Circle K International

CIrcle K International (CKI) is the largest student-run collegiate community service organization in the world, with over 14,000 members internationally. It is the collegiate branch of the Kiwanis Family, catering to students in higher learning institutions (college and universities).

History

In 1936, Jay N. Emerson, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Pullman, Washington, presented a plan to his club proposing that the Pullman Kiwanis Club purchase a house that could be rented to young men in need of assistance to attend the local college. The plan became a reality as the Kiwanians established the “Circle K House” at Washington State College. For ten years the "Circle K House" became affiliated with a Greek Letter Organization, Kappa Iota Phi,although it continued to be sponsored by the Pullman Kiwanis Club.

Eleven years later in 1947, Donald T. Forsythe, Trustee of Kiwanis International, aided in transitioning Circle K from a fraternity to a service-oriented organization. During September of that year, the first Circle K club similar to our present day organizations was chartered at Carthage College in Carthage, Illinois. (The college moved to its present-day location of Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1962).

In 1949, two more clubs were added, and by 1955 there were 147 clubs, at which point Circle K received official endorsement from Kiwanis International. Circle K International adopted the Kiwanians beliefs by establishing the three tenets of Service, Leadership, and Fellowship to bring a sense of purpose to the organization

As Circle K's structure adapted from being a fraternity, its purpose also changed. The organization established the following objectives:

To provide an opportunity for capable, ambitious, and worthy young men to acquire a college education by assisting them, where necessary, with their financial problems; by means of a scholarship fund, if available, or securing part-time employment.

To afford members a useful training in the social graces and the development of a well-rounded personality.

To promote good fellowship and high scholarship within the group.

To develop in the members a thinking and aggressive citizenship and the Kiwanis spirit of service for the improvement of all human relationships on the campus, in the community, state, and nation.

To aid the growth and development of other Circle K Clubs.

Circle K began as one man's dream to enable the success of local collegians and continued to grow as others began to believe in the concepts of Circle K and in the men who belonged to Circle K. Though Jay N. Emerson died June 12, 1947, before he could his dream become a reality, his vision of a collegiate-level, international youth organization will live on forever.

Transitioning From a Fraternity

For two years, the Carthage College Circle K Club existed alone. But on March 26, 1949, the University of Western Ontario became the second Circle K Club to charter. Carthage College and the University of Western Ontario were soon joined by the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute on May 13, 1949. Circle K gained momentum and grew rapidly throughout the United States; sixteen more clubs chartered in 1950.

With the formation of Circle K clubs, Kiwanis International established a Special Committee on Circle K Clubs in 1952. Andy Hodges of Carthage, Illinois, was appointed chairman of the committee. The committee brought about following changes in the objectives of Circle K:

To emphasize the advantages of the American way of life.
To provide educational opportunities for worthy young men.
To encourage participation in group activities.
To promote good fellowship and high scholarship.
To develop aggressive citizenship and the spirit of service for the improvement of all human relationships.
To afford useful training in the social graces and personality development.
To encourage and promote the following ideals:

- To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life.
- To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
- To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards.
- To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenship.
- To provide through Circle K Clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.
- To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, and patriotism and good will.

The motto of the organization became the same as that of Kiwanis International: "We Build."

By 1953, Circle K clubs were located at 57 different (upper level) institutions with a total membership of 1,425. During this time, discussion over the possible formation of an International Circle K organization began to increase. Chairman Hodges was able to arrange a meeting at the 1953 Kiwanis International Convention to discuss the formation of an International organization and to elect temporary officers for Circle K International.

Twenty-five Circle K members, representing fifteen clubs, along with several Kiwanis International Board members met June 22-24, 1953. At the end of the meeting, Kenneth B. Creasy from Ohio Wesleyan University emerged as the first President of Circle K. A full board, consisting of a Vice President, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, and eleven Trustees, was also elected to serve as the temporary officers of Circle K.

Although Circle K was moving closer to attaining International status, Circle K primarily remained a local Kiwanis activity at the urging of J. Frank McCabe, the Director of Key Club International. McCabe also handled the Circle K procedures at the Chicago General Office of Kiwanis International. His conservative stance allowed Circle K to develop a definite sense of direction and contributed greatly to a strong base of support from Kiwanis before becoming an International organization.

At the Kiwanis International Convention, held during May of 1954, an attempt was made by the Kiwanis Special Committee on Circle K Clubs to help Circle K gain recognition as an International organization. The attempt failed. However, a temporary Circle K organization was established as Circle K members prepared themselves for their first annual convention which was held October 17-19, 1954, at Carthage College.

One-hundred and fourteen members, representing 35 Circle K Clubs, attended the convention. After the elections, Eugene C. Alford, Jr., from Georgia Institute of Technology, was elected the second President of Circle K.

Under President Alford, Circle K had the first meeting of an International Board. In addition, Circle K experienced unbelievable growth under Alford's leadership. Three days after his election, President Alford sent the following resolution to the Kiwanis International Board as he attempted to establish Circle K International:

"The Board of Trustees of Kiwanis International recognizes the fact that a group of Circle K men met together at the Kiwanis International Convention in New York in June, 1953 and under the guidance of the Special International Committee on Circle K Clubs drew up a Constitution and Bylaws and set up an International organization. We further acknowledge that this organization is still working under the supervision of the Special International Committee on Circle K Clubs toward the goal of setting up a permanent organization in conjunction with the headquarters of Kiwanis and Key Club. It is the expectation of the Board that at such time as Circle K International becomes financially independent through the organization of more clubs and the strengthening of the present clubs that they will be granted official recognition by the Board of Trustees of Kiwanis International."

Kiwanis was still concerned that the organization could not stand on its own and desired a better definition of Circle K-Kiwanis relations. For these reasons, President Alford's resolution failed.

About this time, Kiwanis Trustee Richard B. Forde began to play an important role in Circle K's eventual International standing. In February of 1955, with Trustee Forde's assistance, Circle K President Alford met with the President of Kiwanis International, Donald E. Engdahl. The result of this meeting became public March 9, 1955.

"At a recent meeting of the International Board of Trustees, held in Washington, D.C., on February 18th and 19th, the following recommendation of the Board Committee on Kiwanis Youth Organizations was unanimously accepted:

Voted: That the present organization of Circle K Clubs receive International recognition and a charter from Kiwanis International at the Cleveland Convention, June of 1955, provided the International dues be $4.00 per member per year, and that a Constitution and Bylaws which have the approval of Kiwanis International be adopted."

Soon after the second annual Circle K Convention, held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, ballots were sent to the 140 Circle K Clubs of the United States and Canada. The ballots were to be used by the clubs in making a decision as to whether to accept or reject the proposed Constitution, Bylaws, and a membership dues to be paid to the International organization. The result of the ballots were as follows: 52 voted "yes", 27 voted "no", and 61 clubs abstained. With these results, the Board of Trustees of Kiwanis International voted to grant official international recognition to Circle K, October 23, 1955. The dream -- Circle K International -- had finally come true.

At the end of the Kiwanis International administrative year in 1955, there were 156 Circle K clubs, with a membership of about 3,000. The first club to officially affiliate with Circle K International was Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 14, 1955. By May 31, 1956, Circle K International consisted of 77 clubs throughout the United States and Canada. In addition to forming new clubs, Circle K International began publishing the official magazine of the organization...THE BULLETIN. To ensure a smooth-running organization, Kiwanis International appointed Fay H. McDonald to be the Director of Circle K International.

Growing Into the Largest Collegiate Service Organization

As Circle K International began to award charters to individual clubs, plans to form Circle K Districts began. By the summer of 1956 there were four unofficial Circle K Districts: California-Nevada-Hawaii, Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma, and Missouri-Arkansas. With the development of the unofficial Circle K Districts, the International Board was faced with another challenge which would eventually cause the International Board of Officers to clearly define their responsibilities as International Officers, since the Districts began to initiate their own programs for service, thus reducing the amount of direct contact between individual clubs and the International Board.

The Kiwanis International Board of Trustees accepted a proposal to allow the establishment of Circle K Districts on February 22, 1957. The very first Circle K District to be officially recognized was the Texas-Oklahoma District. The second Circle K District was Kentucky-Tennessee which was closely followed by Michigan. Four more Districts were added in the 1957-58 administrative year: Missouri-Arkansas, California-Nevada-Hawaii, Ohio, and Alabama.

By February, 1959, Circle K International had a total of 217 clubs with a combined membership of 4,413. Growth was also reflected in the addition of the New England District of Circle K International and the Ontario-Quebec-Maritime Circle K District which eventually became known as the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District. One year later, the Circle K Districts of Georgia, Florida, Illinois-Eastern Iowa, and West Virginia were established. By 1960, Circle K International had grown to 264 clubs with a total membership of 5,316.

Growth continued at a slow, steady pace until 1961, at which time there was a "New Club Rush" and 75 clubs were issued new charters. The Districts of New York, Capital, Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee, Utah-Idaho, Minnesota-Dakotas, and Indiana were petitioned and approved during the 1960-61 administration. The rapid rate of expansion continued through the 1962 administrative year as 88 new clubs were built and the Districts of Carolinas, Nebraska-Iowa, Southwest, Rocky Mountain, Pennsylvania, and Pacific Northwest became part of Circle K International. By May of 1962, Circle K had a membership of 7,700 and 402 clubs throughout the United States and Canada.

Circle K International continued to change and mature with the increasing membership. Once again, to adapt to these changes the objectives of Circle K International were revised to read:

To emphasize the advantages of the American-Canadian way of life;
To provide an opportunity for leadership training in service;
To serve on the campus and in the community;
To cooperate with the administrative officers of the educational institutions of which the clubs are a part;
To encourage participation in group activities;
To promote good fellowship and high scholarship;
To develop aggressive citizenship and the spirit of service for improvement of all human relationships;
To afford useful training in the social graces and personality development.

Circle K International also continued to promote the original ideals of the organization as listed previously.

By 1964, Circle K had become the largest collegiate service organization on American and Canadian college campuses. Membership had topped the 10,000 member mark. Another milestone in Circle K history was also reached as Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, became home to the 500th Circle K Club to be chartered by Circle K International. In addition to being the largest collegiate service organization, Circle K became the fastest growing collegiate service organization on the North American continent with a membership of over 12,000 in 600 clubs during the 1964-65 administrative year.

The Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District was officially established during the 1963 administrative year and was followed in 1964 by the New Jersey District. Montana became an official Circle K District in 1965. By 1965, the tremendous growth that Circle K had experienced during the first ten years began to slow. The 60's on American college campuses were symbolic of unrest. Despite the campus unrest, 30 Circle K Districts were established and still exist today. Unfortunately, by the end of December, 1965, 178 charters of the 954 charters issued had been revoked over the years and many more would soon meet the same fate.

Milestones of Progress

In 1971, delegates at the International Convention voted to allow women into the organization. The move was initially met with resistance by Kiwanis, which must approve all changes to the Circle K governing documents. After nearly two years of debate, the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees approved the change on February 6, 1973 and Circle K became the first co-ed organization in the Kiwanis Family. In 1984, Susan E. McClernon was elected the first female International President of Circle K International.

In 1975, Gregory Faulkner from the New York District was elected to the position of International President. Faulkner was the first African-American International President. Faulkner's election and the admission of female members was symbolic of the new level of maturity and responsibility Circle K International had assumed over 20 years of service, growth and development.

At the International Convention in 1987, the delegates approved the use of the initials CKI as an official name of the organization. That same year, Kiwanis International voted to allow women into Kiwanis clubs. Key Club had gone co-ed in 1977.

As of the end of 2005, membership consisted of over 13,250 college students in 17 nations around the world. Most of the Circle K membership currently resides in North America, in 30 (of 31) Districts recognized by Kiwanis International. Twenty-seven districts are entirely within the United States, while four districts are international representing Canada and the Caribbean. These three Districts are the Pacific Northwest (made up of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and the Canadian province of British Columbia and Yukon Territory), Western Canada (Alberta and Manitoba), Eastern Canada, and the Caribbean. Districts-in-Formation exist in Taiwan, Australia, and the Pacific Rim.

Circle K International celebrated its 50th anniversary at the 2005 International Convention in Greensboro, North Carolina. The International Convention's theme was, "CKI's 50th Anniversary: 50 Never Looked So Good".

Organization

Circle K International operates in many campuses internationally. Each club will have an executive board of officers, which includes the club president.

Several clubs in a geographic location will constitute one division. Each division is represented by a Lieutenant Governor , who must come from a club in that area.

Several divisions in one area will constitute a district. In the United States, district lines are typically determined by state lines or by combining several states (example: the Carolinas District consists of North Carolina and South Carolina). These district lines coincide with Kiwanis International district lines.

It is important to note that while many districts have a division-system, some districts instead use a club representative system, with no Lieutenant Governors. However, each district is operated by a District Governor and several District Officers.

Currently, the CKI International Board consists the International President, International Vice President, and five International Trustee representatives. Each Trustee is assigned between 5-6 districts that they work closely with, helping to bridge the gap between the international, district, and club layers of CKI. As of September, 2025, there are 29 active districts within CKI.

Tenets

CKI follows three tenets:

Pledge

"I pledge to uphold the objects of Circle K International, to foster compassion and goodwill towards others through service and leadership, to develop my abilities and the abilities of all people, and to dedicate myself towards the realization of mankind's potential"