10 reasons to attend the 2025 convention

10 reasons to attend the 2025 convention

Apr 15, 2025 | General interest, Leadership | 0 comments

From education and fellowship to inspiration and celebration, it’s the year’s biggest Kiwanis event.

By Julie Saetre

Get ready: The 2025 Kiwanis International Convention is on the horizon! We’ll gather in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 25-28. Register now to join your fellow Kiwanians for the biggest event of the year — and to help forge the future. 

Here’s why you’ll want to be there: 

  1. Dynamic educational workshops and classes. Explore the ways Kiwanians are building new clubs and gain insight into expanding and nurturing your club’s membership. Learn how to make your club attractive, meaningful and enjoyable for all generations. Dive into master classes that go deeper into leadership training and community service, with subject-matter experts as your guides. Our workshops will get you ready to tackle a to-do list designed to take your club — and Kiwanis — to the next level. 
  2. The Convention Kickoff. Start your experience with a celebration of Kiwanis. The opening session features beloved actor, producer and author Henry Winkler. You’ll be inspired by Winkler’s story and his commitment to helping children reach their full potential. 
  3. Membership Fair and Welcome Reception. Looking for recruiting inspiration? Pick up tips from clubs that have been recognized for their growth efforts after using Two For Two, club boosts, open houses, guest days or their own membership drives. During the Welcome Reception, visit vendors, meet candidates and enjoy entertainment and refreshments. New this year: a DJ and door prizes! 
  4. Fellowship with Kiwanians from around the world. Take time to relax with longtime Kiwanis friends and new connections. Join fellow Kiwanians for the Sunset Social, a special party on the rooftop of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with finger food, a cash bar and entertainment. On Saturday night, mingle at the Gatsby-inspired bar or hit the dance floor during our Roaring 20s Gala. 
  5. CKI members. Circle K International — the Kiwanis service program for university students — is holding its convention alongside ours at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center! Stop by the CKI booth in the Kiwanis Marketplace to meet some of its members — and learn about the amazing work they do on their campuses, in their communities and around the world! 
  6. Kiwanis Launchpads. There will be two Kiwanis Launchpads this year. Designed to be short and high impact, these presentations will send you home with ideas and inspiration. The first Launchpad will celebrate Key Club’s 100th anniversary by featuring alumni who credit much of their success to the values and skills they learned in Key Club. At the second Launchpad, you’ll hear from the director of the Fred Rogers Institute, as well as an engaging speaker who will teach you how to find joy in conflict through curiosity.  
  7. Kiwanis Marketplace. This is your go-to hub at the heart of the convention. Shop, snap photos, snag swag and more. Here, you’ll find exhibitors and Kiwanis partners who can inspire fresh ideas on impactful service projects and effective fundraisers. You can also browse Kiwanis-branded merchandise, including special-issue 2025 convention items. Meet the candidates running for international officers and trustees. Learn about your host city. Get details about our ongoing Build. Nurture. Retain. membership initiative. Explore the new Kiwanis Engage membership platform. And more! 
  8. 2025 Kiwanis Annual Meeting. Get informed about the business of Kiwanis International and add your voice to our future. Delegates from clubs around the world will elect the organization’s next leaders and vote on amendments. 
  9. Celebrations. From the Welcome Reception and the Convention Kickoff to the Kiwanis Roaring 20s Gala, you’ll celebrate Kiwanis and the amazing work our clubs and members accomplish every day. Have breakfast with our Signature Project Contest finalists (and see who wins the big prizes). Enjoy lunch on Thursday while learning about The Possibility Project’s Generosity Challenge and on Friday while marking Key Club’s milestone centennial birthday. And get ready for a night of glitz and glamor at Saturday night’s Roaring ’20s Gala. 
  10. Our host city. Pittsburgh is a versatile destination brimming with discoveries. From the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, you’ll have easy access to the Cultural District, the historic Strip District and the Allegheny River. You’ll also be located near shops, restaurants, galleries and theaters. From sightseeing to the sports scene, breweries to bistros, and amusement rides to museums, Pittsburgh has something for everyone! 
Family teamwork produces a new club

Family teamwork produces a new club

Apr 1, 2025 | Club building, General interest, Leadership | 0 comments

In Iceland, a longtime Kiwanian worked with his daughters to open a club.

By Guðlaugur “Gulli” Kristjánsson

The 2024-25 governor of the Iceland-Faroes District, Guðlaugur “Gulli” Kristjánsson (pictured above, right) joined Kiwanis in 1982. Over the next decade, his family grew with the births of three daughters — who are now the leaders of the Kiwanis Club of Hera in Iceland. We asked Kristjánsson, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Eldey, in Kopavogur, Iceland, to share his experience working to open a club with family members. 

Our district, like many Kiwanis districts, had drifted away from renewing our clubs by bringing in new members. The average age here had become way too high. My goal (as governor) was, among other things, to start a club with young members. When preparations began in December 2023, my daughters saw me looking at the various options, and they sat down with me one evening.  

They have all grown up in the Kiwanis spirit. They were involved with helping in local projects in one way or another, and in the fundraising campaign against maternal and neonatal tetanus. 

The eldest, Hildur, asked me whether she could be president of this new club if it became a reality, while Thorunn, my middle daughter, was prepared to be president-elect. Our youngest daughter, Hulda, was 17 at the time and had attended the Young Kiwanis Summit organized that year by Kiwanis International Europe.  

The task became much simpler with them by my side. All three of them have a lot of organizational ability, are very imaginative and really fun to work with. Soon, all three were immersed in the preparatory work — and by the fall, the group had grown to 15 enthusiastic young women. 

There were 19 members of the Kiwanis Club of Hera by the time of the introductory meeting on November 30, 2024. The average age was 37. Since then, four more have been added. And one person in this group is the mother of someone who was already in the club! 

In this club, there are pilots, flight attendants, kindergarten teachers, bankers and more — a wide range and a fun, cohesive group.  

I recommend talking to people who have been raised in a family of Kiwanis members about opening a Kiwanis club. It all starts by asking. 

Kiwanis Amplify to return in 2025

Kiwanis Amplify to return in 2025

Nov 18, 2024 | General interest, Leadership, News | 0 comments

Two Kiwanians stand as examples of the program’s impact on personal and professional leadership. 

By Tony Knoderer

In 2025, Kiwanis International will again offer Kiwanis Amplify — a leadership program for those who want to improve their ability to lead a team within Kiwanis and beyond. Registration will open in January. Kiwanis Amplify is an online course featuring interactive modules led by experts, with peer discussion that helps participants enhance each other’s understanding

Participants will take a deep dive into eight topics:  

  • Leadership. 
  • Communication. 
  • Event planning. 
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion. 
  • Working with others. 
  • Marketing.  
  • Strategic thinking.  
  • Self-care as a leader. 

Participants can work through the course at their own pace to earn a certificate of completion. 

Two members at a crossroads
When Kiwanis Amplify launched in 2021, two Kiwanians — Angelo Ciardella and Cynthia Blackman — were at a crossroads. Blackman was adjusting to service as her division’s lieutenant governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ciardella was completing his nursing degree. Both found what they were looking for in the inaugural Kiwanis Amplify class. 

Ciardella, current lieutenant governor of Division 3 of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, was impressed with the quality of the training material, but also with the depth and breadth of the topics. 

“I absolutely loved that the trainings did not focus on Kiwanis at all,” he says, “[but] rather the themes and skills needed to be a successful leader in life, which translate to our service journeys in Kiwanis.” 

Blackman, now governor-elect of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, says the program “forced me to re-evaluate my perspective on being intentional with inclusive leadership and not being afraid to fail as a leader.” 

The skills that resonated most with Ciardella and Blackman were those they could apply to their personal growth. 

“Being given permission to fail was something that I needed to hear so badly at that time in my life,” Ciardella says. “The rigors of university, moving up in leadership in my club and that little thing called the pandemic were really causing me to be down on myself.” 

For Blackman, self-care was the big takeaway. “Oftentimes as a leader,” she says, “we place others before ourselves.” 

Professional impact
Ciardella and Blackman found that Kiwanis Amplify helped their careers. Ciardella partially attributes his job as a nurse at one of North America’s leading hospitals to Kiwanis Amplify. 

“The program helped me hone my leadership and communication skills, setting me above others in my industry,” he says. “Teamwork, communication, DEI, strategic thinking — these themes are so relevant in my work, and Kiwanis Amplify has helped me excel in these areas.” 

For Blackman, the program was a guide toward greater effectiveness in giving presentations — and in engaging with large groups of all kinds. 

“Kiwanis Amplify gave me the tools to adjust my leadership style at the office to one where I was more inspirational,” she says. “The [communication] module enhanced my presentation style and instilled confidence in me that allowed me to engage with various audiences actively and effectively.” 

Blackman found that her communication style was also improved, helping her become more conscious about her choice of words. Ultimately, she found the program so useful that she participated again in 2024. After the success that resulted from participating in the 2021 program, Ciardella got involved with shaping it and helping others. He joined a Kiwanis-led committee to make suggestions for Kiwanis Amplify’s second year, and he served as a program mentor in its third year. 

“These experiences have been some of the highlights of my Kiwanis journey,” he says. 

Get ready to register
To learn more, visit the Kiwanis Amplify webpage. And bookmark the page so you can sign up when the registration period begins in January. We encourage you to spread the word in the meantime: Kiwanis Amplify is available both to Kiwanis members and nonmembers (US$50 for Kiwanis members, US$600 for nonmembers). For everyone who participates, it’s an opportunity to improve your career, your community and yourself.