This year, 16 Key Club members and two advisors attended the event

April 9, 2024

By Emily Liston, STAFF WRITER

SANFORD, Maine — Sanford High School’s Key Club attended the annual District Key Club Educational Conference (DECON) on April 6 and 7 in Springfield, Mass. 

DECON is a conference for all the New England and Bermuda Key Clubs. They come together to do workshops and learn more about how to get involved with Key Club (volunteering) and your surrounding communities. 

There are a bunch of different activities that take place at this event, such as dinners, awards, speeches, dances, etc. It’s a very formal event and members of Key Club learn all sorts of things going from martial arts workshops to motivational speeches. 

“We were able to hear from speakers about leadership strengthening and how to continue to positively impact our school and Key Club,” said Sophia Tounge, president of Key Club.

Key Club members who attend the event follow a schedule from the first night. Everyone gets to the event around 5 p.m. to get their hotel rooms situated, then they go to a speaker to learn about a certain subject. The rest of the time they get the chance to meet with other people until their set curfew. 

Vice President Sydney Roux explained a little more about the schedule of DECON, saying “The next day, we have a rotation of 5 workshops that can vary in different subjects and then that night is awards and a fancy dinner, and we leave the next morning.” 

Braeden Landry was awarded second place in the Oratorical Contest with his essay about the significance of Key Club. Congratulations Braeden! 

Tounge also added, “It was a great time, and everyone is looking forward to next year!”