Cal-Nev-Ha District of CKI :: Community

Monday, February 2, 2009
On District Board... <3

This past weekend marked our last trip to Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga for our Winter District Board meeting. Oh god, I always have so much fun with these kids. It sucks that we're in this year long distance relationship. Well, I guess I'm a pro at those now eh? A year ago, I remember having reservations about joining District Board. From a club perspective it doesn't seem like the D-board has much of an impact on the members or the service, etc. I mean, who really has to listen to what the District says anyways? No one really. I know in the past being on club board we've had some issues, concerns, and annoyances with District Board which I'm sure that so many other clubs have experienced. Maybe some don't value what District Board does b/c honestly it is very difficult to see the kind of impact we try to make on Cal-Nev-Ha. People don't think that District Board does stuff or that people drift away from their clubs if they decide to take this leadership route.

Yes, these were my reservations running for Lieutenant Governor last year. What I was most afraid about was being alone on District Board. I was so used to having a board and a club with me everyday, all the time here in Berkeley. I love that, always being immersed in the club. I was scared that I might have to go on my own to be the Golden Gate LTG. I didn't want to travel by myself, be a lone person from Northern California/Berkeley. I felt so much better after Alex told me he wanted to run for District Secretary. Yeah, not so alone anymore. I'd have my Circle K partner in crime and husband that 07-08 year--hahahaha seemed like that at times--by my side.

Last District Convention, we ran for our respective positions and fortunately won. Here we were though, on the edge of an entirely new Circle K experience. I remember back in Key Club I never would have imagined myself on District Board let alone a Lieutenant Governor. We were elected amongst a small, and shy/not-so-shy group of people: Chris Plasterer, E.T. Mac, Danny Ha, Maria Turcios, Andrea Nguyen, Horacio Valera. We started off as a very small district board. The only people I really knew aside from Alex was E.T. b/c well we were Golden Gate Spirit & Social Chairs together (that's another story in itself), Chris, and Andi who I was cool with but didn't know very well.

Within a matter of months appointments were made and we became complete. A whole new crop of kids chosen to work together for the benefit of Cal-Nev-Ha. I knew a bunch of people from my own travels from around the district but I didn't really know them. That first complete meeting in July though--sparks. We seriously just seem to click and fit together. The chemistry we have together is crazy. Takes me back to the days when I became a chair under Gail's presidency. We were so young and ambitious and ready to prove ourselves. I love that feeling--it makes people strive to do their best. We have endless energy together and makes me SO EXCITED every meeting to hang out and see everyone.

Somehow we manage to keep our relationships strong and work together all year long. Even though we're separated by hundreds of miles I've found supports and anchors on this District Board. They're always an IM, text message, web cam, wall write/video/photo, away. I enjoy keeping each other awake online while we're writing papers early in the morning, catching up with people's lives, and those amazing D-Board bonding times. I don't think I've ever had so many late night chats in my living room with So-Cal-Nev people as this year hahaha. I love getting together and just yelling and laughing about anything. So many freaking jokes and incidents.

I never knew we'd be able to raise so many bars this year for Cal-Nev-Ha. So many ambitious plans and great ideas and a lot were successful and maybe some weren't. I see now all the hard work it takes to run a Circle K District and that the purpose of the District Board is to make sure that all of our clubs are unified and focused on community service whether it's the environment, healthy/safety, literacy. Think about it, only about 20 people somehow lead 2,000 people to make a difference in our communities. Wow. I hope I've had some sort of impact on the Golden Gate Division. I've looked at the numbers and we sure do make a difference. Maybe the impact seems really diffuse to you but you'll know if you ever join D-board.

It's really scary to think that we have less two months together and we won't reunite at our Favorite Best Western in Rancho Cucamonga again. Did so much together. All we have left together as a whole D-Board is Woodland Hills for District Convention and that will be most glorious. Richard Kong and his committee are definitely making sure of that.

Hmmm and the point of this blog? Well, I like expressing my love for things. I've made lifelong friends and come away with plethora of amazing memories from this experience. This has definitely been one of my most rewarding experiences in Circle K.That and District Board is a worthwhile experience if you make the most of it. Take advantage, impact your clubs, build leaders, make friends, support each other. I encourage any of you who are current leaders in your clubs and who are thinking about running/applying for D-Board that it's amazing and you're going to have sooo much fun! Especially since Camille is District Administrator, she's the best. So, DO IT, don't be scared of "going off on your own to be on District Board" you have your fellow D-Boardies to be your support even if they are hundreds of miles away. Become a leader. Great rewards will always follow if you work hard and help each other. All of your hard work will shine at District Convention.

posted by Cheriz Cajita at 12:37 AM 6 Comments