From the left: Lauren Baker, German Lizaola, Zac Hernandez, EL Gedney, Mallory
Seyboldt and Riley Hannah
Ione and Plymouth Foothill Rotary Clubs joined forces for the 5th year to send
Eight Grade students to Rotary District 5190's Leadership camp at Grizzly
Creek Ranch near Portola, CA
 
For the last five years the Ione and Plymouth Rotary Club's have joined together to sponsor five or six students, selected by the teachers and administrators of Ione Middle School, to attend a three day leadership training program near Portola in Northern California. The program goal is to select a core group of young men and women who have exhibited strong leadership skills among their peers at school. Once at the camp the groups are divided so that no two students from the same school are in the same work nor in the same group or cabin. Within minutes of arrival these students must learn to meet, evaluate, and begin trusting total strangers with their own personal stories. Within the first 12 hours these potential leaders begin to realize that events that have shaped their lives, positively and negatively, may be very similar to those of the strangers standing next to them. Over the next two and a half days trust's are built and friend's are made while learning skills of team building that they will take back to their homes and schools. One of the chief goals of this program is for the core teams of five to each enlist at least three of their friends to help in a voluntary service for their community; in turn those three or more will similarly each enlist three others and so on.
Amador's Up Country Rotary has a similar program with Jackson Middle School and others may join in the future.
           Here are the Students with their proud parents and their school Principal Jessica Dorris on the far left: