Sac Central Delegation Bulletin #19: Opportunity Abounds

We hope you're getting some well-earned post conference rest this week. Your advisors are so proud of your work this weekend! It sounds like most of you met or exceeded your personal goals. Start thinking about your goals for Sac Conference - it'll be here before you know it! Reminder: Keep your Delegation of Distinction lanyard in a safe place and remember to bring it to Sac Conference! 

1.) Meeting Schedule: There's no meeting this week. We have only two meetings left, in fact:

• Wednesday, January 30: Possible guest speaker; Sac Attire review; Delegation Elections
• Wednesday, February 6: Pre-Conference Meeting; Mandatory for all delegates and a parent/family member.
• Wednesday, February 13: No meeting

2.) Post-Conference Survey: CalYMCA emailed a link to their post-conference survey yesterday afternoon. Please look for that email and complete the survey ASAP.  If you cannot find the email, click here to complete the survey, but make sure you correctly select our delegation. This counts towards Delegation of Distinction. 

3.) Annual Campaign: Last week, we discussed the Sacramento Central YMCA Annual Campaign. Now is the time to speak with your family, friends, and network about supporting your work as a delegate and the Y's work in our community. Our Coalition giving page is here and a paper pledge form can be found here. To qualify for the first-to-100% and most-raised competitions, your gift or pledge must be received by Friday, February 1! 

BREAKING NEWS: We have our first Donor Match event of the Campaign. Donations received on the CapCo page between now and Friday, January 25, will be matched dollar for dollar up to $500! That means your donation is twice as powerful this week! 

4.) Delegation Elections: Last week, we sent out Elections information  This Wednesday, January 23 is the deadline to file to run for an officer position. Elections will be held at next week's meeting (1/30) and the Swearing-In Ceremony will be held at the Annual Celebration Banquet on February 27.

We will elect officers in the following order: President, Vice President, Secretary, Sgt-at-arms, Chaplain, and Media Manager. You may run for more than one office but you must complete the form for each office you wish to seek and you must be prepared to answer questions about why you are specifically interested in each office and qualified for it. The officer positions after President carry equal "power" and none is less than the others. No officer position should be viewed as a fall-back option. Each needs to be filled by a delegate dedicated to executing the duties of that particular office. You are encouraged to file only for the position in which you want to serve. There are other ways to lead and help the delegation outside the officer team as well.

Candidates will have 2 min and 30 seconds to deliver their candidate speech at our January 30 meeting. Delegates may ask candidates questions. Within your speech you must answer one of these specific questions regarding the position for which you are running:

• President: How will you encourage delegates to build friendships throughout the delegation and ensure that we have an inclusive delegation culture? 
• Vice President: What one thing would you implement next year that would improve the bill development experience for delegates? 
• Secretary: What concrete steps will you take to motivate delegates to read their emails and messages and meet deadlines? 
• Sergeant-At-Arms: Rather than waiting to yell "decorum" when the delegation is already rowdy, what steps will  you take as Sgt-at-Arms to encourage and maintain decorum from the start?
• Chaplain: Give an example of a typical invocation that you would deliver at next year's delegation meetings. 
• Media Manager: How can the role of Media Manager help us recruit more delegates? 

4.) Third Annual CapCo Celebration Banquet - Save the Date!: Our annual Celebration Banquet will take place on Wednesday, February 27, 2019 from 6:15-8:00pm at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Rancho Cordova. Tickets are now available here: https://capcobanquet2019.brownpapertickets.com/ Sales end February 20.

REMINDERS:

Additional Y&G Applied Programs and Opportunities: A range of other Y&G programs and opportunities are currently available for application. All apps are available in your Reggo account. Please contact me if you have additional questions about any of these opportunities.

• MUN Secretariat: MUN is our Model United Nations program for middle school students. MLC delegates have the opportunity to attend MUN Conferences as Secretariats - role models and helpers for the younger generation. For more information, please click here. Applications are available in Reggo. Due January 31. Financial aid is available, click here. (You must submit the application directly to CalYMCA. Transportation may be available with our MUN delegations if there is space.) 
• Conference on National Affairs (CONA): CONA is a ten-day national Y&G program that brings together delegations from all over the US for an NIC-style debate program. Twenty-five delegates from California are selected for this prestigious program. More information can be found here. Financial aid is available through CalYMCA if you are selected. Apply in Reggo. Due: February 1. NOTE: A lead advisor recommendation is required and must be requested no later than February 1. 
• CalYMCA Governing Board, Youth Member: Applications are now open for youth member spots on the CalYMCA Governing Board. In this role you represent your fellow delegates with a vote on the Board of Directors that makes important policy decisions about our programs. This is a very important position with a lot of responsibility and the power to have a lasting impact on Y&G. Requires quarterly meeting attendance. Travel provided by CalYMCA. Apply in Reggo. Due: February 1
• YMCA175: we are waiting on some additional information before we know whether a Sacramento Central Delegation to this London conference is possible. In the meantime, if you are interested in this program, please apply for the Y&G Delegation via Reggo. Due: February 1

You must notify me if you apply for any of these programs so that I can approve your application. Failure to let me know means your application won't be considered by CalYMCA.

If you apply for special programs, make sure that you read your email regularly between now and the conference and review the conference schedule when it is released next week to check for interview times and locations or other requirements.

Parent Corner

- Sac Conference Meals: Unlike our first two conferences, our final conference includes only 2 provided meals (Friday and Sunday night dinners). Delegates are responsible for all other meals. We generally recommend a budget of $100 per delegate, depending on their appetite. Delegates are highly encouraged to bring non-perishable breakfast items (instant oatmeal, fruit, granola bars) to save on costs and time in the morning. If the meal budget for the conference presents a financial hardship, contact your lead advisor ASAP. No one will be allowed to go hungry during the conference. 

- Sac Conference Attendance: Sac Conference is Feb 14-18 and constitutes an excused absence from school under the Education Code. I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you again that regular season sports or other regular, predictable, or recurring events (like homework or tests) do not constitute valid excuses for missing any part of Sac Conference. Exceptions will only be granted on a case-by-case basis for special circumstances (like state championships, meetings with the pope or president, that sort of thing). 

It may seem like no big deal to pop out for a couple of hours, but your advisors are responsible for knowing the whereabouts of 140 people at all times and tracking delegate location when every one is at conference is tricky enough. Y&G is also preparing delegates for real life in that, in life, sometimes you have to make tough choices about what activities to prioritize. 

We thank you for respecting this policy and helping us ensure a safe and positive experience for all delegates.

-Verizon & Remind: Last week, you received an email about Remind text messaging no longer working with Verizon phones. While it looks like the parties are making some progress towards a resolution, if you are a Verizon customer, please consider calling or tweeting Verizon to ask them to reconsider until we receive word that Remind will continue to serve Verizon customers. For more information, please click here. 

-Model United Nations Returns to Sac Central YMCA! This week sees the return of the Model Legislature & Court's companion program for middle school students (grades 6-8) to the Sacramento area. It's been a few years since we have been able to offer the Model United Nations program and we're so excited to bring it back! If you have a middle school student at home or have friends with children in that age group, please pass along our flyer, brochure, and an invitation to attend our meetings each Tuesday evening from 6:15-7:30pm at the Tahoe Park Community Center (5959) 8th Avenue). Registration is now open!

Sac Central Delegation Stands For Respect, Responsibility, and Purpose

Helpful Links:

Missed a bulletin?

Need to make a payment?

Looking for forms or handouts?

Mark your calendars:
January 19-31: Capitol Coalition Annual Campaign (Give online or return this form)

January 23, 2019: No meeting
January 30, 2019: Delegation Elections
February 6, 2019: Mandatory pre-conference meeting

February 13, 2019: No meeting

February 14-18, 2019: 71st Model Legislature & Court, Sacramento
February 27, 2019: Third Annual CapCo Celebration Banquet, Old Spaghetti Factory, Rancho Cordova

We are committed to equal program access for all and are dedicated to ensuring the benefits of Y&G are available to every student in our community without regard to financial need. No delegate should ever drop out or refrain from joining because of financial concerns. If you want to do this program, we want you to do this program.