Marco Island Academy Key Club Conquers DCON

The Marco Island Academy (MIA) Key Club is built on service and leadership. On April 14th, MIA Key Clubbers headed north to Daytona Beach to attend the 85th annual Key Club District Convention, better known as DCON. DCON is where Key Clubs from all over Florida gather to celebrate their achievements, dedication to service, and the overall mission that every member of Key Club International works toward.

DCON is a convention that offers many opportunities for officers to grow their clubs, learn about what others are doing in their community, and participate in a number of other events and fun activities. Some of these events included workshops, the Governor’s Ball, the service fair, house of delegates, and the opening and closing ceremony. This year’s theme was: Lights, Camera, Service!

It was Key Club President Taylor Drott’s first time at DCON. She explained that the students could choose which workshops they wanted to attend - she attended a public speaking workshop and a career planning workshop. Other events at DCON also displayed notable key club events and awards won across Florida.

As a soon-to-be graduate, Drott describes what she hopes to achieve through her role in the club. “As my role as key club President comes to an end, I hope that I inspired others to love and have a passion for service as much as I do. Helping the community and changing people's lives has been an incredible experience,” said Drott.

This year at DCON, the MIA Key Club won numerous awards for their efforts, achievements, and overall contributions to the school and community. They placed first for single service, which was all about their work with Wynne’s Warriors over the last three years. They placed second for the club project display, which was a display of Wynne’s Warriors and the club’s fundraising for the three-year-old with Kleefstra Syndrome, Wynne Lockwood.

The club placed third for the service award, which is based on hours per member in their division. The entire key club officer team worked hard to achieve this award. Marco Island Academy’s Key Club was also one of only seven schools in Florida to receive the Kiwanis Family Involvement Award. On top of that, the club won an award for 100% pride report submissions.

The officer team also worked hard to achieve the Governor’s citation award, which is given to clubs with at least 18 hours of service per member, and the Governors project banner patch award, which is given to clubs that hold at least two service events that represent nature. On top of that, the club was one out of five others in Florida to win the 2022-2023 club distinction award based on its annual achievement report.

In addition to winning awards for the club’s combined efforts, two of the club’s officers, Grant Tirrell and Austin Hendrick, won individual awards. Grant Tirrell was one of seven officers in the state to receive the Distinguished Club Secretary Award, and Austin Hendrick was awarded the Distinguished Club Secretary Award, which is also awarded to seven officers in the state.

Earlier this year, MIA’s Key Club sent its own candidate, Tyler Clifford, to the Spring Zone Rally to deliver a speech and run for a district role. Of the three candidates voted on at the rally, Tyler Clifford came in second, and a different candidate from Gulf Coast High School won and became the next year’s Lieutenant Governor. However, this candidate withdrew from the position, and Clifford was given the position.

Lieutenant Governor is a district-level role with responsibilities that will help to grow Key Club organizations within the district. Through this role and their recognition at DCON, the hardworking officers and Key Club Leadership will continue to make powerful strides and work towards the betterment of their service and the community.