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GRUNDY COUNTY TEENS CHALLENGED TO BE INSPIRED LEADERS
No Tolerance Task Force (NTTF) Sponsors Teen Leadership Program
Morris, IL September 20, 2005:
They came from five Grundy County schools, representing a diversity of student groups and organizations ranging from science club to FFA to basketball team. They were recommended by their school faculty to attend Grundy County’s first-ever Teen Leadership Program to have fun, to learn, and most of all, to understand how to be a stronger leader.

“Leadership can be taught and learned,” explained former Indiana educator Chuck Roach, who facilitated the Challenge Leadership Program sponsored by the Grundy County No Tolerance Task Force (NTTF) on Tuesday, September 20, 2005. Participants came from Morris Community High School, Minooka Community High School, Coal City High School, Gardner-South Wilmington High School, and Mazon-Verona-Kinsman 8th grade.

Roach took the 65 students and their five faculty advisors through a jam-packed and fast-moving agenda of inspirational activities aimed at challenging leadership and developing character. Students learned the importance of listening to others and staying focused. They learned how to build a team with people they have just met. And through such group exercises as creating a team song, they learned how to collaborate and take creative risks together. With their teams newly bonded, students solved problems and looked to develop the “attitude of greatness” that solidifies effective teams.

Student energy increased as the day went on, ending with the entire group jumping to their feet to applaud Roach, who had just added 65 more students to his list of more than 500,000 trained student leaders.

Morris Community High School teacher Celia Mistretta shared her expectations for the 18 students she brought to the program. “I hope the kids are going to get a lot more internally motivated,” she explained. That means “coming up with ideas, feeling a sense of ownership over their school environment, and being willing to work with others to make good things happen at school and in the community,” she said.

For the students, those “good things” could happen in a wide variety of ways. For Coal City senior Kecia Wiegand, it means applying leadership principles to sports. For Jon Butler of Minooka Community High School, it means becoming a stronger leader in the band and colorguard and helping others become leaders, too.

M-V-K 8th grader Alyssa Carey had a very simple outcome in mind: “When we do activities at school, we can take charge of them rather than having someone else do it.”

“Schools and communities can really benefit when youth have the skills, attitude, and desire to be leaders,” according to Paula Goodwin, NTTF coordinator. “The NTTF is committed to developing young leaders to help prevent and reduce community problems like drug and alcohol abuse and violence.”

The NTTF is a Grundy County coalition made up of government officials, law enforcement, educators, and a diversity of community members and supporters. The Challenge Leadership Program was made possible by a federal grant from the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which also supports the NTTF-sponsored Grundy County Youth Board called GAPI (Grundy Area Prevention & Intervention).

“Our coalition members recognize the importance of developing youth leaders, including one important supporter who helped make the leadership program successful—First Christian Church of Morris,” said Goodwin. She pointed out that it is difficult to find a large, youth-appropriate meeting space on school days when the school buildings are full. “Youth Minister Greg Boldt and the church staff allowed us to use their beautiful facility and really made our students feel comfortable.”

For more information about the Challenge Leadership Program or other NTTF projects, please contact Goodwin at (815) 941-3130.
1320 Union Street • Morris, IL • 60450 • phone 815-941-3130 • fax 815 942-5384 • www.nttf.org