Barry Chisholm of New Hampshire, U.S., and Brian Egger of Washington, U.S., receive Key Club’s highest honor.

By Julie Saetre 

Two volunteers for Key Club International recently received the organization’s highest recognition award, the Key of Honor. Barry Chisholm of New Hampshire, U.S., and Brian Egger of Washington, U.S., were recognized for their lifelong positive impact upon youth in general and Key Club specifically. 

The Key Club International Board presented Chisholm and Egger with their Key of Honor awards at the 2024 Key Club International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., in July. 

Barry Chisholm
Chisholm has served as an advisor for the Kennett High School Key Club in Conway, New Hampshire, U.S., since 2006. He first served as the club’s faculty advisor when he joined Kennett in 2006 as a special education teacher, after a lengthy career in the United States Air Force. Chisholm retired from Kennett in 2011 and then became an advisor representing the Key Club’s sponsor, the Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley, North Conway, of which he is a member. 

A highlight of Chisholm’s Key Club experience is his involvement with Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine, U.S. Camp Sunshine provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening diseases and their immediate families. Chisholm has taken Key Club members to camp sessions annually since he became a club advisor in 2006, stopping only during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, he received a “6 Who Care” award from News Center Maine for his work with Camp Sunshine. 

Molly DellaValla, 2023-24 president of the Kennett Hight School Key Club, wrote the letter of nomination for Chisholm.  

“As both a teacher and a Key Club advisor, his dedication is unparalleled, marking two decades of relentless efforts to foster a culture of compassion and community engagement among our students,” she wrote. “No one has done more to improve the lives of our youth than Barry Chisholm. 

“Under his guidance, the Kennett High School Key Club has achieved outstanding milestones, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for dozens of charitable causes domestically and internationally, and orchestrating countless hours of community service to innumerable beneficiaries. … Under his guidance, we’ve received over 100 awards from Key Club International and several Governor’s Commendations for Excellence in Service and Leadership.” 

Chisholm is the first Key of Honor recipient from New Hampshire in 70 years. He was nominated by his Key Club student members and fellow advisors. Their nomination packet featured nine letters of recommendation, including one each from the School Administrative Unit #9 school system’s superintendent and assistant superintendent. 

“As a graduate and Key Club member in Kennett High School in 2000, I can speak directly to the impact the club has had, and continues to have, on the world,” wrote Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Aimee Frechette. “The club’s history is profound, and it continues to be one of the most recognized, decorated and active clubs in the region and beyond. Barry Chisholm has been humbly at the forefront of these accolades for the past 20 years, and he deserves the highest recognition.” 

Brian Egger
Egger has served as the district administrator for Key Club’s Pacific Northwest District since 2015. He also serves as a director on the Kiwanis Youth Programs Board. 

“In my capacity as international president, I have never seen an individual dedicate so much to youth within our organization,” 2023-24 Key Club International President Kyle Hanson wrote in his nomination letter for Egger. “He goes well beyond his capacity in any position to ensure students are taken care of and get what they need to succeed in Key Club.” 

Egger’s nomination package included 20 letters of recommendation from former Key Club members, governors of the Key Club Pacific Northwest District, Kiwanis family members beyond the district and others.

J. Scott Johnson, administrator for the Key Club Carolinas District, wrote one of those letters.

“As a member of the Kiwanis family since 1979, I have been privileged to know hundreds of Kiwanis members involved with serving the children of the world,” Johnson wrote. “Most of them have a true desire to help others, but only a select few truly give of their time to help our organization grow and prosper. An even smaller handful of people give unselfishly to not only improve the organization, but to positively influence the young people that are involved in it. One of those people is Brian Egger. I stake my reputation as a past Key of Honor recipient and 32-year district administrator that you will find no nominee more deserving of this award.”

Egger first joined Key Club in 1999, when he became a member of the Westview High School Key Club in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S. During his time as a Key Club member, he held the titles of club president, lieutenant governor and district convention chair.

His involvement with the Kiwanis family continued at Williamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he became a district lieutenant governor of Circle K International. As the lieutenant governor, he built a new CKI chapter at Oregon State University, served as district governor for CKI’s Pacific Northwest District and was the Circle K International president in 2005-06.

Egger joined the Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C., in 2009. Upon moving to Seattle, Washington, U.S., he joined the Cascadia Kiwanis Club, and in early 2024 chartered the Kiwanis Club of Greater Seattle. The new club’s sole focus is supporting Pacific Northwest District Key Clubs that don’t have a sponsoring Kiwanis club.

Egger works as a senior analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which has driven him to evaluate many government programs that affect students and military families. He currently leads a team evaluating the performances of several child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program.