The 75th Annual New England and Bermuda District Key Club Educational Conference (DECON) will convene in the Sheraton Hotel at Monarch Place in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday morning, April 5, 6, and 7, 2024 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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Please check back in December 2023 for more details about registration.

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Tentative Schedule

Friday, April 5, 2024

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

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

• 7:00 p.m. - Opening Session

• 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 6, 2024

• 9:00 a.m. - Workshops (Multiple Rounds)

• 12:00 p.m. - Lunch

• 1:00 p.m. - State Caucuses

• 3:00 p.m. - Service Fair

• 6:00 p.m. - Recognition Banquet

• 9:30 p.m. - Dance and Student 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

Early Bird Rates (by February 15, 2024):

• Registration Cost: $200 per person

• Hotel Room Cost: $155 per room

• Total Cost:

  • Single Occupancy: $510​.00

  • Double Occupancy: $355.00

  • Triple Occupancy: $303.33

  • Quad Occupancy: $277.50

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Regular Rates (between February 16, 2024 - March 1, 2024):

• Registration Cost: $225 per person

• Hotel Room Cost: $155 per room

• Total Cost:

  • Single Occupancy: $535.00​

  • Double Occupancy: $380.00

  • Triple Occupancy: $328.33

  • Quad Occupancy: $302.50

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These prices apply to both students and chaperones.

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No late registrations will be accepted after March 1, 2024.

 

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 the convention hotel:

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

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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 in the underground garage. If the garage fills up, additional parking is available for a small cost in the I-93 Garage (under the highway overpass).

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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 December 1, 2023, through March 1, 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 MARCH 1!

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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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Payment

Payments are accepted by credit card (with a processing fee) or by check.  ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH 15!

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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 March 1, 2024 deadline will be denied unless the District can secure additional hotel rooms.

• Additions to pre-existing hotel rooms are generally possible with sufficient advanced notice.

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Cancellations:

• For any cancellations between March 1 and March 15, 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 after March 15, 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.

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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: March 1, 2024