Club Editor’s Guide:

The Club Editor is responsible for:

  1. Information distribution mainly through a monthly newsletter
  2. Informing club members of club activities, deadlines, important dates, and board actions.
  3. Additional responsibilities are determined within each club.

Duties:

NEWSLETTER

  • Content:
  • Deadlines for project sign-ups/ Important dates (club, college or university, and sponsoring Kiwanis club)
  • Accomplishments of the club and members in the past month
  • Service projects, social activities, and Kiwanis-family activities for upcoming month
  • Actions taken by board/ Contact info.
  • Birthdays
  • Riddles, Shout-outs, Fun-facts
  • Polls, Quizzes
  • Jokes, Games
  • Career Development Topics
  • Letter from the Editor
  • Spotlight
  • Layout:
  • You can create this multiple ways. Microsoft Publisher & Adobe Photoshop or InDesignnare the most common for editorial use.
  • Adobe Photoshop:
  • Download link for Adobe CS2 -
  • Tutorials: photoshopessentials.com
  • Brushes, Custom Shapes, Textures:
  • brusheezy.com, deviantart.com, all-free-download.com
  • Fonts:
  • dafont.com, fontsquirrel.com, creativebloq.com, 1001fonts.com
  • Photoshop CC:
  • The Missing Manual (
  • Microsoft Publisher:
  • Templates: Microsoft Office website, layoutready.com
  • Deadline
  • President may set deadlines, or you can set your own deadlines. If he/she doesn’t, I’d usually stick to one deadline for each newsletter, for example, I usually finished and distributed the newsletter on the first meeting of the month. You can do the last week, or the middle, or whenever there’s a lot actually happening. Outstanding Editor Award requires 6 newsletters.
  • Distribution
  • Your newsletters should not only be shown to the members but also passed out at Kiwanis or other K-Family meetings. Find a means to get your newsletter printed in color if you can. If you cannot attend these events, give to a board member who will be attending (K-Family chair.)
  • Email and Facebook are the best means of distributing your newsletter
  • Send newsletters & pictures to the Webmaster chair so they can update these on the website.
  • If your newsletters are too large to upload on Facebook, try 2shared.com or share via Dropbox. You can also just show members the .jpg pictures on the Facebook group. Try to compress as much as possible without losing quality.
  • Tips
  • Start in advance, work on it a little at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
  • Get pictures from people immediately after or during an event, or else you will never get them.
  • If you want to put personal articles from members, ask them more than 2 weeks in advance. Also, ask them questions to help make writing their articles easier.
  • Keep a note of all the CKI related events that occur right after they occur, so you don’t miss anything in the newsletter. For example if an impromptu service project comes up the next day that wasn’t originally on your calendar.
  • Keep pictures organized! Rename them the event name and date so you don’t have to search through hundreds of “IMG_000.jpg” titles. Organize pictures by month as well; separate into what newsletter they are going to be in. Until you get an AD/PR or Historian chair, make sure you have a designated picture person to send you pictures in case you cannot attend an event.

SCRAPBOOK (if applicable)

  • Layout
  • Create a table of contents of events in the order they occur throughout the year so that you don’t have to try to assemble them in a list all in one shot.
  • Plan out a general layout of how you want each page to look, Google cool ideas you could incorporate, so that you know where to designate work.
  • It’s easier to make the pages and then buy the scrapbook to fit the pages
  • Make sure the scrapbook fits all the requirements of the Outstanding Scrapbook award.
  • Pictures
  • Save pictures of each event in its own folder on Google Drive. It helps you stay organized if you date them as well.
  • Printing: Create Shutterfly accounts (not now, when you need them), you will get 50 free prints for each new account (only paying shipping.) For events that are closer to DCON, just buy from Walgreens and pick up same day (will be a little more expensive but better quality.) (Look for Walgreens coupons on Google!) *This is where making layouts will be helpful because you know exactly how many pictures will be needed for each page and what pictures you want to use, so you don’t have an excess of rejects.
  • Process:
  • BE PROACTIVE! Start shopping/brainstorming as soon as possible –less stress, more savings as you find good deals throughout.
  • Try to get as much supplies donated as you can.
  • Keep receipts and keep up with budget so you know where the money is going and coming (ICON asks you how much you spent over all.)
  • Use Michael’s weekly ad and Joann’s app to get 40-50% discounts on items, as well as 10% student discount – saved me over 30 dollars!
  • Create a timeline for the scrapbooking socials. Know exactly what you want to get done in each social.
  • Create incentives for people to come to socials such as refreshments? Or perhaps give a prize to a person who contributed the most.

VIDEO (if applicable)

  • Don’t feel pressured to make it crazy intricate. A slideshow of pictures with some sentimental music in the background is enough to get people to cry.
  • Programs to use:
  • MAC: iMovie
  • PC: Windows Movie Maker
  • MISC: Sony Vegas (trial version)

****Submit Articles to the Florida District Newsletter the Circle Kapers****

If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to contact me at