Leadership lessons learned at conference
By Eric Hamp

TRACK PLAN Houghton Lake High School junior Jordan Hilliard holds a sketch of a planned BMX track at Artesia Youth Park during a volunteer blitz Saturday. Looking at the plan are fellow Bobcats (right to left) Wayne Hyduk, Preston Palmer, Ben Boynton and Dan Edwards. The group was volunteering during the "Miles Across Michigan…Road to a Better Chapter" conference at HLHS and all also use the park to bike and skateboard. (RP)

Student leaders from Houghton Lake and across the state put their skills to work this past weekend at Houghton Lake High School.

During the fifth "Miles Across Michigan…Road to a Better Chapter" conference of the school year, roughly 100 students from 13 schools spent Friday and Saturday gaining skills and learning information they can disseminate when they return home. The Houghton Lake High School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter along with Student Leadership Services, Inc., of Waterford hosted the conference.

Students not only had a chance to take part in workshops ranging from self defense to driving skills to Internet safety and identity theft, they also had a chance to strengthen friendships formed at the four previous conferences.

FLYING AWAY In a ceremony comemorating 25 years of helping young people, Student Leadership Services Executive Director Pam Voss- Page releases the last of 25 white doves Saturday morning at Bobcat Field. The ceremony was part of a two-day event held at Houghton Lake High School. It was estimated that the doves would be back at Highland Loft White Dove Releases of Harbor Springs and Charlevoix in an hour and 1/2. (RP)

"It's so interesting to have best friends that go to school three hours away from us," said Sam Hanley of Warren Cousino High School.

Kristen Nelson, a senior at Grand Rapids West Catholic, said her chapter has held information sessions on seat belt safety and programs prior to the prom to remind students to make safe choices. Heather Guldner, secretary of the HLHS SADD, said her chapter also worked with students to take a pledge to be safe at prom and her group encourages students to make positive decisions.

PAINT-A-THON Sam Hanley of Warren Cousino High School paints the courtyard of the Artesia Youth Park Saturday afternoon as part of the community service component of the conference. Volunteers spent the afternoon sprucing up the park by painting, cleaning, planting and building. (RP)

"Learning how to be better leaders and teach how to make change is a theme as well," said Brandon Whitford of Vandercook Lake High School in Jackson.

Another theme is many of the students lead workshops and organize aspects of the conference.

"With all our different backgrounds, nothing is going to come up that we can't handle," Whitford said.

Following Friday night events that included keynote speaker Sabrina Jackson, a dinner served by the Houghton Lake High School Bobcat Cafe, workshops, a dance and little sleep according to many participants, the students started Saturday morning with a press conference and awards in the HLHS cafeteria. Awards of appreciation were given to several community members, including Joy Dengler of the Roscommon County United Way, representatives of the Houghton Lake school board Merry Maiani and Bill Burger, HLHS Principal Jack Kramer, HLHS Assistant Principal Sue Milner, Artesia Youth Park's JoJean Thompson, Superintendent Pete Injasoulian, Mary Fry and PJ Steeby of the Roscommon County Community Foundation and the St. Vincent dePaul Society.

Following a keynote speech from Richard Gallaspie, the students were treated to a white dove release to signify 25 years of SLS.

"We stay together and work together as one," Nelson said of the dove theme. "We're all trying to get to that one place."

They were released in groups on Bobcat Field with SLS Executive Director Pam Voss-Page releasing the 25th.

Following lunch and more workshops, the students put their leadership skills to the test as they performed community service work at Artesia Youth Park. The community service component has been a theme throughout the five conferences sponsored by SLS this year. Students have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, held a can drive, made public service announcements, created care packages for kids, wrote letters to middle schoolers about making good choices and held a billboard contest.

At Artesia Youth Park, the students descended on the park and got down and dirty. From painting to gardening to washing chairs and creating a BMX track, leaders were being developed "with rakes in their hands," according to Ward Bartlett, SADD advisor at Warren Cousino. He said the community service component of the conference "really builds relationships, not just muscles."

Behind the park, what once was a parking lot is being turned into a BMX track - designed and built by students with the help of volunteers.

Several students from Houghton Lake and other schools spent the afternoon raking and breaking up clay to form bumps, jumps and turns on the track.

"This is tough work," Eric Falker, youth group leader at Houghton Lake United Methodist Church, who was helping with the project. "Clay is not very friendly."

In addition to the estimated 100 students attending the conference, an additional 35- 40 HLHS students volunteered during the afternoon.

"It's been so fantastic," Houghton Lake SADD Advisor Lynn Gellerman said. "To see all these kids work together and have so much fun."

After finishing at the park, the students headed back to the school for dinner and then en masse to see "Iron Man" at the Pines Theatre followed by the closing of the conference.

Mick McGuire, who was named SLS Student of the Year on Saturday, said the conferences have been invaluable to him.

"I've improved my leadership skills dramatically," said the Warren Cousino senior who plans to study architecture at University of Detroit Mercy next fall. He said he now teaches workshops on accident prevention and being drug free to members of other chapters across the state and also works with students in his own school.

McGuire said the Houghton Lake conference had the "best" dance of the five conferences, noting that it was "insane." He also praised the hands-on community service work at Artesia and touched on a theme many of the students talked about throughout the day.

"It's awesome to know people from across the state. I'm going to know a lot of these people for years to come."