Senior Carly Norman joined Key Club her freshman year, hoping to gain volunteer hours for a Bright Futures scholarship. Soon after joining, Norman “quickly fell in love with helping others and it didn’t even feel like volunteering anymore.” What had originally been a plan to join a club for some volunteer hours turned into a lifestyle for Norman, who eventually gained over 440 volunteer hours with the club, 340 more hours than needed for the highest scholarship Bright Futures has to offer. She also was elected to Vice President of the club in her junior year, and was elected the club President this year.

DCON, also known as the District Education and Leadership Conference, is the annual conference Key Club holds to elect district officers, train club members and officers, and present individual club awards for dedication to service. At the 81st DCON, Carly was recognized as Key Clubber of the Year, an award that is given to the individual that goes above and beyond what a key clubber’s call to service is. Only one person wins this award every year, and this is the second time a Key Club president from Wiregrass has won the award, Elizabeth O’Shay winning the previous year. The advisor of the Wiregrass Key Club, Gerard Sukhram, believes he knows why Norman received the award.

“She’s really been dedicated to Key Club for the past four years, and the successes she’s helped our club come to as a vice president and president were probably a huge factor for her,” Sukhram explained.

Norman was not sure how to react in the moment, but recalls it as one of the best moments of her life.

“Winning this award filled me with so much joy. I was so touched by the support from my club, and it was truly a moment I’ll never forget,” Norman said.

Sukhram has known Norman since she joined Key Club, and has watched her grow from a mere member to a leader of over 200 members in the club. He is always impressed by her ability to lead and energize the club.

“She is a fantastic leader because of the energy and charisma she brings to the club. She is always excited about upcoming events, and that attitude seems to transmit to the general membership when they get excited too,” Sukhram said.

Norman plans to attend the University of Central Florida in the fall, and will study physical therapy in hopes of becoming a physical therapist. She also looks to join CKI, the college equivalent of Key Club. To those who question why she’ll continue to volunteer even though she’s not in school anymore, she has an answer.

“Volunteering is something I genuinely enjoy doing and want to do more of,” Norman said.