2013 Teen Involvement Conference

     
     This past weekend, from January 18-20, was the 20th Annual California 4-H South Section Teen Involvement Conference (TIC).  This was my 11th conference in attendance, and unlike the past 5 years, this year was a little different.

     Since I was the youth president for the 2006 conference, I had stayed active with the teens to plan their conference.  I was considered an adult volunteer right under the Teen Council Adviser, who is named Tony.  He has been the adviser for over 15 years towards TIC.  Over the past year, Tony had seemed to drop off the face of the planet when planning TIC.  Normally, I have worked with the teen council officers while he dealt with the official contracts for any services we needed for the conference.  With the lack of communication, I had ended up dealing with everything.  It became a big challenge.  I contently felt I was over stepping over Tony to get the things done, but in the end, it was the only way things were going to be done.  The last planning meeting was on January 12, and he didn't show.  Which made me worried.  Working with the State 4-H Office with getting contracts processed was the toughest challenge.  We first send in the DJ contract back in September.  They asked why were getting the contract in so early.  We had issues in past years with payment with the DJ, so we wanted to make sure things worked out well.  Things for other contracts didn't work as smoothly as the DJ.  At the end of November, we submitted the guest speaker contract as well as the facilities contract for Pathfinder Ranch.  The check for the guest speaker was ready, up at UC Davis, on the day the conference began.  We had decided to get that check mailed to his residence.  For the facilities, the payment is currently being dealt with now that TIC is over with.

     A few staff and myself arrived at Pathfinder Ranch at 2:00 pm as usual.  I checked in with the facilities retreat coordinator, and we began to set up.  I had received a call from the retreat coordinator that Tony had called, and he needs me to call back.  When I called, I had learned that he was not going to make it on Friday, and will attempt to make it on Saturday afternoon.  From hearing him on the phone, he didn't sound healthy, and I could hear a sense of sadness.  The conversation ended with him stating that if he can make it to the conference, this would most likely be his last TIC.  I told him that things will be alright, and I just want him to get some rest and worry about himself.  Things will be fine at TIC and that we will miss him.  When that phone call ended, I had become the new Adult Adviser for the Teen Council and Adult Director for TIC.  I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to happen when I was 25.  I would have expected it to happen at least 5 years down the road.  I didn't have much time to think about it, for there was things to do.

     The conference itself was great!  Everything moved quite well.  The youth who I worked with to put this conference on did a great job!  A few things were different this year.  They moved one educational workshop to Sunday.  The guest speaker, who was a blind man that survived the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center, gave his presentation on Sunday instead of Saturday, and a curriculum presentation called iThrive was introduced to the delegation.  Overall, the changes were great.  Out of the changes, the iThrive curriculum wasn't as excepted by the delegation, for chaperones and myself saw the activity books in the trash afterwards.  The only other issue that will need to be addressed when it comes to the schedule is Sunday.  There was no time for the youth to pack up and clean the cabins and camp.  

     The only last changes of the conference was the misbehavior of the youth.  More specifically, the boys.  The first night, the staff had a movie night in the lounge of our staff cabin.  It seemed that the boys where having a late night.  They talked and hanged out after lights out until 1 am.  Then they all woke up at 3:00 am to take showers, then leave the cabin to raid the snack table.  From reports given from adults and a few youth, they said they moved the entire snack table into their cabin, which was done before they went to bed, then woke up early to move it back before the staff found out.  An e-mail from a mother of a delegate later would claim they just raided the snack table after they woke up early in the morning.  During the dance on Saturday, Megan the youth president and I choose to look at the boys cabin.  We found it with uneatten food all over the place.  We decided that we would make the boys clean their cabin after the dance, and give them a warning to not leave the cabin until we wake them up in the morning.  Before we returned to the dance, we removed all the unhealthy snacks, meaning we left the fruit and the water bottles.  Other than this, things went smoothly.  

     TIC was great this year, and there is room for improvement on my end, but for a last minute change to adult adviser, things will be great.  I can't wait until next year, which will be the same weekend, the third weekend in January, 2014.  Hopefully this past conference will prepare me for the better.