Cal State Fullerton's Annual Kiwanis
Family turned into a luau this year! Every year, our Circle K plans a
picnic-like social to which we invite our Kiwanis Family. The purpose of it all
is for our Circle K'ers and Kiwanians to get to know each other better in a
safe, yet fun environment! This year I wanted to make it a huge event going
from a full-on mocktail to a lunch to even a set of fun relays! We wanted it
all, and with a lot of planning and help we achieved our goal!
The entire planning process of the
Kiwanis Family Luau was much like a roller coaster. Sometimes things seemed all
right, and others everything just felt like it would fall apart. But, in the
end, and with the help of some very involved and helpful friends we pulled off
a very successful event. Let me tell you a bit about the crazy planning.
When this idea was initially presented to
me by my predecessor, it was meant to be a small scale barbecue with our
sponsoring Kiwanis Club and our Key Clubs, but I wanted something bigger. Being
a KIWIN'S alma mater, and having a deep passion for our family, I wanted as
many of our branches to have the opportunity to interact and have the
opportunity to get rid of the crazy biases some clubs may have about other
branches. So in the quest for this I attemped to request the high school
branches of our family, but was immediately shut down due to regulations of
which I was not aware (high school branches and Circle K clubs cannot attend
each other's social events). After having spent a week on a meticulously
written Event Request Form, waivers, and heavy advertising (to Kiwanis Clubs
and Circle K clubs all over my division) I was crushed. Soon after I had to
overcome the challenge and move forward with the planning.
Kiwanis Family Committee members and I
trued to attend as many Kiwanis meetings in the area as we possible. Our club
sent out digital invitations, but also made crafty and tangible invitations to
give to each club (because sometimes something classic just works better!). We
had set a date two months in advanced, and had started advertising since before
the invitations had even been made. We asked each club to invite their
sponsoring Kiwanis club if they wished, to be ready for some fun, to be ready
to eat, and we also asked them to be prepared for some friendly competition
among our division.
I planned it all in parts. I started with
the mocktail party, which was a completly new concept to me. I researched
various nonalcoholic beverages, as wel, as snacks that could pass as fun and
tasty and most importanly low in cost. Once I had the mocktail menu I looked
into the real food menu, which was very easy because although it was luau theme
the food was basic (cheeseburgers with pineapple slices, hot dogs, veggie
burgers, and plenty of donated desserts). In regards to the food and a lot of
our drinks, we were very fortunate to have such supportive Kiwanis Clubs in our
division who were willing to donate their extra supplies from past service
projects. Our Kiwanis Clubs covered most of our drink and food costs with their
donations and CSUF Circle K wanted to thank them with an amazing time! So the
planning continued with our relay planning. Because I had some background in
relay events this came easily, but when things wouldn't just pop into my head I
researched new ideas. By this point I had three independent ideas and
"projects" and I just needed to find a way to put them all together.
Let's keep in mind that so far most of
the ideas I had down were word vomit. I had just jotted everything down and I needed
to tie everything together and make sure everything would work. So, as I began
to slightly panic at the fear of failure, I took a deep breath and went through
the entire event in my head. I thought of the serving utensils, of the props
needed for the relay, of the small details such as where we would store food,
who would help me cut veggies and mix drinks. It all just came together.
At the event, I tried to be at as many
places as possible, but at one point I realized that one of the most important
things about the event was for everyone to let lose and have fun. I had planned
ice breakers and games for us to play alongside our Kiwanis Clubs, all of which were very fun. Everyone took a
chance, and with just a little push in the right direction, our family came
together like peas in a pod.
The event was a great experience and a
great warm-up tool for the rest of the year and the upcoming kiwanis family
events. It also offered new opportunities and new friendships. I think every
club should attempt this in some way! It is all worth it!!
-April Rios
