Los Alamos Key Clubbers Ethan Singell, Quinto Geller, Yeanwoo Park and Brian Han display prizes won at Key Club convention in Phoenix. Courtesy/Kiwanis
Electric cello musician Yeanwoo Park won 1st place for musical talent at the convention. Courtesy/Kiwanis
By BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos
Last weekend five members of the Los Alamos High School Key Club traveled by car, bus and plane to Phoenix, Ariz. for the Southwest District of Key Club’s annual convention (DCON).
Key Club is a student-led high school service club sponsored by Kiwanis International. The Southwest District of Key Club includes more than 3,500 students in clubs ranging from Lake Havasu to Roswell and from Farmington to Tucson.
The students competed in contests, took leadership and public speaking training, learned how to cope with stress, met fellow Key Clubbers, ate well and had fun. They also elected students to lead the Southwest District for 2022-2023.
The convention was organized by the Southwest District’s leadership team led by Governor Layla Nguyen. She was assisted by lieutenant governors elected to represent the 15 divisions in the southwest. Brian Han from Los Alamos was the lieutenant governor for the Sangre de Cristo Division comprised of clubs from Las Vega, Los Alamos and Santa Fe. Los Alamos Kiwanian Karin Church is the District Administrator for Key Club responsible for guiding and supporting the student leaders.
The Los Alamos students did very well. Their 2021-2022 President Adeline Feng was elected to Lieutenant Governor for the Sangre de Cristo Division for 2022-2023. Yeanwoo Park, with his electric cello, took first prize in the musical talent contest. Brian Han won first prize in the impromptu speech contest. Adeline Feng won a third-place trophy for her recruiting poster.
Parents of the Los Alamos students drove their children to and from Albuquerque where the Los Alamos contingent rode a 56-passenger Herrera Coach bus to and from Phoenix. On the bus were New Mexico key Clubbers from Eldorado, La Cueva, Cibola, Rio Rancho. Aztec and Farmington.
The Los Alamos students were chaperoned by Key Club Advisor Morrie Pongratz and by Cheryl Pongratz, a last-minute substitute. Unfortunately, Cheryl fell and broke her hip in the convention hotel. She is recuperating from surgery in Phoenix.
Southwest District Key Club Administrator Karin Church speaking to the convention. Courtesy/Kiwanis
