I am officially your new Michigan District Essay Chairperson and very excited! I want to go over the timeline with everyone. I’ve read through the District Planning Guide, I suggest you all read through the Club Planning Guide.
Here is the timeline for the District Contest:
September 1 – October 1, 2024: We are now allowed to start promoting prior to the October 1st date so that it coincides with school starting.
November 30, 2024: Deadline to notify District Chair of your Club’s participation and receive your Club Chairperson’s Rules packet (attached below).
January 31, 2025: Club contests end and essays are sent to judges according to the Club Rules packet.
February 28, 2025: FINAL deadline for all completed Club winner packets to be in the hands of the District Chair. Emailed packets will receive a prompt reply that their packet has been received and is complete (or advised if elements are missing). There are no exceptions to the deadline.
Last year there were the following changes:
- To keep the honesty and integrity of both the program and its winners intact, all District entries will be run through plagiarism and A.I. detection software. If you’ve worked with Sherri in the past, you’ll remember that we used Grammerly on your Club Winner entries. Therefore, ALL club winner’s packets need to be emailed in PDF or physically mailed. No FAX. No photos of the essays. (Photos of passports or Birth Certificates for winner’s age verification are still accepted.)
- Three scholarships will again be awarded: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. This year the Michigan District is joining many other Districts in charging $50 to each club that submits an entry. Payment is on the store page of the website. This will be used to fund the second and third place scholarships. OI funds the top winner with a $2500 scholarship, and we have been fortunate to have had the support of private donors for the $1500 and $1000 scholarships. Now we must pass that along to each of the participating clubs.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Essay@MichiganOptimists.org.
