COT Kickoff Event - August 2025

This year, the COT Kickoff Event was held on August 16th, 2025, at the University Park Public Library in Dallas, TX!

Fellow officers and alumni from around the state gathered to prepare their respective sectors and set goals and expectations for the year, bracing themselves as they jump right into the start of a new year of COT…and also to have a little fun!

First, as people arrived, the event began with general registration and introductions amongst the members themselves. There were some technical difficulties, so before the presentations, everyone participated in some fun little icebreakers to get to know each other better!

Then came the chapter summaries and officer introductions. COT sector teams and their respective presidents came up and introduced the sector, what they were in charge of, and also the goals they planned on achieving for the year. New officers got to introduce themselves, stating their names, grades, and what they’re most excited for this year. Veteran officers then came up and talked about some of their achievements and things to look forward to and be prepared for as COT officers. They referenced the DFWeCare Back-To-School event that COT hosted, which provided hundreds of kids with new school supplies for the upcoming school year, and also funny moments or unexpected problems they’ve experienced as veteran volunteers. Overall, this portion of the meeting was very productive; fellow officers were respective till the very end, and everyone who attended gained valuable knowledge to help lead COT!

Finally, with all the work done, officers were able to relax and have fun during the remainder of the kickoff. Food and drink were provided for everyone, and officers participated in a number of fun and interactive minigames to get them more comfortable with one another. The group played a game called Mafia, a game of mystery and betrayal. A narrator leads the flow of the game, assigning certain players to be special roles like “murderer,” “doctor,” and “sheriff,” with all other players being normal citizens. The goal for the murderers is to eliminate a citizen each night until they lack the numbers to win, and for everyone else to guess who the murderers are and vote them out before everyone is eliminated. This got everyone’s detective minds thinking, and also laughing, and everyone had lots of fun until the very end!

Before the meeting ended, officers and alumni got together to take some amazing groups photos (which can be found on this page and COT’s social media accounts) before cleaning up and saying some bittersweet goodbyes, marking the end of a successful 2025 COT Kickoff Event.