Bucktail Leadership Begins Activities
RENOVO – The eighth year of the Bucktail Youth Leadership Program started with an evening informational session with parents and students at the Renovo Fire Hall. The various activities and expectations of the program were reviewed. Bobbie Jo Simcox led the parents and students through several communication exercises in an effort to demonstrate the art of building on personal information to facilitate general conversation. This year’s class includes: Shiane Acor, Karen Bunsick, Treavor Burrows, Danielle Green, Aaliyah McGowan, Sylvia Moore, Benjamin Probert, and Elliot Probst.
The next morning the sophomores visited the Wayne Township Landfill facility and met with Thresa Lingenfelter, Environmental Coordinator. Ms. Lingenfelter provided a tour of the Landfill, including the new landfill operation. The students learned that 1,500 tons of garbage can be deposited each day, and that at the current rate in 40 years the Landfill will no longer be able to accept additional waste. The cost of disposal of household waste could possibly be four times as much than what is paid today for removal of garbage each month to another location. The students visited the Recycling Center at the Landfill facility and learned that a bale of aluminum cans weighs approximately 800 pounds and contains more than 19,000 cans. It is helpful and more cost effective to separate the various plastics to compact into a bale. The students learned that cardboard is only the corrugated kind, and that other material (such as cereal boxes) is simply paperboard. Recycling efforts reduce the amount of waste going into the Landfill and provides a small income to continue providing services to the community. The students also viewed the region’s first CNG station and the wood grinding area which makes landscape mulch. The students learned that the Landfill is committed to reducing, reusing, recycling, and managing our community’s waste. Ms. Lingenfelter shared with the students three desirable leadership skills: 1. When dealing with a new situation, look at the desirable end result to know where you are heading; 2. Be open to new ideas – everyone at the table has a different perspective and it is important to hear and incorporate the best of all ideas; and 3. Give back to your community, and look for ways to recycle to save your environment.
For the afternoon session, the students remained at the Landfill Conference Room and participated in communication and team building activities. The students were divided into three teams and were charged with constructing a shoe holder (resulting in some very interesting inventions) and each student also presented a speech on a significant event in their lives before they were eight years old.
The Bucktail Youth Leadership Program is coordinated by Bobbie Jo Simcox and Gwen Bechdel as an activity club at Bucktail High School. Financial support for the program is provided by the Leadership Clinton County Alumni and private donations. The mission of the program is to provide educational experiences to help develop awareness in the areas of community, culture, and government. Each session throughout the nine-month program includes a focus on leadership building, communication, and other life skills activities, and a public speaking component is assigned each time. The students are expected to gain a better understanding of the society in which they live, realize their own wealth of abilities and interests, and demonstrate how their involvement can impact their communities.
