A great way to set up your K-Kids club for success next year is to select and train club officers before the end of this year. Follow these steps to get a head start:
First things first. Hold club officer elections.
- Review each officer’s responsibilities with the club.
- Ask interested members to submit their names as candidates and add names to a ballot.
- Ask each candidate to speak to the club about why they want to be an officer. Officers can create a campaign poster or participate in a question-and-answer session with members.
- Ask students to vote for the candidate they want for each position using a ballot or piece of paper.
- Count the votes and announce the members elected at the club’s next meeting.
To prepare for training:
- Pick a date, time and location for the training.
- Send an invitation to outgoing and new K-Kids officers.
- Invite and secure commitments from the Kiwanis club advisor and other adults to help with the training.
- Determine responsibilities/tasks for each volunteer.
- Review the K-Kids Advisor Guide, K-Kids Member Guide, Officer Guides and K-Kids Service Guide (available in your program kit and at kkids.org/advisors). Then determine what parts of the resources to include in the training.
- Ask outgoing club officers to reflect on what they learned from being leaders, so they’re prepared to share their thoughts with incoming officers during training. Provide specific reflection questions to help them prepare: What helped you accomplish your officer tasks? What would you do differently if you served again? What worked for you that you would do the same?
- Determine the training topics and activities. Here are suggestions:
- Have outgoing club officers share their reflections about what they learned as leaders.
- Review and discuss each officer’s responsibilities.
- Teach the K-Kids motto, mission, values and pledge. (See the inside cover of the K-Kids Advisor Guide).
- Brainstorm what it means to be a student-led program.
- Share an agenda for a typical meeting, including icebreakers and team-building activities.
- Show the “Ways to Do Service” video so members understand the four ways to serve.
- Review the K-Kids Member Guide and K-Kids Service Guide. If there’s time, determine which activities your officers would like to do with members next year.
- Review K-Kids awards opportunities and the K-Kids Contest Guide.
- Discuss and decide on club goals for the year.
- Explain Parliamentary Procedure if your club will be using it during meetings.
- Create the training session agenda from the topics you considered.
Don’t forget to pull together any supplies you’ll need for the training. After that, it’s time to train new club officers. Good luck!