"A leader's job is to make more leaders."
This week we'll wrap up courts and then it's on to final conference preparation! Don't forget we have back-to-back weekend meet-ups on Sunday, Feb 28 and Saturday, March 6 - Sunday, March 7. We only have 3 regular meetings left this year!
Officer Elections - DUE FEB 17: It's your turn to lead - YES, YOU! The candidate filing form for delegation officers is now open. Click here to review the expectations for all officers and the duties for each position. If you have any fears about being a candidate, put those to the side. This is the safest place to try running for office, the friendliest audience to make a speech in front of, and the best family to lead into next year! Go for it :)
Op-Ed Contest: Win yourself a prize by trying your hand at Op-Ed writing. Use the tips available from the Op-Ed Project to write an op-ed on a topic that's timely and important to you and you may find yourself with a sweet Starbucks card. Entries must be received by11:59pm on Friday, February 19, 2021 via bit.ly/norcaloped
Advocates & Legislators: Have you checked in with the chair for the policy committee in which you serve/committee in which your author serves to ask them to set you bill for hearing? You better! They are working on agendas now so the time to advocate is now. Hearing agendas will be out by Feb 16 - don't miss your chance!
Bill Hearing Script: Legislators, Firms, and Analysts should start getting comfortable with thebill hearing script we'll be using for subcommittee and committee hearings on February 28 and March 6.
Analyst Information: Analysts have assignments and information posted in the Analyst Classroom which can be joined via this link. You have been assigned your bill(s) to analyze. Make sure to check the google classroom for information and details!
BEAR Process: Advocates, Legislators, Caucuses, and Leadership - if you’re wondering what you should be working on right now, the answer is BEARs. Click here for everything you need to know about the BEAR process. Here are some highlights:
Legislators who didn’t introduce a bill and Firms whose bills weren’t introduced need to complete one BEAR form and related advocacy action. (Deadlines in the doc.)
School for Ethics and Global Leadership: Last week, Mitchell shared his experience spending a semester in DC with the School for Ethics and Global Leadership. This is a junior year program open for current sophomores to apply. Be quick - deadline is Feb 15! Questions? Ask Mitchell in GroupMe.
Meeting Link: We'll have our regular meeting this Wednesday. Officers at 6:00, LINK IN EMAIL.
REMINDERS
Y-USA Advocacy Days: THIS IS EXCITING! You know everything you've been doing this year? Figuring out your values, drafting your legislative priorities, learning how to advocate and pitch your priorities to legislators? Well, here's your chance to see how all that stuff happens in real life - - the advocacy party - on behalf of a real-life organization, the YMCA! Usually, this is an invite-only event that involves travel to Washington, DC. That would be super fun, BUT, due to covid, this year's event is virtual which means YOU can participate. FOR FREE! Learn all about Advocacy Days here. Note: all times are Eastern Time, so subtract 3 hours. The advocacy days themselves occur on school days, so talk with your parents and teachers. The training sessions, I believe, will be available on video. You should totally do this.
Model United Nations Secretariat Program (grades 10-12): The Secretariat program is a great way to live our YMCA and Y&G values, develop your own leadership skills and engage with your peers from Northern California, Los Angeles, and Ventura. Help a small group of 4-5 middle school Model UN Ambassadors over the course of 2 months to develop virtual presentations. Apply here.
Courts Case Prep: Courts folks, you know your role, right? Look it up on the Public Roster (first tab, "Courts" view), if not. After you look up your case and role, join the Courts Google Classroom and begin reviewing your case materials.
Program Area To-Dos: As ever, check out this document to make sure you're taking care of things between conferences.
Advocacy in Action Module: If you haven't yet, watch this video or check out the slides for Advocacy in Action. Most of you will be producing some of these items between now and the end of the program year.
Helpful Links:
Mark your calendars:
Wednesday, February 17 - Regular Meeting
Wednesday, February 24 - Regular Meeting
Sunday, February 28 - Conference 4
Wednesday, March 3 - Regular Meeting
Sat-Sun, March 6-7 - Final Conference Weekend
