HHS Key Club rewarded for another successful year

The Havre High Key Club would like to take a moment and share with the Havre community a summary of the past year of service. Our 47 members owe many thanks to a supportive Havre Public Schools administration and staff who encourage and supported our service projects throughout the year. The Key Club also would like to thank our local Kiwanis Club who support our members by sharing in the participation of service projects, fund raisers, and their financial support. It is because of the backing of our administration, local Kiwanis members, and Havre community that the Key Club was able to participate in nearly 40 service projects and raise over $9,000 to contribute to various worthy causes. These range from Trick or Treat for UNICEF and March of Dimes to the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle, Washington, to local families here in Havre that we were able to help through a foster backpack program as well as serve our student body with our HHS Food Bank.

On April 8-10, five members of the HHS Key Club travelled to Billings in order to attend the State Convention of Key Clubs. At the convention, awards were given to individual Key Club members, for being a Distinguished Key Club President Sheradia Linton; Three Distinguished Members Alexandra Barkus, Sheradia Linton and Jess Otto. Alexandra Barkus received recognition as a Distinguished Club secretary and Jess Otto also received a Kiwanis Club Scholarship.

As a club, we received 15 banner patches including some of the most highly coveted awards that include Single Service Award, Project Life Award, Ladder Award, Eliminate Project Awards, K Family Awards, Governor’s Project Award, Replace + 5 Award, Club Service Hours Award, and Average Hour Per Member Award. But my personal favorite is one that our local Key Club has won nearly every year for the past 20 years, the Ronald McDonald House Project Award. This is the award that our local elementary students participate in with the high school. Pop tabs are collected, weighed, and sold to our local Pacific recycling center. Pacific gives the students over-market value per pound and then the money is contributed to a Ronald McDonald Home that Havre youth and their families have stayed with due to a child’s illness. We can’t thank all the teachers and elementary students enough for their service. One small way we try to thank them is to host an ice cream social for the classrooms in each elementary building that has collected the most tabs.

The awards HHS Key Club received reflect the emphasis that the Kiwanis and Key Club have for youth, life, service and leadership in our community. As a club, our future appears bright. We have returning leadership, young membership, projects on the horizon, and a community that supports our service projects. Jess Otto leaves behind a legacy of working with CASA on the Foster Backpack program, and several community groups have partnered to produce blankets and purchase toys to help with our future relationship and commitment with CASA. Alexandra Barkus, as club secretary, leaves behind a new system of club digital communication and record keeping. Our President Sheradia Linton gave our club two years of superb leadership in which she lead by example. Next year, the club will be captained by new leaders in Mackenzie Parrotte, Kaydn Acor, Lexis Haney, Kaitlin Morehouse, and we welcome a new advisor to the team in Heather Haney.

Often I hear young people talk about how bored they are living here in Havre. Boredom is a self-imposed behavior not to exercise options; the Key Club of Havre is filled with young adults who have chosen the option to be involved in their community. I am proud and fortunate to be their high school advisor and wish to celebrate their community service commitment.

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John Ita – HHS Key Club Advisor