At the annual Key Club District Convention and Leadership Conference (DCLC) held February 20-22, in Springfield, Illinois, Key Clubs from the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District met for a weekend of collaborating, attending workshops, voting for the 2026-2027 district officers, and sharing a love of volunteering.
Twenty-six members of the Pecatonica High School Key Club attended this year's conference along with their faculty advisor, Michelle Johnson.
Throughout the conference, the Pecatonica High School Key Club and several members won a variety of awards and received recognition for their volunteer work and fundraising efforts this past Key Club year, including:
Club Awards
• Distinguished Club - Diamond Recipient - Only one club is chosen for this award in the District each year. PHS Key Club will officially receive this International award in July at the 2026 Key Club International Convention in Austin, Texas.
• First place: Robert Hall Annual Achievement Award, recognizing the club for its service within the community, fundraising efforts, membership recruitment & retention, and more during the 2025-2026 Key Club year
Individual Awards
• Cunat Scholarship - Anna McLevige
• Distinguished President: Anna McLevige
• Distinguished Secretary: Addison Stender
• Distinguished Statistical Secretary: Trevor Buck
• Distinguished Senior: Renee Brown
• Distinguished Junior: Elena Salgado
• Distinguished Sophomore: Jordan Scroggins
• 100 Hour Award: Trevor Buck, Anna McLevige, Addison Stender
Seniors Trevor Buck and Josh Hagemeier competed in the talent show with a beautiful piano/vocal duet of Billy Joel’s “Vienna.”
Additionally, sophomore Paige Teague was elected in December to serve as the 2026-2027 Division 12 West Lieutenant Governor. She was officially installed at the Governor’s Breakfast on the last day of convention by former Pec Key Clubber Luisa Salgado. Paige will spend this Key Club year helping to lead seven area clubs by promoting service ideas and keeping the clubs connected with the I-I District and the Kiwanis family.
The Pecatonica High School Key Club, sponsored by the Lincoln Douglas Kiwanis Club of Freeport and Kiwanis Advisor Mary Arenson, meets each Tuesday during the school year from 2:45-3:15. The club will host its 9th annual Mr. Pecatonica High School fundraiser, this year in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities, on Saturday, March 7, at the high school at 6:30 P.M. Check out https://www.pecschools.com/page/key-club for more information about the club and their upcoming projects and fundraisers!
