HISTORY OF CIRCLE K - A LOOK AT INTERNATIONALIZATION |
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The first Circle K Club outside of the North American continent was organized in January of 1970 at the American College of Switzerland in Leysin, Switzerland. The sponsoring Kiwanis Club was the Alcoa, Tennessee Kiwanis Club. A club was established in Monterrey, Mexico, during 1971. Unfortunately, neither of these clubs received official charters, nor were they incorporated into an existing District of Circle K International.
The first club to be officially chartered outside of the United States and Canada was the College of the Bahamas on April 25, 1977. A fourth nation joined Circle K International on October 27, 1977, when Mico College of Jamaica was chartered. Circle K International extended into a fifth nation with the chartering of a Circle K Club at the University of Suriname, South America, which became part of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District of Circle K International. Mexico became the sixth nation in Circle K International when the Circle K Club of Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon in Tijuana was chartered May 2, 1980. The Tijuana Club was assigned to the California-Nevada-Hawaii District. With the addition of several nations and continued growth by existing clubs, Circle K's membership grew to 13,000 by the end of 1980. In 1985 Barbados became the 7th nation of Circle K International as the University of West Indies, Barbados, was chartered. Affiliate clubs were chartered in Ghana and the Philippines during the 1984-85 administrative year. The affiliate status program was implemented in 1987. This program was designed to allow collegians outside the original 30 districts the opportunity to build Circle K clubs. These clubs were not given the same privileges of membership, such as voting rights, as regular status Circle K clubs, nor did they pay individual member dues; they paid an annual affiliate status fee. Affiliate status clubs were able to use the Circle K name and they did receive general mailings from Circle K International, and a few issues of each edition of Circle K Magazine. The first affiliate status club was the Circle K Club of Del Caribe in Columbia on April 5, 1989. In Columbia, three other affiliate status clubs were chartered in 1989 and 1990. In 1990, Costa Rica became the second affiliate status nation, followed by Korea, Panama, and Venezuela in 1993; and the Philippines and Mexico in 1994. In 1995, the Circle K International Board and Kiwanis International Board approved a targeted international expansion plan for Circle K. This plan was developed to enable Circle K International to strategically target its expansion efforts based on Kiwanis support, match of the educational system to Circle K International structure, translation needs, cost feasibility of expansion, and expressed interest in the Circle K program in each nation. Targeted expansion will enable the organization to utilize its resources wisely and adequately prepare to successfully expand into a nation. With the implementation of this plan, the affiliate status program was eliminated. Now clubs formed outside the original thirty districts will be formed as "non-districted" clubs. They will receive all of the same rights and privileges of membership as districted Circle K clubs. In 1995 expansion efforts are targeted for the Philippines. In 1997, expansion efforts will be targeted in the Andean and Central America District of Kiwanis International, and in 1999, expansion will be targeted in Korea. |
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GROWING INTO THE LARGEST COLLEGIATE SERVICE ORGANIZATION | MILESTONES OF PROGRESS | SERVICE A LOOK AT INTERNATIONALIZATION | CONCLUSION | OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES CIRCLE K INTERNATIONAL THEME and EMPHASIS PROGRAMS | SERVICE INITIATIVE DISTRICT'S OFFICIAL CHARTER DATES CIRCLE OF SERVICE RECIPIENTS | CIRCLE K INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CITIES and THEMES |
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Copyright © 2003 THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY CIRCLE K CLUB PULLMAN, WASHINGTON Website Created by D. McInnes January 2003 |
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