club program by the 30 Kiwanis districts. A survey form was developed and mailed to the district chairmen. However, only 11 districts replied, so the results were not too meaningful. A few interesting observations can be made from the replies received:
a. Smaller districts were more likely to employ coordinators or administra- tors than larger districts -- the reverse of what might have been ex- pected, based on the number of clubs to be handled.
b. The highest level of support was $29.90 per Kiwanis Club (ALABAMA), the lowest was $2. 35 (EASTERN CANADA AND THE CARIBBEAN), ,·the average was
$8.85 - and the largest dollar amount was $6,400 (TEXAS-OKLAHOMA).
c. There is a rough correlation between level of Key Club activity, as measured by the .ratio bf Key Clubs to Kiwanis clubs in a district, and
the level of support, as measured by the dollars per Kiwanis club allo- cated to Key Club work in the Kiwanis district budget.
d. One medium and one large district were forced to solicit voluntary
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Kiwanis contributions ($300-$500) to survive.
A more complete survey might reveal other interesting data that could be use- ful in analyzing some of our Key Club problems -- and the Committee suggests to future committees that such a survey be considered.
8. KEY CLUB RENEWAL WEEK -- This idea was born during discussions with the dis- trict chairmen at the Key Club International Convention in Chicago. Unfor- tunately, time did not permit full development. The objective of such a week is to increase the awareness of Kiwanians as to their obligations as Key Club sponsors. We have found many, many instances in which NONE OF THE PRESENT MEMBERS AND OFFICERS of a Kiwanis Club KNOW WHAT OBLIGATIONS WERE ACCEPTED many years ago, when their Key Club was first chartered. In essence, KEY CLUB RENEWAL WEEK would be established by the Kiwanis International Board as a week in late April or May every year, during which every sponsoring Kiwaµis Club would do the following:
a. Thoroughly TRAIN the newly-elected Key Club officers.
b. INSTALL the new Key Club officers in an appropriate ceremony.
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c. REAFFIRM its understanding of its obligations and its willingness to fully accept its responsibilities as a Key Club sponsor. This would be done by having the obligations, as outlined on the front of the Key Club Petition Form, read to the entire Kiwanis Club -- and having a vote taken to con-
tinue meeting these obligations. A form indicating this reaffirmation, to be signed by the Kiwanis president and secretary, would be forwarded to Kiwanis International with the Club Monthly Report.
d. Hold a JOINT MEETING of the Kiwanis and Key Club Boards to:
1. Review the needs of the Key Club during the coming Key Club year.
2. Plan several JOINT activities of the Kiwanis and Key Clubs.
3. Assign responsibilities for carrying out these activities.
There was some sentiment for having KEY CLUB RENEWAL WEEK in early fall, when the new school term starts. However, the April-May period has the advantages of (1) not conflicting with-Key Club Week, sponsored by Key Club International, and (2) coinciding with the time when the new Key Club officers take over.
The 1972-1973 International Committee on Key Clubs earnestly requests that the Kiwanis International Board give full and favorable consideration to the in- stitution of an annual KEY CLUB RENEWAL WEEK.
MAJOR KEY CLUB PROBLEM AREAS: There are certain problem areas that are of great concern to the Committee, as well as to many district chairmen. Our list is not comprehensive -- there are problems of which we are not aware -- there are others that are not too pressing, or too important at this ti.me -- and there are some that concern only a small segment of Key Club. Thus, the list will be confined to a few major problems demanding immediate attention on an International level.
Some of the problems are inter-related, probably, and have common solutions.
Others may take a different form from what we will state, since our assessment is somewhat subjective. And, unfortunately, we have no firm solutions to propose.
We seek only to stimulate the thinking of the Kiwanis International Board and future International Committees in the hope that solutions will be forthcoming.
1. KEY CLUB DELETIONS -- It's fairly obvious that we cannot continue to lose nearly 200 Key Club every year. The formation of new Key Clubs is barely exceeding deletions, and history teaches that we really can't expect to form more than 200 new Key Clubs in any given year. There are many reasons for deletions -- school consolidations -- school bussing -- changes in school administration, or the makeup of the school student body -- competition from other school groups or activities. But most Kiwanians experienced in Key Clubbing believe that the foremost reason is still inadequate sponsorship by the local Kiwanis club. Yet, this may be an oversimplification, too --
inadequate sponsorship has been with us for a long time -- why has the number of deletions been on the increase in recent years? Do we REALLY know why we have deletions? The Committee feels that an in-depth study of deletions is necessary before remedial measures can be devised.
2. DWINDLING MEMBERSHIP -- Several years ago, Key Club membership (in fewer Key Clubs, incidently) peaked at nearly 88,000 -- and we had visions of reaching 100,000 members, with consequent advantages, such as magazine adver- tising revenue. However, in the past few years, Key Club membership has dwindled to 80,000 or less, with a substantial impact on district and Inter- national revenues. In addition to losing Key Clubs almost as fast as we can build them, the average number of members per club is dropping, and we don't know the reasons. Again, an in-depth study is indicated.