Gold Country MLC Bulletin #4

At last week's meeting, we met and spoke with the Grass Valley and Nevada City mayors (Lisa Swarthout and Reinette Senum, respectively), learned about some leadership opportunities, broke into bill groups, and identified this year's Gold Country Delegation Values (Advocacy, Grit, and Growth Mindset).

Thank you, those who joined us at CapCo Field Day! It's meaningful for all when we can show up to team-build and have fun together. 

At the next meeting: We'll be hosting Forest Charter teacher Michelle Ogaidi, who will be talking to us about Time Management! She'll be our last guest speaker for awhile because we need to focus on our bills. Bring your bill group's bill idea! We're going to get to work! Oh yes... we also will be choosing our delegation sweatshirt design.

What's due: Sweatshirt Design Ideas; Leadership Candidate and Applicant Decisions (FINAL CALL)

Now Officially Overdue: Payment #1 (but please pay online or bring cash/check if you haven't paid yet)

Here's what you need to know this week:

1.) Sweatshirt Designs: This year, out sweatshirts will be gold. Sweatshirt design ideas are due this week. Bring your design ideas this week--remember, no more than two colors, please, and black and white count as colors! We'll be choosing our design during the first 15 minutes of our meeting so don't be late!

2.) Leadership Opportunities: There are lots of elected and appointed leadership opportunities in Y&G, both statewide and within various program.  As discussed last week, everyone is qualified for multiple opportunities - check this chart to see what you can run or apply for!. Check out this information on elected/appointed positions. We HIGHLY encourage everyone to take a chance and apply or run for offices available to you! Applications are available in Reggo (click here for info on how to access applications). Leadership apps are due in Reggo by 6pm on Thursday, October 3!

3.) Bills, Bills, Bills: It's time to start preparing in earnest for our Bill Hearing Night, which will be Monday, October 28. Last week we formed Bill Groups by topic of interest. They are:

• Environment: Anni, Sabine, Zayo
• Food Waste Reduction: Mia, Nalasia
• Homelessness: Ethan, Jihada, Skyler

Please come to the meeting with an idea of what your group's bill will do! Remember, there are lots of resources available! A bill is a proposed law. Laws are how we set expectations for others in our society, show our values, solve problems, or make life better for all citizens. When you're coming up with a bill idea, think about it in terms of what problem you'd like to solve. To review some available resources:

• Here's what a finished bill looks like, so you know what you're making. 
• Watch this video about how to start the bill idea and bill research process. 
• Watch this video about the 4 basic kinds of legislation our State Legislature can consider. 
• Review this Bill Worksheet - these are the basic questions you'll need to answer about your bill by Bill Hearing Night.
• Want to know all the current laws? Here they are! (Get to know this site, which is a bill author's best friend!) 

We'll take time at our upcoming meeting to cement your bill idea (if needed) and start penciling in the answers to the questions on the Bill Worksheet (linked above).

4.) Gold Country's Delegation Values: While Gold Country continues to be guided by the YMCA values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility, this year we are going to focus on Advocacy, Grit, and Growth Mindset! What do these values mean to you? How can we act upon them?

REMINDERS

Looking for info? Have a question? Check out the delegation contact info list. 

Current Events: You can't set good policy if you don't know what's going on in your community, the state, the country, and the world. Check out the "Get Informed" reading link list in Bulletin #2.

Financial Aid: Financial assistance is available and information and applications are available in the paperwork packet. We cannot emphasize this enough: financial concerns should NEVER prevent a delegate from participating in Y&G. Don't ghost! Talk to your lead advisor if financial concerns ever arise. 

Family Corner: 

Enjoy this photo of (about 2/3 of the) Capital Coalition, taken at yesterday's Field Day! And here's one of Gold Country's representatives at the occasion.

S'moresfest Tickets Are Still Available!! Sponsor opportunities are still available, too. As a thank you to our Y&G families for their support, you can use the promo code THANKYOU2019 to get tickets at the early bird price!

Helpful Links:

Missed a bulletin?

Need to make a payment?

Looking for forms or handouts?

Mark your calendars:

October 12 - S'moresfest 2019 YMCA Fundraising Gala (sign up here)

October 18 - Second Payment Due

Oct 23 - Practice Bill Hearing Night

October 28 (Monday) - Mandatory Bill Hearing Night, 6:30-8pm (GV City Hall)

November 9-11 - Training & Elections Conference I (bus to Fresno)

Nov. 15, 2019 - Third Payment Due

December 13, 2019 - Fourth and Final Payment Due

January 18-20, 2020 -Training and Elections 2 Conference (bus to Fresno)
February 13-17, 2020 -72nd Model Legislature & Court (Sacramento)

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.

Sac Central Delegation Bulletin #4

At last week's meeting, we broke into bill groups and started discussing our bill ideas. This week, you'll need to be prepared to narrow down your list to one bill idea that you'll work on throughout October and present at Bill Hearing Night.

At the next meeting: We'll take a quick break from bills to talk about our delegation values for this year. We'll be thinking about how we want to be known in Y&G and develop our delegation motto. We also will be choosing our delegation sweatshirt design!  
What's due: Sweatshirt Design Ideas; Leadership Candidate and Applicant Decisions
Now Officially Overdue: Conference registration. 

Here's what you need to know this week:

1.) Mandatory Meeting This Week: This week is our most important meeting of the year: the one where we will set our Delegation Values for this year. We'll decide together what's most important to us and how we want to be known statewide. Make sure you're there.

UPDATED: To prepare, take a moment to check out these two recent news stories:

• E. Dotson Wilson To Retire as Chief Clerk of the California Assembly (the whole interview is very interesting, but make sure to listen from the 15-20 minute marks) 
• Pittsburgh Synagogue Gets Help From Neighboring Church 1 Year After Deadly Shooting.

2.) Sweatshirt Designs: This year, out sweatshirts will be gold. Sweatshirt design ideas are due this week. Here is an album of previous shirt designs. Bring your design ideas this week! We'll be choosing during the first 15 minutes of our meeting so don't be late!

3.) Leadership Opportunities: There are lots of elected and appointed leadership opportunities in Y&G, both statewide and within various program.  Everyone is qualified for multiple opportunities - check this chart to see what you can run or apply for!. Check out this information on elected/appointed positions. We HIGHLY encourage everyone to take a chance and apply or run for offices available to you! Applications are already available in Reggo (click here for info on how to access applications). Leadership apps are due in Reggo by 6pm on Wednesday, October 2!

4.) Bills, Bills, Bills: Last week we formed Bill Groups. They are:

• Carenna, Trisha, Liam, Aaron
• James, Mitchell, Jimmy, Conner
• Miraya, Jenni Kathina, Priya

While we won't spend much time on bills this week, keep up your bill work! There are lots of resources available! Remember, a bill is a proposed law. Laws are how we set expectations for others in our society, show our values, solve problems, or make life better for all citizens. When you're coming up with a bill idea, think about it in terms of what problem you'd like to solve.

• Here's what a finished bill looks like, so you know what you're making. 
• Watch this video about how to start the bill idea and bill research process. 
• Watch this video about the 4 basic kinds of legislation our State Legislature can consider. 
• Review this Bill Worksheet - these are the basic questions you'll need to answer about your bill by Bill Hearing Night. (Those questions should sound familiar after last week's presentation!) 
• Want to know all the current laws? Here they are! (Get to know this site, it's a bill author's best friend!) 

By the October 9, your group needs to have picked a bill topic and started sketching out the answers to the questions on the Bill Worksheet, linked above.

REMINDERS

Looking for info? Have a question? Check out the delegation contact info list.

Current Events: You can't set good policy if you don't know what's going on in your community, the state, the country, and the world. Check out the suggested reading link list in last week's bulletin.

Financial Aid: Financial assistance is available and information and applications are available in the paperwork packet. We cannot emphasize this enough: financial concerns should NEVER prevent a delegate from participating in Y&G. Don't ghost! Talk to your lead advisor if financial concerns ever arise. 

Family Corner: 

S'moresfest Tickets Are Still Available!! Sponsor opportunities are still available, too. As a thank you to our families for their support - you can use the promo code THANKYOU2019 to get tickets at the early bird price!

Helpful Links:

Missed a bulletin?

Need to make a payment?

Looking for forms or handouts?
Who We Are?

Mark your calendars:

October 2 - Mandatory Values Meeting
October 12 - S'moresfest 2019 (sign up here)
October 18 - Payment 2 Due
Oct 23 - Practice Bill Hearing Night
October 30 - Mandatory Bill Hearing Night
November 9-11 - Training & Elections Conference I

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.

2019-20 El Dorado Youth and Government Delegation Bulletin #6

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

1.) Bills, Bills, Bills! The bill develop process is now in full swing. Please spend this week finalizing ideas for your family's bill idea. Below are some steps you can take to develop your bill idea:

• Watch this video about how to start the bill idea and bill research process. 
• Watch this video about the 4 basic kinds of legislation our State Legislature can consider. 
• Complete Family Bill Worksheets - these are the basic questions your family will need to answer about your bill by Bill Hearing Night. (Those questions should sound familiar after last week's presentation!) We will be working on these in the meeting on Thursday.
• Want to know all the current laws? Here they are! (Get to know this site, it's a bill author's best friend!) 

Bill hearing night has been moved up to Oct 24, so time is of the essence! Family leaders and advisors are there to help you with your bill. Use them as a resource! 

2.) CapCo Field Day is This Saturday (10am-3pm)! Saturday, September 28: 10am-3pm, Sacramento Central YMCA (2021 W Street) is our annual CapCo field day! Lunch, activities, and t-shirt! This is a chance to meet delegates from our sister delegations in Sacramento and Grass Valley and spend more time getting to know each other before our first conference in November. There is no longer a cost to participate in Field Day. If you need to change your attendance status, please let me know by Thursday. 

3.) 2019-20 El Dorado Delegation Sweatshirt Designs:  The call for this year's El Dorado sweatshirt designs is now open! Please submit your sweatshirt designs to this google drive folder as a PDF. All designs need to incorporate the El Dorado delegation name and be Y-appropriate (no drug, alcohol, or offensive designs). I have included some previous design ideas in the folder for reference. Please make the designs no more than two colors as we have to pay more for additional colors in the design. Submit your designs by Oct 3, 2019.

4.) Statewide Elected/Appointed Leadership Opportunities: Interested in running or applying for a statewide position? Please do! Take a look at what the leadership opportunities are in the various program areas. Here is a link to the descriptions for each office. If you are a returner, encourage people to apply/run! If you are planning on doing this, email me before Oct 3. We need to see how many people would like to run for office to determine who will be able to run at conference. Let me know if you have questions. 

Parent Corner

- Join us for S'moresfest 2019! Each year, the YMCA's fall fundraising gala provides us with the opportunity to meet fellow YMCA supporters as we eat BBQ and gourmet s'mores, drink beer and wine, and shoot arrows. (Yes, all of that happens). Parents are invited for a great date night out for a great cause. Early bird tickets are just $50 each and are on sale now! Sponsor opportunities are still available. And we're still on the lookout for a last couple of live-auction packages. If you have a vacation home or an interesting job/connection/idea for a behind the scenes tour or experience, contact Derek today! 

- Bill Hearing Night Date Change: After speaking with the delegates, officers, and advisors, I have decided to move Bill Hearing Night up one week to Thursday Oct. 24th to remove the conflict with Halloween. (Apparently most of the delegation and advisors care more about Halloween than I do, whoops!) Please make a note of this so you can mark your calendars to attend. 

As always, thank you for reading and I will see you on Thursday!

Derek Dolfie

Lead Advisor/Delegation Dad

El Dorado Delegation

Helpful Links:
Missed a bulletin?

Need to make a payment?

Question about the Sacramento Central YMCA?

Question about CalYMCA?

Want to know how many points you have?

Want to know which family you are in?

Mark your calendars for these key events!

Sept. 28, 2019 - Capitol Coalition Field Day (Sacramento)

October 12, 2019 - Smoresfest 2019 YMCA Fundraising Gala (Sacramento)  

Oct. 18, 2019 -Second Payment Due

Oct. 24, 2019 -Bill Hearing Night -Open to Friends and Family (Oak Ridge)

November 9-11, 2019 -Training and Elections 1 Conference (Fresno)

Nov. 15, 2019 -Third Payment Due

December 13, 2019 -Fourth and Final Payment Due

January 18-20, 2020 -Training and Elections 2 Conference (Fresno)
February 13-17, 2020 -72nd Model Legislature & Court (Sacramento)

Gold Country MLC Bulletin #3

Thank you to those of you who came out on Saturday to help clean up Deer Creek! We sure saved a lot of trash from polluting the Yuba River Watershed. Nicely done. In case you missed it, enjoy the attached photo taken at the event. [check your email for the photo!]

At the last meeting, Nevada County Judge Tom Anderson spoke with us about how the court system works to enforce laws. The Courts program of Y&G closely mirrors the California court system and features Bench and Jury Trials, along with Appellate and Supreme Court programs.

At the next meeting: We'll be talking about our values, hearing from our local mayors, and kicking off the bill development process!

What's due: Political Parties Ranking Sheet (new delegates only)

Now officially overdue: Delegation Registration, paperwork, payment 1, conference registration. 

Here's what you need to know this week:

1.) Field Day is Saturday, September 28: 10am-3pm, Sacramento Central YMCA (2021 W Street). You'll get lunch, activities, and a CapCo t-shirt! If you haven't RSVP'ed yet, PLEASE do so at bit.ly/falleventsignup. As of right now I have received the following RSVPs: Ethan, Jihada, Mia, Nalasia, Skyler. If you would like to come but aren't listed, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY TOMORROW (MONDAY) so that we can be sure you get a t-shirt.

2.) 2019-20 Gold Country Delegation Sweatshirt Designs:  The call for this year's GoldCo sweatshirt designs is now open! Please submit your sweatshirt designs by bringing them to the 10/3 meeting. All designs need to incorporate the Gold Country delegation name, show up well on GOLD sweatshirts, and be Y-appropriate (no drug, alcohol, or offensive designs).Please make the designs no more than two colors to keep costs down (white and black count as colors).

2a.) We will dedicate fifteen minutes of this week's meeting to deciding together what's most important to us and how we want to be known statewide. This discussion will lead to our identifying our three delegation values together, values which will be displayed on the back of our sweatshirt.  

3.) T&E I Leadership Applications & Descriptions: Elected Leadership applications for the 72nd Training & Elections 1 are available in Reggo now. Registrations are due by Thursday, October 3rd. Click here for instructions on how to access leadership forms in Reggo. You may submit up to one application each for elected leadership, appointed leadership, and an appointed program. 

MLC leadership position descriptions can be found here for elected and here for appointed. A "quick view" of all positions can be found here--pay special attention to those needing application prior to T&E-I. 

Those serious about leadership positions, please review the rules here. IF YOU INTEND TO RUN OR APPLY, PLEASE LET ME (MJ) KNOW ASAP.  

New This Year! Forum (Freshman) Committee Chairpersons will apply via an application in Reggo, and the application is open now. 

4.) Next Guest Speakers: At this coming meeting, we'll be hosting TWO guest speakers: the mayors of Grass Valley (Lisa Swarthout) and Nevada City (Reinette Senum)! They'll be talking about great ways to make a difference locally in your areas of interest.

5.) Bills, Bills, Bills! At the last meeting, we split into three bill groups with preliminary focus areas: (1) Homelessness, (2) Food Waste Reduction, and (3) Environment.

If you missed the meeting, rest assured that nothing was set in stone. You should join the bill group that most closely matches what you want to change about California policy, and then you'll have a chance to contribute to the discussion about identifying a bill topic. Hopefully we'll have bill groups of even sizes, so if you don't know yet what you want to do, keeping yourself open to go where you're needed is just dandy. 

Please spend this week thinking of bill ideas. The California State Legislature

adjourned last Friday with many bills failing to pass. Check out bills that did not pass this year at the California Legislative Information site to use as potential inspiration for your bill. Bring your bill idea to this week's meeting to discuss further with group. Remember, there are two criteria for a good bill idea: 1) It cannot be existing law, and 2) It has to pertain to California (no federal bills).

You'll want to bring ANY bill ideas, no matter how loosely formed, to the meeting. Here are the videos and handouts from our past few meetings, in case you could use a refresher:

• Watch this video about how to start the bill idea and bill research process. 
• Watch this video about the 4 basic kinds of legislation our State Legislature can consider. 
• Review this Bill Worksheet - these are the basic questions you'll need to answer about your bill by Bill Hearing Night (October 28). 

REMINDERS

Current Events: You can't set good policy if you don't know what's going on in your community, the state, the country, and the world. Check out the suggested reading link list in last week's bulletin. 

Financial Aid: Financial assistance is available and information and applications are available in the paperwork packet. We cannot emphasize this enough: financial concerns should NEVER prevent a delegate from participating in Y&G. Don't ghost! Talk to your lead advisor or Dylan (see email for phone number) if financial concerns ever arise. 

Parent Corner

EARLY BIRD TICKET PRICING ENDS MONDAY NIGHT! Join us for S'moresfest 2019! Each year, the YMCA's fall fundraising gala provides us with the opportunity to meet fellow YMCA supporters as we eat BBQ and gourmet s'mores, drink beer and wine, and shoot arrows. (Yes, all of that happens). Parents are invited for a great date night out for a great cause. Early bird tickets are just $50 each and are on sale now! Sponsor opportunities are still available. And we're still on the lookout for a last couple of live-auction packages. If you have a vacation home or an interesting job/connection/idea for a behind the scenes tour or experience, contact MaryJane today! 

-MaryJane

Lead Advisor

Helpful Links:
Missed a bulletin?

Need to make a payment?

Looking for forms or handouts?

Mark your calendars!

Sept. 28, 2019 - Capitol Coalition Field Day (Sacramento/(sign up here))

October 12, 2019 - S'moresfest 2019 YMCA Fundraising Gala (Sacramento/sign up here to volunteer)  

Oct. 18, 2019 -Second Payment Due

Oct. 28, 2019 -Bill Hearing Night - Open to Friends and Family (Grass Valley City Hall)

November 9-11, 2019 -Training and Elections 1 Conference (Fresno)

Nov. 15, 2019 - Third Payment Due

December 13, 2019 - Fourth and Final Payment Due

January 18-20, 2020 -Training and Elections 2 Conference (Fresno)
February 13-17, 2020 -72nd Model Legislature & Court (Sacramento)

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.