Contests and Awards at DCON highlight all of the fantastic work each member has achieved over the past year and showcase the incredible talents of members and clubs! Submissions for 2026 are now OPEN and any digital submissions may be submitted through this form until 5 pm Friday, March 13th OR brought to the District Leadership Conference and submitted upon arrival along with any Non-Digital Submissions (outside of Distinguished Club Officer Submissions). 

For any questions not answered below or via the linked documentation, please contact contests@minndakkeyclub.org. 

Club Contests / Awards: 

• Annual Achievement Report (Distinguished Club)

  • What is it / How to Apply: The Distinguished Club Award recognizes individual Key Clubs for their overall performance in the combined areas of club administration, membership and leadership development, Kiwanis family involvement, service, and fundraising as judged against a pre-established standard of excellence based on club size. Each Key Club is required to complete and submit this the report either in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference or electronically via the form above regardless of attendance at the conference. 

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Club Article Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: The Club Article Award goes to any club who has written / submitted 4 or more articles to the District Bulletin Editor to be added to a District Newsletter based on the outlined criteria below. There is no formal form to include in a submission process, rather articles must be sent throughout the year before the specified due date. 

  • Additional Information on this Award Available Here

• Monthly Report Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: More information coming soon! There is no formal submission process, rather this award is based on how many Monthly Report Forms (MRFs) were submitted on time throughout the year. 

• Major Emphasis Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: The Major Emphasis Award is given to the Key Club that has produced, through its unselfish efforts, the best Major Emphasis Project of the year. Any project completed on a local scale according to the theme of “Children: Their Future, Our Focus” shall be considered a Major Emphasis project. One winner in the district contest will be eligible for entry in the international competition. Submissions may be made either in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference or electronically via the form above regardless of attendance at the conference.

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Member Recruitment Poster Contest (Digital OR Non-Digital)

  • What is it / How to Apply: The poster (Digital or Non-Digital) should be designed to recruit new members for Key Club. The first-place winners from both the Non-Digital and Digital Member Recruitment Poster Contests from every Key Club district will be eligible to compete in the international contest. Digital Submissions may be submitted via the form above OR during check in at our District Leadership Conference, Non-Digital Submissions should be submitted during check in at our District Leadership Conference as well. 

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Scrapbook / Year in Review (Digital OR Non-Digital)

  • What is it / How to Apply: The year in review contest is designed to showcase each club’s hard work and dedication during the Key Club year. The contest is split between traditional and digital scrapbooks. Each scrapbook must be divided into these six categories: service to school; service to community; fundraising projects; Kiwanis family interaction; Major Emphasis involvement; and miscellaneous. (The Major Emphasis theme is Children: Their Future, Our Focus.). 

  • First and Second place winners in each category will be eligible to compete in the international contest. Digital Submissions may be submitted via the form above OR during check in at our District Leadership Conference, Non-Digital Submissions should be submitted during check in at our District Leadership Conference as well. 

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Signature Project Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: Signature projects are service projects of fundraisers that a club conducts at least annually — and for which it has become known in its community and on campus.  A project must occur annually for the past three to five years.* (Clubs that have recently started a new project that will recur, or conducted a one-time project, should consider entering our “Single Service” or “Major Emphasis” contests). Submissions should be made directly through the link below and should NOT be submitted through the MinnDak District. 

  • Additional Information / Submission Site available Here

• Single Service Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: The Single Service Award program recognizes individual Key Clubs for their single best service project. A qualifying single service project shall be defined as a club service project that is planned, organized and produced by the Key Club that occurs on a single day, occurs on consecutive days or recurs on different days. Projects acceptable for this award may include both hands- on service projects and fundraising efforts. A recurring project must be one project that is repeated for the purpose of achieving the same service goal. Submissions may be made either in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference or electronically via the form above regardless of attendance at the conference.

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Video Contest

  • What is it / How to Apply: The video promotional contest encourages Key Clubs to create and submit a video that promotes Key Club International as an organization and/or a Key Club within its respective school/community. The first-place promotional video winners from each Key Club district will be eligible to compete in the international contest. Submissions may be made either in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference or electronically via the form above regardless of attendance at the conference.

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here 

Key Club Member Contests / Awards: 

• Distinguished Club Officers

  • What is it / How to Apply: Club Presidents, Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers, Publicists/Webmasters are all eligible for an award for their respective Club Officer Position. For 2026, Submissions must be made via a physical binder that is mailed in before the District Leadership Conference. To receive this award a club officer must earn the total specified number of points across various categories. You do NOT need to be present at the District Leadership Conference in order to apply for / receive this award, and recipients will be honored during Saturday night's Governor's Banquet. 

  • The linked form and all items related to it must be sent to the individual designated on the Distinguished Officer Information Form by 02/13/25. This sheet must be the first sheet in your binder. You must provide proof for each category to achieve the points. The binder must be organized in the order specified. Please provide tabs to speed judging and to ensure credit is given for meeting the criteria. Failure to meet the above requirements will result in loss of points or disqualification.

President Form to fill out and Include with Submission
Vice President Form to fill out and Include with Submission
Secretary Form to fill out and Include with Submission
Treasurer Form to fill out and Include with Submission
Publicist/Webmaster Form to fill out and Include with Submission 

• Governor’s Service Award

  • What is it / How to Apply: The Governor’s Service Award is a tiered reward program in which, upon completion of a designated number of volunteer service hours, one is eligible to receive an award based on the number of hours they completed. To be eligible for this award, a student must be a Key Club International Member in good standing, not be a club or district officer, met the hour requirements for one of the tiers within the past 12 month period, and attend the District Leadership Conference in 2026. Submissions may be made electronically via the form above or in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference. 

  • Additional Information Available Here 

  • Link to hour tracking template (save a copy and edit that to use for your submission)

• Oratory Contest

  • What is it / How to Apply: Each orator must focus on the annual topic as identified by Key Club International and must be a Key Club Member in good standing. They will be allowed a maximum of five (5) minutes for their entry. District Level winners may be eligible for the international talent show at the International Convention in July. 

  • 2026 Oratory Topic: "Servant leadership: Leading by lifting others"

    • Leadership has the greatest impact when leaders serve and empower other people. As Key Club moves into a new century of service and leadership, we invite you to reflect upon your personal journey. How has your understanding of leadership shifted through the act of empowering others? In what ways has lifting others challenged, changed, or deepened your own sense of leadership?

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Sign Up Available Here

• Sandy Nininger Award

  • What is it / How to Nominate: Former Key Clubber Sandy Nininger died a hero's death at the Battle of Bataan, only one month after the United States entered World War II. His courageous actions during the first few days of fighting may have changed the entire course of the war in the Pacific. Congress honored Sandy by posthumously awarding him the Congressional Medal of Honor. In memory of Sandy's legacy, the Sandy Nininger Award is presented to any Key Clubber who has distinguished himself/herself by making the most of his/her opportunities - disregarding any school average or group standard. The award recognizes individuals in terms of their own abilities and weaknesses, opportunities, and lack of opportunity and is the highest honor an individual Key Club Member can receive within Key Club International. 

    • To be eligible for this award, the nominee must be a high school senior member of Key Club in good standing with both the District and International offices. The nominator must be a Kiwanis Family member that is NOT the individual being nominated (e.g. you can't nominate yourself). 

    • A 300 word essay explaining how the nominee exemplifies the merits and ideals of the Sandy Nininger Award must be included along with the submission form. Submissions may be made electronically via the form above or in person during check in at the District Leadership Conference. 

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Submission Available Here

• Talent Contest

  • What is it / How to Apply: Each act has up to 5 minutes to perform their selected talent. All entries shall be in good taste and appropriate to the standards set by the Objects of Key Club International. All participants in an act must be members of a Key Club in good standing with Key Club International. District Level winners may be eligible for the international talent show at the International Convention in July. 

  • If anyone from your club wishes to compete, they should sign up either in advance via the form above or in person upon arrival at District Leadership Conference. 

  • Additional Information / Form to fill out and Include with Sign Up Available Here

• Tom P. Horan Award

  • What is it / How to Nominate: The Tom P. Horan Distinguished Member Award is used to recognize an outstanding member who has gone above and beyond the call of duty.  Our aim is to award someone whose achievements have gone unrecognized but were not unappreciated.  Please review the criteria carefully and select members who are worthy of being recognized.  The award is based on the activities and achievements of the past administrative year.  

  • In order to nominate a Key Club member for this award, a club president or Kiwanis/Faculty advisor, or school official should submit the application plus an essay of 500 words or less explaining why the individual deserves to be recognized.  

  • Each club may only nominate two members each year.  The Lieutenant Governor from your corresponding division will use the following criteria and the essay to pick one winner (per division).  Winners from all divisions will be recognized at District Convention.

  • Additional Information / Form to Fill Out and Include with Submission Available Here

Adult Contests / Awards:

• Crzy Mary Bowen Creativity in Leadership Award

  • What is it / How to Nominate: There are very few people in this world who selflessly throw themselves into their work the way our Crzy Mary does. She works endlessly and selflessly to better our organization. She is truly an inspiration to Key Club members and adults alike.

    • It is because of her tireless efforts, enthusiasm, and creativity that we have created the “Crzy Mary Bowen Creativity in Leadership Award” to be given to adults who go above and beyond in inspiring others to join Kiwanis, work with Key Clubs, go crazy in front of others, and motivate students to join Key Club.

  • Anyone can nominate an adult in the Minnesota-Dakotas District for this honor, please submit a 300 to 500 word essay explaining how he or she has contributed greatly to the Kiwanis Family and why he or she deserves this award via the Google Form above. Entrees will be judged by the Minn-Dak District Key Club Board.  The top of your entry should include the name of the individual being nominated, the affiliated Key Club / Kiwanis Club as applicable, and the name of the person who is submitting the nomination (this information does NOT count towards the essay's word count requirements). 

• Gold Key

  • What is it / How to Nominate: The Gold Key is the highest award that can be given by the District to an adult who has made a significant contribution of effort and/or time to Key Club. Selection by the District Board is based on service to the Minnesota - Dakotas District of Key Club International. This is not necessarily an annual award. Any winner or winners will be announced at the District Convention and will be presented the Gold Key plaque and lapel pin.

    • Please submit an essay of approximately 300 words  via the Google Form above. The top of your entry should include the name of the individual being nominated, the affiliated Key Club / Kiwanis Club as applicable, and the name of the person who is submitting the nomination (this information does NOT count towards the essay's word count requirements).

• Outstanding Advisor

  • What is it / How to Nominate: Please write 300 words or less in support of the nomination. The nomination letter must be typed and submitted by a member of the K-Family. Selection by the District Board is based on service to the Minnesota - Dakotas District of Key Club International. It must be submitted via the form above by no later than February 13th, 2026. 

    • Your nomination may be submitted via the Google Form above. Entrees will be judged by the Minn-Dak District Key Club Board.  the top of your entry should include the name of the individual being nominated, the affiliated Key Club / Kiwanis Club as applicable, if the nominee is a Faculty or Kiwanis Advisor, and the name of the person who is submitting the nomination (this information does NOT count towards the essay's word count requirements).