Zone 7 has recently added a new member to its extensive family. However, this new addition is no ordinary Key Clubber. The member does not attend a school, does not live in Florida, nor does she eat anything but sweet, delicious grass. The obvious question to follow such an introduction would be, “Who on God’s green earth is this member?”. Her name is Lola, and she is a llama. The entire idea for Lola started the Sunday morning of DCON at the first official Board Meeting of the 2009-2010 District Board where the idea was raised to bring a mascot to Zone 7, to represent the zone’s values, ideals, and principles upon which to conduct Key Club affairs. Numerous animals were thrown out to take the incredibly difficult job of symbolizing Zone 7, but none truly embodied the spirit of the zone like that of the llama. So, it was decided that Zone 7 would find a way to donate a llama, and adapt that animal as their representing character. The llama at first may appear grotesque, smelly, and disheveled; upon closer inspection, however, one finds an animal that completely surrounds itself in a life of service. By passing a collection hat around at three DCM’s, Lola was donated to a family in the Andes Mountains through an organization called the Heifer Project. This is not your ordinary gift. The family, upon receiving the gift, immediately became one of the richest families in the village, being able to use Lola’s fur and milk as a prized trading commodity in the local market. And when Lola has children, those beautiful baby llamas will be donated to other poor families in the surrounding area. It is easy to see why Zone 7 chose such a commonly passed over animal. Lola’s very life revolved around serving her owners: giving her fur, milk, and acting as a pack animal whenever needed. Such a life based around service through dedication and hard work summed up the true ideals of Zone 7, and she serves today as their proud representative. Through one simple donation to the Heifer Project, Zone 7 was able to make this world just a little bit better, and in the process got an amazingly awesome mascot.