The 74th Annual New England and Bermuda District Key Club Educational Conference (DECON) will convene in the Sheraton Hotel at Monarch Place and Marriott Downtown in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday morning, March 31, April 1, and April 2, 2023. Below is your virtual DECON Packet. In it you will find all the information/materials necessary for attending the conference and participating in the various District and Key Club International contests.

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This year, we are returning to a two-night, two-hotel DECON. Registration will again take place through an online registration system linked below.

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Tentative Schedule

Friday, March 31, 2023

• 3:00 p.m. - Arrivals and Registration

• 4:00 p.m. - Training for 2023-2024 Lieutenant Governors

• 7:00 p.m. - Opening Session (Doors open a 6:30 p.m.)
  Keynote address by Dan Faill - "Free to Fail: Unlocking the Formula to Successful Leadership"

• 9:30 p.m. - Meet and Greet/Evening Activities

• 9:30 p.m. - Chaperone Orientation

• 12:00 a.m. - Curfew

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Saturday, April 1, 2023

• 9:00 a.m. - Workshop Round 1 (Officer Training)

• 10:00 a.m. - Workshop Round 2

• 10:00 a.m. - Talent and Oratorical Contest Auditions

• 10:45 a.m. - Workshop Round 3

• 11:30 a.m. - Workshop Round 4

• 12:00 p.m. - Lunch (no program - come and go as you please)

• 1:00 p.m. - State Caucuses

• 3:00 p.m. - Service Fair

• 4:30 p.m. - Workshop Round 5

• 5:00 p.m. - Break

• 6:00 p.m. - Recognition Banquet (Doors and Buffet Lines open at 5:30 p.m.)

• 9:30 p.m. - Dance and Student Lounge

• 9:30 p.m. - Advisor Lounge

• 12:00 a.m. - Curfew

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Sunday, April 2, 2023

• 9:00 a.m. - House of Delegates

• 11:00 a.m. - Governor's Farewell Brunch

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Registration Cost

Registration is $200 per attendee plus that attendee's portion of their hotel room.  Hotel rooms cost $150 per night per hotel room. These prices apply to both students and chaperones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Key Club International policy, all attendees must stay on site at one of our two convention hotels for both nights.

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Any dues-paid member of Key Club is welcome to attend DECON. However, please note that all students must be accompanied by a chaperone.

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Hotel Information

All DECON attendees will stay in one of our two hotels:

• Springfield Marriott Downtown
  2 Boland Way, Springfield, MA 01115

• Sheraton at Monarch Place
  One Monarch Place, Springfield, MA 01144

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The two hotels are across the street from each other and connected by a skywalk. Sessions, workshops, and meals will be split between the function space in both hotels.

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When registering, your faculty advisor can select which hotel they'd like your Key Club to stay in. Please note that we may need to reassign some Key Clubs to the other hotel depending on capacity. Hotel room costs are consistent across both hotels.

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Members participating in any Key Club event must sleep in their assigned room. Only students of the same gender can room together in the same room. Females are not permitted in males’ sleeping rooms. Males are not permitted in females’ sleeping rooms. All students must be in their assigned hotel room by curfew at midnight.

 

Parking

Parking is available on-site for attendees at the Sheraton at no additional cost (for attendees staying at the Sheraton) and at the Marriott $10 per night.

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Please contact District Administrator Will Bradford if you need to make arrangements for school bus parking.

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Registration Process Instructions

Online Registration through RegisterMyChapter

This year, we are utilizing an online registration system. This system will allow you to register students and chaperones, assign housing, upload required forms, and pay online or by check.

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Online registration is open from January 3, 2023, through February 17, 2023.

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A guide to using the system and a recorded demonstration are available below. Please note, only the Key Club’s primary faculty advisor will be provided with log-in credentials. DECON registration should NOT be handled by a student.

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Medical and Media Release Forms

All Key Clubbers must submit:

1. A completed medical form signed by a parent/guardian.

2. A completed media release/Covid-19 waiver signed by a parent/guardian.

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ALL FORMS MUST BE UPLOADED TO THE REGISTRATION SYSTEM BY FEBRUARY 17!

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The registration system will include two upload fields for each registrant: one for each form. Please upload scanned copies of signed forms as .PDF files.

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Adult Chaperones

All advisors and adult chaperones must submit a completed Covid-19 waiver form, complete a Kiwanis background check, and complete online training through Praesidium (detailed below).

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It is mandatory that there be at least one advisor/chaperone in attendance at the conference for every 10 Key Clubbers.

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Criminal History Background Checks and Chaperone Training

Pursuant to Kiwanis International Youth Protection Policies, all adult chaperones attending the District Educational Conference must have completed a criminal history background check conducted by Kiwanis International. The Key Club District will facilitate a background check through Safe Hiring Solutions (Kiwanis International’s background check vendor) for all adults who do not have a current Kiwanis International background check.  Each adult who does not have a current Kiwanis background check will receive an email with a form to fill out at least one month before DECON.

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In addition, all adult chaperones must complete an online three-module training through Praesidium.  This training can be completed in half an hour.

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Any adult who does not complete this process or does not have a clean background check will not be permitted to attend DECON.

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Please direct any questions to District Administrator Will Bradford.

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Late Registrations, Cancellations, and Substitutions

Late Registrations:

• Registrations after the February 17, 2023 deadline will be denied unless the District can secure additional hotel rooms.

• Late registrations are subject to a $10 per attendee late registration surcharge.

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Cancellations:

• For any cancellations between February 18 and February 28, the District will provide a 75% refund of the attendee's registration fee.  Hotel rooms can only be refunded if all occupants cancel.

• For any cancellations on and after March 1, the District will provide a 50% refund of the attendee's registration fee. Hotel rooms can only be refunded if all occupants cancel AND the hotel agrees to refund the room to the District.

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Substitutions:

• A Key Club may replace one student with another student of the same gender in the same spot in a hotel room after the registration deadline at no cost.

• A Key Club may replace one student with another student of a different gender who can be placed in an open spot in another one of their hotel rooms after the registration deadline at no cost.

• Substitutions that require a new hotel room or placement with students from another Key Club will only be accepted if lodging can be secured and will be subject to the $10 late registration surcharge.

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Finding Roommates from Another Key Club

Advisors may assign between 2 and 4 students to each hotel room. In some cases, a Key Club may want to share a hotel room with students of the same gender from another Key Club in order to save on hotel costs.  We have sent a "roommate finder" Google Sheet to all faculty advisors with their log-in instructions for the registration system.  Please use this to find another Key Club that has a partial room that you can combine with and reach out to the faculty advisor to arrange.

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Contact NEBDKeyClub@gmail.com and request this change.  Please CC the advisor from the other Key Club so they can confirm that they consent to this.  Once both advisors consent to the shared room, we will make the change in the system.  Once we make the change, you will see it reflected on your Housing page.  Each Key Club will be billed for its portion of the room on their invoice.

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Post-pandemic, we have decided not to go back to the old practice of automatically filling partial rooms with attendees from other Key Clubs.

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Online Registration

Deadline: February 17, 2023