THE K17 DISPATCH

New England & Bermuda District | November 2026

2026-2027 FOCUS:

Family First. Mission Forward.

News, service stories, useful resources, and connections from across our Kiwanis family.

LEAD

FROM THE DISTRICT SECRETARY

A Few Dates to Keep on Your Radar

As we move further into the Kiwanis year, please take a few minutes to make sure your club information and reporting are current in Kiwanis Engage.

Two important deadlines are coming up quickly.

• November 30 is the deadline for club dues to be sent to Kiwanis International.
• The Kiwanis club Annual Report is due December 1.

Club presidents and secretaries should also continue keeping monthly reports and officer information current in Engage.

If you have a question or are unsure where to find something, please reach out to your division’s Lieutenant Governor. Our LTGs have received training and can help you work through the process.

Thank you for keeping these administrative pieces moving while continuing the work that matters most in your communities.

Judy Barrett

District Secretary

New England & Bermuda District

Kiwanis Engage:

Keep These Links Handy

Log in to Kiwanis Engage

Access club information and reporting tools, along with membership records.

Kiwanis Engage Learning Resources

Find tutorials and guidance for working in Engage.

Club Secretary Guide for Kiwanis Engage

A practical reference for club secretaries.

Service Leadership Program Engage Resources

Find guidance specific to Service Leadership Programs.

District Membership & Dues Information

Review District membership and dues information.

District Office

New England & Bermuda District of Kiwanis

c/o Judy Barrett

265 Tirrell Hill Road

Goffstown, NH 03045

Judy is happy to help with questions and will generally respond within 48 hours.

Email: judy.kiwanis@gmail.com

DISTRICT ELECTION UPDATE

The New England & Bermuda District announces the following official candidate for Governor-Elect:

Motkue A. Bowles

Kiwanis Club of Greater Enfield

Club Endorsement

Acceptance Letter

Candidates for Governor-Elect of the New England & Bermuda District must be members in good standing of a district club, have at least five continuous years of Kiwanis membership, have served as club president and completed a term as Lieutenant Governor in our district, and maintain a clear Kiwanis International-verified background check.

To run, submit written notice confirming your home club’s endorsement and your acceptance of the nomination to District Secretary Judy Barrett any time after October 15 of the service year in which you intend to run.

🛡️ PROTECT YOUR CLUB

Spot the Scam Before You Click

• A message arrives from someone who appears to be your club president asking you to purchase gift cards.
• Your treasurer receives an urgent request to send money.
• An email that looks like it came from another Kiwanian asks you to open an attachment or sign into an account.

The name may look familiar. Check the actual email address.

Scammers can impersonate people you know and create a sense of urgency so you act before checking.

PAUSE. VERIFY. REPORT.

• Pause before acting.
• Be especially careful when an unexpected message involves money, passwords, member information, or an urgent request.
• Verify another way.
• Call or text the person using contact information you already have. Do not use the phone number or link contained in the suspicious message.
• Report it.
• If someone appears to be impersonating a club or District leader, let your leadership know so other members can be warned.

Protect the Accounts Your Club Uses

Use different passwords for important accounts and turn on multifactor authentication whenever it is available.



If an unexpected email asks you to log into an account, avoid using the link in the message. Open the website yourself instead.

And if someone asks you to buy gift cards and send the numbers, stop and verify the request first.

TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR CLUB

Spend five minutes at your next board meeting deciding how your club will verify unusual financial requests.

A simple process now can prevent a much bigger problem later.

GROW

A Message from Rachel Farris

District Membership Chair

Would a First-Time Guest Know What to Do?

• We spend a lot of time thinking about how to invite people into Kiwanis.
• It is just as important to think about what happens once someone actually walks through the door.
• Imagine attending your next club meeting for the first time.
• Would someone greet you?
• Would you understand what was happening?
• Would you leave knowing what your club does in the community?
• What happens after you leave?

THE 10-MINUTE WELCOME CHECK

Give your board or membership committee ten minutes to answer one question:

“What does someone experience the first time they visit our club?”

Then choose one thing you can make easier or more welcoming before your next guest arrives.

Membership Office Hours

Have a Membership Question? Drop In.

Throughout November, District Membership Chair Rachel Farris will hold Membership Office Hours every Monday and Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on Google Meet.

There is no formal agenda.

Stop in to talk through an idea for club growth, a membership question, or something your club is experiencing with retention.

You do not need to wait until there is a problem. Office hours can also be a place to talk through an idea before your club puts it into action.

Mondays & Tuesdays | Noon to 1 p.m. Eastern | November

Need the Google Meet link? Email farrisrachel99@gmail.com.

Drop in when it is useful. You do not need to stay for the entire hour.

🎉 CLUB SPOTLIGHT

Welcome to the Kiwanis Family, Pittsfield!

Our Kiwanis family continues to grow.

This month, we welcome the Kiwanis Club of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and the members who are beginning a new chapter of service in their community.

Starting a club takes people willing to imagine what Kiwanis can become in a community - and others willing to help turn that idea into something real.

A special thank-you to Cheryl Tripp-Cleveland, Amanda Waterfield, Dave Tully, Immediate Past Governor Adam Wright, Miranda Burton, Kathleen Haraughty Moylan, Rachel Farris, and George Delisle for helping bring the club together.

To our newest Kiwanians in Pittsfield: welcome to the family.

Your Lieutenant Governor, District leadership, and Membership Team are here to help as your club gets started.

We look forward to serving alongside our Pittsfield members and supporting the difference they’ll make in their community.

🏆 RECOGNITION

What Can Your Club Work Toward This Year?

Recognition should not be something we first think about at the end of September.

Our District recognition programs can help clubs look ahead and pay attention to the good work already happening throughout the year.

NEW | DISTRICT RECOGNITION

The New England & Bermuda District has launched its new District Recognition Program.

Take a few minutes with your leadership team to see what is available. Your club, officers, or individual members may already be doing work worth recognizing.

Do not wait until the end of the year to discover the opportunities.

CONNECT | INTER-CLUBS

An inter-club is more than a visit.

It is a chance to see what another club is doing, exchange ideas, and build relationships outside your own meeting room.

Qualifying visits can include other Kiwanis clubs and Kiwanis-family programs such as Key Club, Circle K, Aktion Club, Builders Club, and K-Kids. District and division events may qualify as well under the District guidelines.

If your club has not planned an inter-club yet, look at the clubs around you and put one on the calendar.

Remember to report qualifying visits through your club’s monthly report.

LOOK AHEAD | DISTINGUISHED

Take a little time to review the Distinguished recognition criteria and see what your club can work toward this year.

Use the criteria as a planning tool.



Ask what your club is already doing well and where being a little more intentional could make a difference.

FIVE-MINUTE BOARD CONVERSATION

Open the recognition pages at your next board meeting and ask:

“Is there something here we want to work toward this year?”

Happening This Weekend | Key Leader

From November 6-8, students will gather at Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine, for this year’s Key Leader program.

Registration is closed, so this is not another registration reminder.

Instead, watch for the stories that come out of the weekend. If your club sponsored or encouraged a student to attend, invite them to a future meeting and ask them to share what stayed with them.

That conversation can turn a weekend experience into an ongoing connection.

FAMILY FIRST RESOURCE

A Resource Worth Sharing With Families

Sometimes service means creating something new.

Sometimes it means helping a good resource reach more people.

Save the Children offers free learning activities for children from preschool through grade 6. The collection includes downloadable activities for families and versions in both English and Spanish.

Your club could share the resource with a local Head Start program or elementary school. A library or another organization working directly with families may find it useful too.

FOR YOUR CLUB

Send the resource to one community partner and ask:

“Would this be useful to the families you work with?”

If the answer is yes, help them share it.

That may be all the project needs to be.

SERVE

Before You Plan the Project, Ask the Question

November often brings coat drives, food collections, and holiday projects.

• Those efforts can make a real difference.
• But before deciding what your club will collect, talk with the people already working directly with families.
• Ask a school what it is hearing from parents.
• Talk with a Head Start program or another community organization about what families are requesting.
• You may discover that the need you expected is already covered while something else is going unmet.

START HERE

“What would actually help right now?”

The answer may shape your next service project.

It may also keep your club from spending time and money on something a partner does not need.

Listening is part of service too.

Small Club? A Small Grant Could Help.

A project does not need a huge budget to make a difference.

Qualifying Kiwanis clubs with 35 members or fewer can apply for Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants ranging from US$250 to $1,000.

If a community partner identifies a need and your club has an idea for responding, a small amount of funding may be enough to move the project forward.

💬 TRY THIS AT YOUR CLUB

Bring Back the Classification Talk

• What happens when your scheduled speaker cancels?
• Instead of scrambling, have four members on standby who are prepared to give a short classification talk.
• Each person gets about 5 to 6 minutes.
• This is not supposed to be a polished résumé or formal presentation. It is simply a chance for members to know one another beyond the name badge.
• Talk about who you are and what you do for work.
• Share a hobby or something you enjoy when you are not at a Kiwanis meeting.

You might talk about a fear, a challenge you have worked through, or an experience that shaped you.



Then finish with:

“What is something most people here probably do not know about me?”

If a speaker cancels, you already have a meaningful program ready.

And if nobody cancels? Schedule the talks anyway.

Sometimes the most interesting person your club could hear from is already sitting in the room.

Thank you to our District Past Lieutenant Governors’ Committee for sharing this idea to help club members get to know one another.

FROM OUR HISTORY

Then & Now

Our District has been telling its story for generations.

Our history can remind us why certain traditions lasted and show us ideas worth reconsidering. It can also help newer members understand the District they have joined.

We are opening the archive and inviting you into it.

📅 DISTRICT NEWS & WHAT’S AHEAD

Put These Dates on Your Calendar

November 6–8 | Key Leader — Casco, Maine

Students gather at Camp Sunshine for a weekend focused on service leadership.

November 21 | The Yankiwanian submission deadline

Send club stories and photos for consideration in the December quarterly publication.

November 30 | Kiwanis International dues deadline

Club leaders should make sure dues are submitted before the deadline.

December 1 | Kiwanis club Annual Report due

Make sure your club information is current and your report is ready.

March 12–14, 2027 | District Mid-Year Conference

Portland, Maine



Save the weekend. More program and registration information will be shared as planning continues.

HELP TELL

OUR DISTRICT STORY

Your Club Story Could Be in the December Issue

The first quarterly issue of The Yankiwanian is coming in December.

Submissions are due November 21.

The quarterly publication gives us more room than The K17 Dispatch for club stories, member features, and the history behind our District.

You do not need to send a polished article.

Send a few strong photos and a short description of what happened.

Help us understand who benefited and why the story mattered.

THE K17 DISPATCH

New England & Bermuda District of Kiwanis International

Family First. Mission Forward.

Visit the District Website