Howdy, LMT!

I know I said this in e-mail, but again: Congratulations to Shannon Tharp, the newest addition to our District Board. Shannon will serve as your Bayou South LTG. I'm sure she will do a great job, and serve you well, and I'm totally excited that we are one step closer to a full board! Hopefully we can do something about Delta Central soon... we will be talking about that at our May board meeting.

The shout out today goes to LSU, who I've noticed is promoting the Skip a Meal program this week. Mad props to them for taking the initiative to try to take part in this Internationally sponsored program. Good luck, I hope you guys raise a lot of money! If any of your clubs are taking part in Skip A Meal, please let me know, so you can get recognition as well! Same goes for Key To College!

This seems like a trivial issue, but I've been asked to share it with you. Many clubs use different names when referring to Circle K. Some use Circle K International, others Circle K, and others just CKI. Although it really doesn't matter which name you use - the International Marketing Committee has asked that you do the following: Use "Circle K International" for the first mention of the organization, CKI for all others. If the logo is present, CKI can be used on all references. If your district already uses "CKI" on all uses, use of "Circle K International" on first reference is optional. Although this seems like a small thing to worry about, it will help promote International unity if we are ALL using the same name. (Like Federal Express has all of their employees use FedEx). Just please take that into consideration.

As many of you know, the International Board has proposed a dues increase - which will be voted on at the Circle K International Convention in July (Indianapolis). This proposal is for a $7 increase, raising the dues from $18 to $25. Additionally, there is a clause that basically would allow the board to raise the amount by up to 5% every two years, if they deemed it neccessary. I have been asked to a special Governor's council meeting this week to discuss concerns that YOU, the member has with this. Please voice your opinion (and any questions you may have) to me, so that I can represent you. Feel free to express your concerns to your LTG, or through this website, etc. For more information, you can contact me, or a district board member, and you can visit the Circle K International website at http://www.circlek.org/Dues%20Info/CKI_Dues_Increase_03.pdf. Also, although this site is not sponsored by Circle K International, there is a very interesting dues increase discussion going on at the Unofficial CKI website... at www.unofficialcki.org -- sign in, and then click on the Forums link.

Thanks to the people who have submitted cabinet applications thus far, good job to you guys for getting them in early! And of course, we are still accepting. To the old cabinet: your input, past resources, and compiled files are needed! Please contact me or Alison so that we can make arrangements to get that material from you. We do not want to reinvent the wheel here - you guys have done great work, and we definitely want to make sure that that is not lost.

I cannot express how excited I am about International Convention in Indianapolis. So, at first, I thought "How am I going to get an OTIC chair to promote THAT stupid city" -- but after traveling there, honestly, it's pretty cool. You can check out my GATC posts for more information. But, it's really not going to be about the city (even though it is cool)... it's going to be about the convention. Here are some things to look forward to: bonding with your fellow LMT CKIers in a marvelous trip, watching me participate in Governor's dodgeball to raise money for the tomorrow fund, watching Ricky get auctioned off with the I-board, going "Country" in our themed brother district caucus room, meeting many Key Clubbers and Kiwanians as the Kiwanis Family unites in Service at the first joint convention held ever, having some great sessions including the dancing sign language guy, and the hypnotist that embarasses everyone, a baseball game on the 4th of July complete with a barbeque just for us and fireworks ---- let's just say if you don't go, you'll miss a lot. Seriously, how many of you were burnt out, stressed, aggravated, scared, and then got to District Convention in Monroe and realized how much you loved the organization, the people, and the communities that we've served? Times that feeling by 5, and you have an International convention. I'm not going to preach anymore about how much fun it will be - I challenge the members who have gone to I-cons in Houston, San Diego, Orlando, and Buffalo to post about their experiences, so you can hear first hand what a great time it is! For more information, contact OTIC dude Tommy at tommy3276@yahoo.com. We had 69 people attend Orlando last year... one of the biggest delegations, and it was a great feeling! Although I know because of the strange time, etc, we will not get as many... but I will be completely pleased if we reach 45 members. At this point, we are only a few members short of that 45 people mark!

That's it for now, more later (as always)

-Rebecca