03/14/2026
The past three days the Carrollton High School Key Club attended the Key Club MO-ARK District Leadership Conference in Springfield, MO at the University Plaza Hotel. The bus ride down went great with SEVERAL stops along the way.
β€οΈ Thursday, March 12th
For lunch on the way down the Key Club has a long standing tradition of stopping at Lambert's Cafe for some home style cooking and those famous flying rolls. π₯ Then one last stop at a Walmart, yes Walmart. Finally arriving at the hotel around 3:15. Ms. Carter and myself got everyone checked in before our 1st General Session, upcoming forums, the MO-ARK service project and then ending the day with a fun greet and meet. Curfew at 11pm
π Friday, March 13th
We all woke up early for breakfast, popped in our Business attire to attend a for a FULL day of General Sessions and forums, hearing speeches given from the new candidates for a spot on our MO-ARK District Board, more informative forums, focus groups, Advisor forums, then a block of 2 hours for us to eat on our own, swim and enjoy some down.
At 7 pm we were back into our Business attire for the last General Session of the day. Awards were given out and we were so excited to win 2nd Place in the T-Shirt contest, "Show your K" designed by Kenneth Waddell. Our CHS Key Club was then recognized and taking 1st Place as the Distinguish MO-ARK Key Club through our achievements. DOUBLE WOW FOR US!!!
Afterwords MO-ARK Board planned a big dance for all the members and for those who didn't want to shack a leg they could enjoy a room full of boards games or swim. Curfew at 11:30 pm.
π½ Saturday, March 14th
Last day, we were served a nice breakfast then headed to our final General Session for adjourning the conference and most important to install the 10 new Lieutenant Governors for each of the Key Club division throughout Missouri and Arkansas, plus the newly elected MO-ARK Board members. Then finally, what our CHS Key Club was waiting for, the installation of our 2026-2027 MO-ARK Returning Governor, Dakota Menning. WE ARE SO PROUD of Dakota for taking on another term for the MO-ARK District. This is a very important position for Dakota. He will be Governor over the entire Key Clubs for the state of Missouri and Arkansas. WOW, what an accomplishment. CONGRATULATIONS DAKOTA!! ππ
So enjoy the picks from our exciting conference. If you see Dakota, please shake his hand to congratulate him and to wish him well.