Some Abbotsford schools and students received awards and were elected to positions during the recent Kiwanis International district convention in Portland.
The awards were among those presented to Key Clubs, which are self-governing student-led organizations of Kiwanis. There are currently seven local Key Clubs sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Abbotsford and Clearbrook.
Each year, Key Club members elect their student officers for club, district and international boards.
Eun Sim from W. J. Mouat Secondary won the Distinguished Lieutenant Governor Award for the Pacific Northwest.
She was responsible for overseeing, educating and serving all Key Clubs in division 18. This includes Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Maple Ridge and Bellingham.
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Elected to the position of lieutenant governor of the Pacific Northwest for the 2022-2023 school year was Nola Stenstrom from Yale Secondary.
Yale Secondary won the Distinguished Club Award. The school was also honoured for its hours of service to the district project, Ending Hunger, by collecting food, volunteering at the local food bank, and supporting the local Starfish Pack program.
Joshua Chooi and Annie Ma respectively won the Distinguished Club President and Distinguished Vice-President awards.
Gurleen Kaler, former member of the MEI Key Club and a current student at University of the Fraser Valley, was elected governor of the Pacific Northwest for the university student leadership program called Circle K International.
As governor, Kaler will lead a board of lieutenant governors representing 12 universities to give back to their communities through service and leadership.
Elected lieutenant governor for the B.C. universities was Sonia Dhillon, also from University of the Fraser Valley.
There are currently 276 Key Clubs in the Pacific Northwest with only one award given for each category. Key Club is currently in 40 countries with more than 250,000 members.
