“DCON [District Convention] is a time for Key Club members from all around the Capital District -Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Delaware – to gather and celebrate Key Club and all of their accomplishments,” senior Danielle Horridge said. The AHS Key Club attended DCON on March 8-10 and came away from the annual convention with several awards.
According to AHS Key Club president senior Annie Lopez, DCON allows the AHS club “to celebrate all the service we have accomplished this year and share ideas with our fellow Key Clubbers.”
At DCON, members learned more about Key Club and other related organizations, attended workshops and a service fair, and earned awards.
The Capitol District also elected its new board at the convention, which includes the positions of governor, secretary, editor, and treasurer. “We attend a caucus where we hear speeches from candidates who are running for district offices,” club advisor Teresa Tyler said. “After this we meet and discuss which candidates our club wants to support. We send two delegates (usually the current and upcoming presidents) to vote.”
Lengthy preparations preceded the convention. “Each club prepares differently, but they prepare all year long with contests and yearly reports,” Horridge said. “Every club wants to improve and do more service.”
According to Tyler, AHS Key Club prepares by “filling out the required reports, writing up our best projects for the single service and major emphasis awards, making spirit posters, making a contest poster, making a contest promotional video, and of course making our beautiful scrapbook!”
AHS’ scrapbook took second place, along with their Key Club poster and single service projects each earning an honorable mention. Additionally, senior Sarah Henderson received the Above and Beyond award given to an outstanding Key Club member.
Horridge is “proud to say that AHS is one of the very visible clubs at DCON. Everyone knows about the club. AHS participates in basically everything, all of the contests, service fair, parade of checks, you name it, we’re there.”
Horridge served as the Lieutenant Governor of AHS’s division (5A) in 2012-2013. “This means that I represent AHS, WAHS, CHS, FCHS, and MHS on the Capital District board,” she said. “Club secretaries send me reports every month and I compile division reports to send to the district secretary. I make newsletters once a month as well to keep all officers informed about Division, District, and International projects and events.”
As Lieutenant Governor, Horridge and other members of the District Board worked to plan and execute the convention. “I went up a day and a half early and we all had very long days decorating and setting convention up. But it’s all worth it,” she said.
At the convention, the 2012-2013 board was retired. Sophomore Stacy Vitko was installed as Lieutenant Governor for division 5A for the 2013-2014 year.
According to Tyler, the most fun part of DCON is “getting to be with the students out of the school setting. Second is winning contests!”
Lopez said that, “everyone is so excited, especially during the opening session on Friday night where we get to dress up with a certain theme and show our division spirit. It is really just one big Key Club party.”
This year, DCON was jungle-themed, with the catch phrase “Swing into Service.” Students dressed up as wild animals and safari explorers. The AHS Key Club made signs featuring jungle animals and wore matching t-shirts to get into the DCON spirit.
According to Lopez, “the most fun part of DCON for everyone in general is getting to see how massive Key Club is on a large scale and meet all sorts of new people.”
