Pecatonica High School Key Club recognized at annual District Convention and Leadership Conference

At the annual Key Club District Convention and Leadership Conference held on March 10-12, Key Clubs from the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District met for a weekend of collaborating, attending workshops, voting for 2023-24 district officers, and sharing a love of volunteering.

Ten members of the Pecatonica High School Key Club attended this year’s conference along with their faculty advisor, Michelle Johnson.

Throughout the conference, the Pecatonica High School Key Club and several members won a variety of awards and received recognition for their volunteer work and fundraising efforts during this past Key Club year, including:

• First place: Overall Contribution to the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation (with a donation of $8,500)

• First place: Highest Donation Per Member to the Kiwanis Neuroscience Research Foundation (approximately $177 per member)

• Third place: Club T-shirt Award

• Third place: Robert Hall Club Annual Achievement Award

• Distinguished Club

• Distinguished President: Rebecca Brown

• Distinguished Statistical Secretary: Allison McLevige

• Distinguished Senior: Natalie Herbert

• Distinguished Freshman: Renee Brown

• 100 Hour Award: Rebecca Brown and Allison McLevige

Additionally, 2022-23 Key Club President Rebecca Brown, who was also serving as Lieutenant Governor of Division 12 West, was retired as Lieutenant Governor and named a Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lieutenant Governor.

The club also returned with an exciting surprise for senior Natalie Herbert. Herbert was named the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District’s 2023 Sandy Nininger Award Recipient. The Sandy Nininger Award is the highest honor a Key Club International member can receive and is given to only one I-I District member each year.

The Pecatonica High School Key Club, sponsored by the Lincoln Douglas Kiwanis Club of Freeport and Kiwanis Advisor Mary Arenson, meets each Tuesday during the school year from 2:45-3:15 p.m.