Kansas Association for Youth

I was thrilled to be invited to speak at the Regional KAY Conference in Hill City.  I was an active member of my local KAY club while I was in High School.  I believe KAY can provide lots of important character building/leadership training.  I am so excited to be able to give back just a portion to an organization that impacted me so positively.

The website at:   http://www.kshsaa.org/Public/KAY/main.cfm says this about the organization.  "The Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) is a character-building, leadership-training, service program directed by the Kansas State High School Activities Association. This nationally acclaimed organization provides students an opportunity to learn to assume their citizenship responsibilities and to enrich their personalities through well-organized programs, projects and parties. Programs educate, inspire and direct members into carefully planned service projects. These projects emphasize four areas of service - school, community, nation and world."  I was speaking to the leaders of tomorrow (and possibly even today).  What a responsibility.  I believe greatly in the importance of my message and hope I communicated it effectively.



I remember back in March at the beginning of my year as Ms. Wheelchair Kansas 2013, I thought speaking 15-30 minutes was ideal.  Now, when told I had 20 minutes to fill, I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time.  :)  This year has definitely seen an increase in my passion about my platform and comfort discussing it.

These students received a condensed version of my platform speech so we would have time to put the lessons into practice.  When I spoke at the training for K-State Extension Officers in August, we discussed ways to add a kinesthetic portion to my presentation.  This was the first chance I had to try it out.  http://mwks13.blogspot.com/2013/09/training-to-take-back-home.html

I had the students make two circles.  Each circle had a ball the students were tossing back and forth to each other.  They were working through the alphabet thinking of something they were thankful for that began with each letter of the alphabet.  Whoever caught the ball named something for the next letter in the alphabet.  They did an amazing job and even though some letters require a bit more thought or create a few more giggles, they were able to quickly complete this exercise.  We even had time for them to look at my presentation boards, ask a few questions, and write in my thankful journal.  This may not be the age for asking questions, but it seems to be the age for thought-provoking journal entries.

Thankful thoughts for today:
Fleece leggings
Hot chocolate
Book It
Kansas Association for Youth
Multiple forms of communication
Watching learning occur before my eyes


"There is always, always, always something to be thankful for"
                                                         Author Unknown