The list of things to be thankful for this time of year is endless, but the amount of space I have here is not…so I will be brief. At the top of the list are the people that work every week with the Leaders at the local YMCA. The Club Advisors are a key part in the story that is BRLS. While the school is amazing, it is but one week in the lives of the teens and would not be possible without the advisors keeping them engaged in making themselves, and the Y programs, better. In fact, this newsletter is aimed at making their jobs just a bit easier, their toolbox just a bit more robust.

A few of the things happening in the upcoming month to make BRLS ’17 the best it can be is the Honor Leader Retreat. These 8 dedicated young people will give up a weekend of their holiday season to learn more about how the school operates and help shape the upcoming edition.

Also, there is a team of folks working to launch a brand new, redesigned and re-purposed website. We will be seeking your input on the website in the 1st quarter as we will constantly update the content. While this is going on, we have a team of experts reviewing the fitness test and we will evolve this aspect of the school based upon their input as well as what our surveys told us about the impact the test is having back home at the Y.

And last but in no way least, we are excited to be helping several new YMCA’s launch a leaders club program of their own. We hope to have many new associations attend this year with their first leaders! Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana all have clubs in various stages of development so the outlook for the coming years is bright.

These are just a few of the things that I am thankful for and can’t wait to enjoy some turkey and pumpkin pie (you can keep the cranberry sauce, however).

Greg Hall
YMCA Blue Ridge Leaders School
greghall@yblueridge.org