Cochrane youth interested in sharpening their leadership skills are encouraged to apply to take part in an annual conference that seeks to connect young leaders of tomorrow with Rotary members of today.
The Cochrane Rotary Club is now accepting applications from area students who are seeking to sharpen their leadership skills by attending the 2014 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference (RYLA) in Canmore May 8-11.
“A lot of folks aren’t always aware of these opportunities and that’s what we strive for as a Rotary Club – creating awareness,” explained local club president, Tom Wilk, adding that he has seen a lot of positivity during his 13 years of helping youth attend the annual event through the service club.
Cochrane youth must be 14-18 years of age and attend one of the four area high schools: Bow Valley, Cochrane High, Springbank High or St. Timothy High.
“Successful participants will be invited to a Rotary breakfast meeting to meet the club, and following the experience we will invite them to return and let us know about the experience,” said club member, Julian deCocq.
“We will be looking at getting the schools to help us with the selection process – if we could send at least four or five kids, that would be our target,” said deCocq.
The local service club will foot the bill for each of the selected participants – including accommodation, meals, the RYLA program, social activities and all supplies.
The goal of the RYLA conference is to: “demonstrate Rotary’s respect and concern for our youth; provide an effective training experience for selected youth leaders; encourage leadership of youth by youth; recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities; empower the youth leaders of tomorrow to take action.”
Wilk said the conference also addresses key issues such as how to deal with stress faced by youth, how to cope with challenges such as alcohol and drugs and financial responsibility, adding that themes discussed at the conference are often not part of regular school curriculum.
Students can pick up an application form from their school guidance counselors at the participating high schools.
