Riley - Texas State Leadership Conference

It was great to return to Texas to attend the State Leadership Conference. This is a conference that the state officers host, and is attended by the 72 area officers from the state, and the incoming state officer team.

A Congrats goes out to the current state officer team, Tommy, Trevor, Mai Lee, Macy, Rachel, Amanda, James, Dean, Matt, and Lora on such a good conference. Good luck to the incoming state officers, Katie, Miles, Ali, Aron, Jeremiah, Layton, Tyler, Dakota, Kaleb, and Kody, you will do an amazing job this next year.

From the moment the conference started it was a blast! The members were participating in writing their own skits that can be used in the chapter program of activities, attending workshops on subjects ranging from conference planning to speech and workshop development, have panel discussions on leadership, and even doing a little community service.

I gave a workshop for the students on their potential impact for the next year. It was great to work with the area officers and get their insight as to what they would like to accomplish over the next year.

We also had a unique opportunity as trainers from the Soderquist Center on Leadership and Ethics came down to present a workshop on the role of values in leadership. It was a fun time as we were carrying buckets of water with many strings attached, walking across a "lava flow" with boards, and doing a little robot use in the communication workshop. The Soderquist Center is an amazing organization and it was great to work with their facilitators.

Throughout the conference the officer teams presented vespers programs, etiquette training, and gave some recreation time. During recreation, a group of us got together for a game of Ultimate Frisbee! It was so much fun playing with the state officers, area officers, and even a state staff member. Also during recreation time I found a dog that loves to play tether ball! It was fun, he was good. Check out the video to see!

I am extremely excited about the officers in Texas this next year. Each one of them has a heart for service, and a mind to work. Good luck to each one of you, you will be able to impact many lives over this next year.

The road travels on as I head to the South Carolina State Convention.

Until Next Time!

Riley