CLEVELAND, Tenn. (Aug. 19, 2009)—Twenty-four high school juniors and seniors recently attended a leadership retreat to kick off the eighth year of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership program. The twenty-four students—four from Bradley Central, 10 from Cleveland and 10 from Walker Valley High Schools—were selected a few months ago to be a part of this program.

The Youth Leadership program encompasses eight months and gives the students opportunities to learn about our local economy, heritage and tourism, city and county services, health and human services, and a day in Nashville to learn about state government.

For the third year, the retreat began at the Chamber of Commerce with a challenging presentation of the Five Ways to Develop Leadership Qualities by Lee University professor and former professional tennis player Kay McDaniel.

McDaniel spoke to the students about the importance of honesty and integrity, emphasizing that they “do right, always.” She told them how in life they could “win through losing,” not by giving up but by continuing to try when they lose. In addition, she encouraged them to “give your life away” by finding ways to serve others and to lead by living a life of service.

Next on the day’s agenda were activities to help the 24 students get to know each other and learn about students from the other high schools.

“This is important because these students will be spending time together over the next year and forming some lasting friendships,” Sherry Crye, coordinator of the Youth Leadership program, said. “We want them to learn cooperation with all three high schools.”

Before the retreat the students were required to read Ed Gerety’s book Combinations: Opening the Door to Student Leadership. Crye and Bernadette Douglas, the Chamber’s executive vice president, led the students in discussions of the six leadership qualities covered in the book: gratitude, attitude, goals, respect, kindness and belief.

“The students were challenged to discover and learn the combinations that will help open the door to student leadership,” Crye explained. “These are principles that will empower them to lead with character, make positive choices, and take action toward their goals and dreams.”

Students also spent time at Cleveland State Community College with Jason Sewell, director of student life and leadership, who led them in activities that required critical thinking skills, creative thinking, and team building and leadership. Sewell serves on the Youth Leadership Steering Committee and has been involved with the Youth Leadership program for several years.

Sewell used Tinkertoys to challenge the students to think outside the box, using problem solving skills and team participation to build Tinkertoy “Towers of Triumph.” Crye and Douglas challenged the students to learn the importance of time spent planning for a project, as well as the time spent completing a project, by working with Lego® bricks to build “Lego Man.”

“Both of these activities helped the students learn the importance of working as a team, using everyone’s strengths and making good decisions,” Crye noted.

The program coordinator continued, “We try to gear all the activities and discussions during the retreat toward giving the students an opportunity to recognize some of their leadership skills and build on those while also having fun.

“Most of the students already exhibit leadership qualities. We hope the Youth Leadership program will strengthen them as leaders in their schools now and begin the process of preparing them to be future leaders in Cleveland and Bradley County.”

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