On the bright (and slightly cloudy) morning of July 28th, 2012, New Jersey Circle K’ers, Key Clubbers, and Kiwanians all gathered together at Green Island Road, Toms River, NJ, to celebrate this year’s annual Kiwanis Family Picnic! As in the past, this year’s picnic was once again hosted by Rowan University in con-junction with the NJ District of Circle K International.

The event kicked off with a basic meet and greet amongst the many branches of our Kiwanis Fam-ily. Members from all three organizations were given a chance to get to know one another as the host club of Rowan University swiftly prepared for the day’s many exciting projects and activities.

Unfortunately, the weather became a bit murky early on, and as such the area became slightly flooded for a majority of the event’s first hour.

Thankfully, the rain did subside in due time, and with that, the picnic’s volunteers began reconstruct-ing the beach despite it’s drenched appearance.

This year, members from all three of our K-Fam-ily branches banded together to pull weeds and crab grass out of the beach’s local grassy plains. The weeding went on for hours at a time, but in the end, the garden was completely cleansed (and just in time before another storm hit)!

This year, attendance bounced through the roof with over 110 ticket purchases! That said the New Jersey CKI District would like to thank everyone who attended this year’s picnic. It was a huge suc-cess, and we can’t wait to see you again next year!

-District Editor, Shivam K. Patel

Photo Credit: Jen Hsieh

Hi New Jersey!

The fall semester is almost here, which means the start of new beginnings for many of us! For many of you whom have stepped up for a leadership posi-tion this CKI year, it’s your time to shine! Hope-fully you’ve all been planning out you’re semesters by far, making sure everything has been organized for you’re first official club meeting and the events to follow throughout the two semesters! If not, no worries…call you’re LTG and ask for their assistance. In addition, it’s important to make sure you meet and communicate with your E-board continuously!

To make sure everyone is trained well in their posi-tions, we would like to invite you all to our Annual Club Officer Training Conference, that’s COTC for short! At COTC, you’ll have the chance to learn more about our K-family as a whole. This includes learn-ing about our CKI organization from Club, District, Subregion and International level. If you haven’t al-ready, you’ll also get a chance to meet our entire NJ District Board! Meet the faces behind every phone call, FB spam message, and email! Aren’t you just

dying to confront us in regards to all those notifications?!

At COTC, our NJ District Board will also get the chance to train each one of you by position. Know the ins and outs of you’re position, share ideas with others in the same position as you, and even voice out your concerns to our District officers! We want to make sure that by the time our conference has ended, each one of you feels confident to fulfill your respectful duties.

This conference is highly suggested to attend! There, you will also have the chance to meet you’re fellow NJ District family and gain new friendships that will help support you through you’re CKI year! In addi-tion, meet you’re Buddy Schools through a few ice breakers! See what you can all accomplish together!

Hope to see you there!!!

-Membership Development and Education Chair, Annabelle Fallarme

A few great CKI memories I’ve had the pleasure of recounting this past summer. Be sure to take a look back at all the great times you’ve had as well! It’ll be your

last chance before the new ones start rolling in ;)

Greetings NJ CKI Members!!!

I am so excited, humbled, and honored to intro-duce myself to you (once again, but now) as your 2012 – 2013 International Trustee to Subregion F. A few weeks ago, at the 57th Annual Circle K International Convention in New Orleans, I was elected by the delegates of Subregion F into this position. I am so excited to once again be able to carry on the tradition of great leader-ship in Subregion F…now as we move into the title of International Trustee. For those of you who do not know, Circle K International is broken up into Sub-Regions A through G. We are located in Sub-Region F which covers New England, Eastern Canada, New York, Capital and last but certainly not least the (what I con-sider CKI’s best kept secret) New Jersey District!!!

For those of you that I have not had the honor of meeting yet, I would like to give you a little back-ground on me. I will be a Senior (Part Two) at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ in the fall. I am a Social Work Major with a minor in Information Technology. I will also be beginning my ninth year in the Kiwanis Family in the fall. My previous involvement in the Kiwanis Family includes serving as the District Governor, District Treasurer, and Convention Chairman for the New Jersey District of CKI, I was also the charter club president and club representative on the District Board for Monmouth University. I was also a four year member of Key Club and served on the New Jersey District Board as a Lieutenant Governor. I like to keep busy outside of the Kiwanis Family with my roles as Chief Justice of the Monmouth University SGA and my role as a Youth Represen-tative on the National PTA Board of Directors.

As I come from the great New Jersey District, I have had the opportunity to visit many of your clubs and meet so many of you. I thank you for all the work that you continue to do on behalf of the New Jersey District! As the Fall Semester begins, I urge each of you to use your passion for our organization to recruit new members to your clubs. Remember back to the reason you joined CKI in the first place...remember that when asking a new member to join or when planning a service project or event this upcoming year.

I would be so happy to get to know each and every one of you through online communica-tions, forums, chats, and district events. My role as your Trustee will allow me to be your source of information regarding our individual Sub-Region and CKI as a whole. Throughout this next year- I will also be asking your input, feed-back, and ideas on many of the things that the CKI International Board completes this year. Finally, I urge you to contact me whenever you have an idea, question, comment, or suggestion throughout the entire year. My contact informa-tion is below my signature at the bottom of this letter. To stay informed- join the CKI SUBRE-GION F Facebook group! This group is updated quite frequently and will keep you up to date with coming happenings on the international level as well in our other CKI Districts in Subregion F.

I encourage each of you to stay in touch with me this year via my e-mail (acerra.cki@gmail.com) or facebook (facebook.com/robacerra)...Iam al-ways available to answer questions, get invited to events, read an e-mail, or just talk. Please feel

free to add my to your club mailing list or invite me to your club’s facebook page. I would love to stay updated with all the events and projects go-ing on in Subregion F. I am also not a stranger to showing up to many events around the subregion.

To conclude, I thank you all for your dedicated service to CKI and thank you for taking the time to read my article and the entire Cirkling. I hope to hear/meet you all soon. Thanks again for all you do! I hope to see many of you at the Club Officers Training Conference and INSIGHT!

-Subregion F Trustee, Rob Acerra

Have you had a chance to meet Robert Acerra, our Subregion F International Trustee for the 2012-2013 service year? If not, be sure to read his introduction to our very own NJ District =)!

Stressed, overwhelemed, and tired describe how I felt a few weeks prior to attending the Leader-ship Academy. I had been back from my Disney College Internship for about two months, and the pressures of reality were seeping in. I was at the point where I was very tempted to go back and live in the world of Disney, where everything was stress free. I was going through what past Dis-ney interns call PDD (Post Disney Depression). After attending Leadership Academy in Indi-ana, my thought process took a complete turn around. Not only did I personally develop from this week, but I thought I was already passionate about Circle K; this passion grew even more then I thought possible.This one week of learning, fun, exploration, and of service has truly changed my life and it will stay with me forever. Leader-ship Academy came for me at just the right time.

As MD&E Chair Annabelle Fallarme and I ar-rived at the airport, we soon discovered that Navita Persaud (Rider CKI) and Kelly Chan were taking the same plane as us. I was already excited to meet fellow Circle Ker’s that were about to embark on this great journey with me. Navita, Kelly, and I went from not really knowing each other to spending six hours in the airport in DC due to our flight be repeatedly delayed. Waiting time became a time to get to know each other.

We finally arrived to the camp ground, which was a beautful place surrounded only by nature. The camp was so far away from anything, that no one was able to get cell phone/internet service. I loved this and would not have wanted it any other way. I was excited to give up my phone, not have any distractions, and to just be surrounded by nature and great people. It was great reuniting with friends that I have made from ICON and other events thoughout the summer. It was amaz-ing to see a camp full of Circle K’ers that were just as passionate about the organization as I was. Upon arriving, I was introduced to my “neigh-borhood”. Your neighborhood was a mini group within the larger group that you are broken down into in order to meet and bond with in a more intimate setting. I was surprised and happy to

hear that the team name that my fellow neighbors had decided upon with was “The Flying Mufasas” (My Disney past was still with me). Our neigh-borhood was led by a facilitor who helped lead the exercises/discussions, and gave advice. As a group, we shared a lot of personal thoughts and stories and therefore, we all became very close.

As the week began, our first day was about build-ing our community (getting to know one another) and settling in. The second day was the day where a lot of emotional and useful lessons were learned. We learned about the characteristics of good lead-ers. We discussed who the important leaders are in our own lives and why we admire them. Uti-lizing the E6 framework, how to envision, enlist, embody, empower, evaluate, and encourage as a leader gave me a new perspective on how to lead others. Particpating in activites in order for us to fully understand these concepts really helped. In these activites, we clarified our personal values.

In addition to our neighborhood group, at one point during the week, we were also separated into another mini group in order to do trust exercises and to learn other important lessons. We had to work together to get through obstacles and to learn about what the activites were really teaching us. In this group, we discovered that we were all in this particular group for a reason. I was in my group because we were all presidents of our home clubs. I learned that I was very trusting of everyone and I knew that they would be there for me when I needed them. It was also reasurring for me to see that even though we are all presidents, we all had different leadership styles and this worked well for us. Some people were more assertive, while others were more quiet, layed back yet played an essential role in the process. Not only did we learn about other leadership styles, but we learned lessons within the activies; such as to hold on to your re-sources ( the important people in your life) even when it seems as though you no longer need them.

A speaker came one day and spoke about the importance of love and joy. It reminded me not to always take life too seriously but to enjoy the journey. He talked about seeing the good...

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In a bold effort to train Circle K’s finest into great leaders, CKI holds its annual Leadership Academy in Morgantown, Indiana. Below, NJ’s very own Brooke Lichter (Monmouth Circle K President) recalls her own experience this past month. Be sure to read up on her great story,

and don’t forget to LA next year so you can experience the amazing event first hand!

...in people and finding their potential. He actually used Disney as an example; he told everyone about hidden Mickey’s through-out Disney World. Hidden Mickey’s are Mickey Mouse designs thoughout Disney World that people find on their own. When people find them, it is a magical moment that they have discovered.

Thoughout the campsite, there were quotes of inspirational messeges from past Leadership Academy attendees. One of the walls in the main lodge known as “Common Ground” was the “Secret Wall”. The Secret Wall consisted of anonymous notes written by anyone who wanted to get something off of their chest and onto the wall instead. Not only was this benefical for people revealing their secrets, but it was also benefical for those who read them. It showed that people had secrets in common.

On the following days during the week, we assessed our pres-ent life and envisioned our future. We discussed our strengths and the critical elements of thoughtful service projects. We also discussed our ethics and how to get though bumps in the road.

The last day consisted of taking pictures, our graduation ceremony, and tearful goodbyes. Leaving other passionate Circle Ker’s; good people dedicated to service and leadership, was a very hard thing to do. Being

among people with passion for helping the world to become a better place and at the same time being there for one another, is something so rare and speical that I did not want to leave my new favorite place. Though we all live all across the country and even internationally, I know we will still remain all connected because of Circle K. We are, after all, a K family. The term K family has never meant so much to me unitl after this week.

Leadership Academy has refreshed my view of leadership, of people, and of life in general. I have never had so many chills, heart pounding moments, and have never been so inspired all in one week. I have learned how to truly be the best leader I can be, how to inspire others, that working together is the number one component of being a great leader, and what my personal values/ethics are. It makes me so excited not only for the bright future of Circle K, but also for the future of our generation. It is my wish that ev-eryone at some point in their lives would go through the experience that I had. I realize that this is not possible and that is why I have made it my mission to lead by example of what I learned and to share my experience with whomever is willing to listen. I only hope that after listening to my story, that they will strive to live their lives to their fullest potential. This one week has reminded me that there is always hope for the future and that no matter how rough times may seem, there is always faith in humanity.

-Monmouth CKI, Brooke Lichter

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Photo Credit: Brett Butler

HELLO CKI! I hope you all are having an amazing and eventful summer. As the summer days dwindle down, it is time to look ahead and prepare for the new school year. With all the fun and great events we have planned for you guys this year it is ever more critical to get your dues in on time this year! Dues are essential for us as they give us recognition from the Kiwan-is International (awards!), allow for lead-ership opportunities, and allow you to attend District and International events!

You can begin collecting dues as early as October 1. THE DUES DEAD-LINE IS: November 30th, 2012! Club officers of New Jersey, I implore you to memorize this date or I will spam you until you do! Let’s get our dues in on time so we can avoid paying late fees and me hunting you down =)!

May the dues be with you.

-District TreasurerShahrukh Shamshair

Attention all Circle K’ers! Are you prepared to pay your annual dues fee for the upcoming service year? If not, then read up the article below, which highlights their importance!

Navita PersuadHome Club: RiderYear: Junior

“Besides her contributing to the re-establishment of our club, Navita’s charisma and love of the K-Family has inspired the rest of us. I think Navita has made all of the K-family proud, and has truly embodied the tenents of Circle K.”

Nominated by: Rider Circle K

Hello New Jersey District Circle K’ers! I hope you’re all having a lovely summer and are getting psyched to get back to school and back to your home clubs next month. In the first few weeks of the new semester, I hope you see incoming fresh-man, current students who want to learn more about the club, as well as some familiar faces from years past. It’s always amazing to see the turnout of students that want to be a part of something amazing and serve their community. Something we always need to remember is that we are leaders in the community and in our schools and we serve to help those in need and our goal is to offer good-will and compassion towards others. I know that in our lives, sometimes we may not always agree with each other and we may not be able to put per-

sonal feelings aside. But when it comes to Circle K, we must learn to work as a team and listen to each other so we can strive to reach our full poten-tial. It has come to our attention that there may be some issues with people getting along, so I’m here to share with you some helpful tips. First off, bullying in any form is never ok. As I said before, sometimes our personal lives can get in the way and we may not like everyone we encounter, but we can’t let that get in the way of our goals through Circle K. We need to work together and listen to each other’s ideas to grow and make our clubs the best they can be. We cannot judge others, we can-not push them away if we don’t agree with them, and we certainly cannot treat them with disrespect of any kind. These are the types of things that

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bullying can lead to, even in the smallest form: Eating disorders, Self Harm, Depression, Feeling withdrawn, Not wanting to do things you once loved, Thoughts of Suicide, and Feeling completely alone. People think that their words can’t hurt, but they do. You never know what battles someone is facing and you never know how your words will affect them. I personally remember being bullied when I was younger in school and it is a terrible feeling. The slightest insult, ignoring a person because you don’t like them, or causing them harm in any way can and does hurt. I recently heard of a lesson a teacher used to teach the effects of bullying and I’d like to share it with you. Take out a piece of paper. the paper. When you’re done, pick up the paper and try to smooth it out as best as you can. Tell it you’re sorry. This may seem silly, but no matter how you attempt to bring the paper back to its origi

nal state, it will never be the same. That is the effect that bullying has on people and it is not ok. We need to stand together to end this. As leaders in the community, and being a part of something as amazing as Circle K, we need to show what we are capable of and we need to be welcoming of everyone that crosses our paths. Let’s help put an end to bullying once and for all. Every day I am reminded of a quote that reads, “Love is louder than the pressures to be per-fect. To me, bullying is one of my biggest platforms. Let’s come to-gether and change the world.”- Demi Lovato. Try to live your life by that quote. Be kind to everyone you meet and remember Circle K is nothing without the fellowship and leadership of its members.

-Fundraising Chair Amanda Wood

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The Richard and Stockton College of New Jersey

“Having achieved international recognition as the winners of CKI’s 1st place Emerald Growth Enhance-ment Membership Award, attended nearly all of NJCKI’s District events this past summer, and accumulated up to 580 service hours in the month of July alone, Stockton has proven it- self time and time again to be the true heart & soul of our organization. Great work guys!” ”

The playground build was probably the most amazing community service that I have been part of. All of the vol-unteers present literally built an ENTIRE playground from scratch. When I first arrived at the site of the build all I saw was an empty lot, unsure of what to do because I have never built any piece of playground equipment in my entire life. I cannot say that I’m an expert at making slides so I was very nervous coming into the event but after ten hours of service, I am comfortable with saying that I can build a slide any time, any day, during any conditions.

The playground build took place on August 11 at the Trenton Monument Elementary school. During the stu-dent’s recess period, kids were wary of playing on the blacktop because the area was unstable and consisted of potholes every few feet from each other. Children had nowhere safe to play. As a result of a generous do-nation from the Trenton YMCA and other organizations, the Monument Elementary school was able to pur-chase materials to refurbish the lot and purchase playground equipment. With all the materials present, all that was needed was some labor power. That’s where we came in. When Circle k first arrived there wasn’t much going on at the scene. All we saw was an empty lot and tons of boxes out on the road. After a brief introduction from the principal of the school, all of us volunteers began to unpack the equipment and make preparations for the build.

For ten hours we all worked: Nonstop lifting, moving, assembling and cement mixing. No it wasn’t one of those things in which you can look at the box and easily assemble the equipment, no it was not as easy as building Legos. All of us volunteered for ten straight hours in order to get this playground built for the kids and finally we did it. When I say “us”, I’m implying more than Circle K. Although Circle K was present, it is due to the joint effort of all the volunteers from the different organizations (I.e. the Trenton Fire Department, reformed church, YMCA, etc.) that we were able to complete this task. Events like this are what we’re all about. We’re all a member of this club because we enjoy pro-viding service for those in need. Sometimes a bit of honest hard work can go a long way. It wasn’t money that built that playground, it was the perseverance and dedication each volunteer showcased that day that built the playground.

The playground everyone built will last a lifetime and will bring up moments that children will cherish forever.

-Service Chair, Shaaban Rizvi

On August 11, CKI members from across the state baned together to assist Trenton, NJ in a large scale elementary school park building. Read up Service Chair Shaaban Rizvi’s full recap of the project below!

Hi New Jersey Circle K!

I’m Tina Koeppel, your Club Building and Revitaliza-tion chairperson. It is my job to assist in the start up of new clubs in the New Jersey district, and provide support to those that need a little extra help. I have been super busy this summer traveling all around New Jersey, meeting with new Circle K leaders, and planning for the upcoming school year. I’m very excited about the direction our district is headed!

In the Garden Division, Ocean County College is now officially a Circle K club! Congratulations to all of the people that worked so hard to make this happen. I hope to see great things come from this club in the fall!

Seabreeze Division is going strong! Rider Uni-versity Circle K will be starting up bigger and better than ever! They’ve got some great events planned and I’m excited to see what they can do!

There has been a lot going on in theMetro Division this summer! I have met with lead-ers from Caldwell and Centenary Colleges and Montclair University, and I am confident that these schools are well on their way to establishing suc-cessful Circle K clubs! The County College of Mor-ris has also shown interest in starting a Circle K!

All in all, it’s an exciting time of expansion for the New Jersey District of this great organization! If you have friends at other schools who might be interested in our tenants of service, leadership, and fellowship, please tell them to contact me at ckoeppel7@gmail.com so that we can expand our impact even further!

Good luck as you head back to school this fall! I’ll keep you posted as our District continues to grow bigger and stronger – making a difference in our local com-munities and in the lives of people all over the world!

-Club Building and Revitilization ChairTina Koeppel

Metro Division:Drew UniversityKean University

St. Peter’s CollegeCaldwell College

Montclair University*Centenary College*

County College of Morris*

Seabreeze Division:Rutgers University

Monmouth UniversityRider University

TCNJBrookdale Community-

College

Garden Division:Rowan University

The Richard Stockton- College of NJ

Ocean County College

* Yet to be chartered

Over the past few months, Club Building and Revitalization Chair Tina Koeppel has been hard at work expanding the NJ District by working with CKI hopefuls in establishing new clubs. Read up on her latest status update below!

With the fall semester about to kick into full gear in a few short weeks, it is time for me to take a step back and reflect on one of the best summers of my life! As always, I lived and breathed all things Circle K as I traveled around New Jersey and be-yond representing our mighty district at various events, meetings, and service proj-ects! Whether it was attending an Aktion Club meeting, building life-long friend-ships down in New Orleans at ICON, or serving the children of Trenton, I have grown as a stronger person and ser-vant leader because of every experience.

I want to personally thank every per-son who attended the Kiwanis Fam-ily Picnic despite the torrential rain and thunderstorm! We all enjoyed great food, company, & service…and of course, all of the opportunities to meet members of our Kiwanis Family. Our

hard work and high attendance of 112 people despite these setbacks makes me so proud to call the NJ District my own =). The highlight of this day must have been getting down & dirty picking weeds while making friends with Key Clubbers and fellow Circle K members. Service is al-ways the best way to make a new friend =).

Speaking of service, I truly cannot wait to kick-start another amazing school year with Circle K! I look forward to going to your club meetings and events and seeing you all at Club Rally and In-sight! The fall semester is an exciting time to recruit members and to share our love for CKI with new friends. Take this opportunity to share your service experiences with your club and brain-storm new ways you can help the com-munity. Our CKI experience is as great as we allow it to be. So go ahead and have the time of your life New Jersey! =)

This past summer, District Governor Danielle Sammut has worked tirelessly to ensure that our mighty New Jersey District remains up and run-ning. Be sure to read up on her latest announcements and reflections below!

Developing college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service.

CKI’s Six Cents Initiative with UNICEF is designed to help children get the rehydrating salts they need to survive dehydration spells.

Hello Circle-K’ers!

Here is a quick update from your younger K-family buddies.

Though school is out and summer in, this has had no effect on our Key Club dedication. Summer is representing the perfect time for board members to finish officers’ training and to begin planning di-visional events. So far, I have been able to attend one divisional dance (shout-out to Lieutenant Governor Melika) and was once again im-pressed by success this board is ex-periencing. This has just increased my excitement for all of the events I will be able to attend in the future.

In addition to our “normal” duties,

In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t have changed a single thing!

Thankfully, the end of the tour did not signify the end of our trip. In-stead, this was just the beginning of our actual convention! Participants were lucky enough to attend educational workshops focused on every-thing from public speaking tips to financing for college. My favorite seminar, though, was titled “KEYping it Klassy”, a workshop centered on professionalism. I am proud to say that this forum was taught by Immediate Past LTG Cecilia Kang and current District Secretary Celina Baquiran. Both informative and interactive, this workshop really made our district proud. Great job, girls! The main focus of the convention involved the election of the new International Board. Though the caucus-ing was intense and the House of Delegates session even more nail biting than expected, we were eventually able to elect a board of dedicated Key Clubbers to the positions of Trustee, Vice President and President. (For more information on the I-Board, please feel free to visit keyclub.org.)

As we returned from ICON and jumped back into our usual lives, we were lucky enough to have two more opportunities to see each other this summer: K-family picnic and our long-awaited board meet-ing. Though this was the first time attending K-family for most of this board, everyone claimed that this was “the absolute best” K-family pic-nic they have ever attended. Not even the monsoon that plagued us could have discouraged the Key Clubbers from having a good time. Whether we were participating in the service project or just enjoying the delicious food, everyone left with nothing but wonderful memo-ries of the day’s events and, most importantly, the people we met.

-Key Club District Governor Nicole Ventrone

Key Club International is a service organization dedicated to providing high school students with numerous ways to give back to their fellow communities. Below, NJ Key Club Governor Nicole Ventrone has written a few words she’d like to share with her fellow collegiate branch!

For the last portion of this update, I am thrilled to discuss the New Jersey District’s second official Key Club board meeting. On August 10th, the entire board gathered at the Girl Scout Center in Toms River to review all that has occurred since our last meeting in May. The Lieutenant Governor Reports offered the executive board the opportunity to advise our fellow board members in any available capacity. The executive reports gave both the board and the Kiwanis Committee a greater understanding of what we have been doing since May as well as posed for a chance for LTGs to ask us questions. The most important portion of this board meeting, though, were the committee meetings. The full and half-year committees met for fifty minutes at a time to finalize any big ideas as well as to start planning for new directives. All in all, the board meeting was a success in my eyes. Board members left with renewed enthusiasm for their positions and committees focused their visions for the remainder of the service year. We even had special guests Circle-K Governor Danielle, Circle-K Secre-tary Dawn and Kiwanis Governor-Elect Joseph Teti. It was a great day!

As always, if any of you Circle-K’ers have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at governor.ventrone@gmail.com. I appreci-ate any and all questions, comments and suggestions. Thank you!

Key Club has kept busy with our International Convention in Or-lando, the recent K-family picnic and even our August Board meet-ing, both in Toms River. Speak-ing on behalf of the New Jersey attendees, ICON was simply an unforgettable experience. We focused our district tour around “the happiest place on earth” – Disney World! We were able to see shows, ride roller coasters, and, of course, meet the other Key Club-bers roaming around the Disney parks. Every picture taken and ev-ery video blog posted represented yet another wonderful memory that our district had on our tour.