ACJSHS: Clubs: Octagon

Octagon Club

by Bill Umbarger

November 06, 2007

Welcome to the Octagon Club

The Anderson County Junior/Senior High School Octagon Club is an organization of high school students that supports the school and community with activities and projects. The ACJSHS Octagon Club helps the student council operate the concession stand at home sports events, sponsors ACJSHS representatives to the Kansas Optimist Model Legislature, and participates in other projects started by Octagon Club Members or other clubs.

Octagon clubs for high school students were first started in 1963 as an expansion of the Optimist Youth Clubs Program. The Optimists have started many different clubs, activities, and projects designed to help the youth of the world. Optimists are members of Optimist International, an organization formed in 1919 to coordinate efforts of a group who decided to adopt a positive outlook in the face of adversity.

Octagon generally meets once each month during seminar period. Parliamentary procedures are used to regulate the flow of events. The meeting officially begins when the president calls the meeting to order. The secretary reads minutes from the last meeting and the treasurer gives the financial report. Unfinished and new business issues are addressed as necessary. Sometimes a guest speaker is invited. Usually the speaker is a representative of a business in one of the local communities. Snacks are provided at the end of the meeting.

The first meeting of the school year is an open meeting; all High School students are welcome to come and see what Octagon is all about. Only members with dues paid in full are admitted to subsequent meetings. Octagon Club dues are $5.00 per member. Dues are used to fund activities and projects like the Kansas Optimist Model Legislature. Dues also pay for special speakers and take care of general meeting expenses. The Octagon Club raises money with various fundraising activities and by operating the popcorn concession at home varsity football games, basketball games, and wrestling meets.

Before the second club meeting, Octagon membership is finalized. One of the first items of new business is to provide workers for the popcorn concession at the home games. A drawing is held to assign Octagon members to each event date on the calendar. Tournaments at home or unscheduled, special events may require additional drawings later in the school year. A small incentive and compensation is that if your name is drawn to work, your Octagon dues are refunded or you get credit for community service hours after you work at the popcorn concession.

Octagon Club Officers for 2009-2010

	Name of Officer	Duties
President	Cailyn Leistra	Preside at all meetings and ensure that parliamentary procedures are observed,
Vice-President	Cydney Looker	Assume the duties of president when necessary and serve as program chairperson to schedule and introduce guest speakers
Secretary	Brittany Mitchell	Keep records of membership, take meeting attendance, maintain and read minutes of meetings, and conduct club correspondence
Treasurer/Historian	Tristan Lutz	Organize collection of dues and report the treasury status at each meeting
Historian	Tristan Lutz	Make and update bulletin board exhibits, report club news to newspapers and school announcements, prepare an annual scrapbook or yearbook, keep copies of all bulletins, newsletters, newspaper articles, annual reports, etc. produced by the club.
Parliamentarian		Parliamentarian: when requested, give procedural advice to the President and to any other member; after each meeting, call the attention of the President to any errors in parliamentary procedure. Sergeant at Arms: record incidences of disorderly conduct for each meeting and submit the report to an Octagon sponsor.