Youth Enjoy Leadership Conference

Youth from Scott County and the surrounding counties learned skills to take back to their schools, clubs and churches to make their communities a better place at the second annual Southern Indiana Youth Conference (SIYC). The event was hosted by the Scott County Youth Grantmaking Council (YGC), a group of students who learn about philanthropy and leadership. Participants stayed overnight at Country Lake Christian Retreat, a beautiful 200-acre campus on a 16-acre lake in Underwood. The theme of the event was “Now is your time to lead.”

Participants were separated into middle and high school groups, and held icebreaker activities. They attended sessions on public speaking, volunteering, leadership and fundraising. Guest speakers included State Rep. Terry Goodin and former NFL referee Dale Orem.

The youth also enjoyed spending time in the outdoors playing sports and games, water activities, a bonfire and completing obstacles in a low-ropes course. For their service project, they wrote letters to Indiana Army National Guard soldiers who are currently serving in Afghanistan.

“John F. Kennedy once said, ‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other,’” said YGC Vice President Isaiah Turner. “This conference taught valuable skills to youth to help them become better leaders today as well as skills to build on to be great leaders in the future. I believe everyone that attended this conference had a great time bettering their leadership skills and meeting new people. I might also add that it was just plain fun! Thanks to everyone who helped make this conference a success.”

The Scott County Youth Grantmaking Council would like to thank the following people and organizations for making this event possible. Sponsors of the event were the Boswell Family, Centra Credit Union, Dale and Rosemarie Hobbs, the Kiwanis Club of Scottsburg, Martin Insurance Agency, Peacock Crop Insurance Agency, Scott County State Bank, Sunshine House Health Food Store, the Toppe family, the Turner family, and Walmart Distribution Center.

Giveaways for participants were donated by the Indiana Army National Guard, Scott County 4-H Council, Scott County Community Foundation, United Way of Scott County and Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana

The session speakers included Cindy Lohr, a teacher at Scottsburg Middle School; Shane Stuber, the assistant vice president for advancement and volunteers at Hosparus; Jene Bridgewater, the executive director of Scott County Partnership; and Jeremy Toppe, a chief warrant officer with the Indiana Army National Guard.

Pictures of the conference can be viewed on the Facebook group page, “Southern Indiana Youth Conference.” For more information on the Scott County Youth Grantmaking Council, please call 752-2057, email info@scottcountyfoundation.org or visit the website at www.scottcountyfoundation.org/youthcouncil.htm.