RYLA, Rotary’s leadership camp for 15-year-old high school sophomores, was the topic of last week’s Rotary meeting.

Our speaker was Jared Avery, executive director of the RYLA program. He described the program, which is designed for 15-year-olds who have just completed their sophomore year in high school. The program, which takes place at Camp Hynes in Raymond, Maine, involves four days of intensive, camp-based leadership training skills designed to help promising hone their individual leadership skills.

Avery, who is a member of the Scarborough Rotary, distinguished RYLA from other camp-based programs that focus on team building or business savvy.

“We don’t focus on team-building,” Avery said. “For one thing, the young people don’t really comprise a team; they’ve never met one another previously and only work together for the duration of the camp program.”

In fact, the RYLA teams are specifically made up of teens each of whom goes to a different school. This gives the young people the opportunity to experiment, to move outside their safety net to try new ideas, without the handicap of anyone knowing “who they are” back home.

The first day of RYLA starts off with trust falls and getting-to-know-you exercises; the teams move right through the next four days with a series of group activities that typically involve getting the entire team through a maze or over a hurdle. For each activity, the staff explains the activity and the challenge, as well as the safety issues, and then leaves it to the group to figure out how to proceed.

After the exercise, the group discusses what went right, what could have been done better, and whether every member of the team had a chance to contribute. It’s through these discussions that members of the team learn about various leadership styles and skills, and are able to hone their own.

It goes deeper. When a take-charge kind of leader emerges out of the group, the staff will wait for the next exercise, and then blindfolds or mutes that teen in order to force someone else to lead the way. Alternatively, if a member of the group is holding back, that person may find him or herself the only member of the group who is not blindfolded. The staff makes sure that everyone gets their turn.

The staff members are all recent RYLA graduates and are just a few years older than the RYLA campers themselves. In fact, Avery himself credits his time at RYLA 15 years ago as instrumental in helping him grow into a better husband and father, and better person overall. Part of the success of RYLA is that it involves young people mentoring other young people.

Four young women from BRHS (all freshmen and sophomores and members of the newly reenergized Interact club) were our guests at the meeting last week. If they or any other high school sophomore is interested in learning more about RYLA, they can go to the district website, www.rotary7780.org, or contact Debbie Graves, dlm3410@yahoo.com for more information.

The costs of a campership are paid by Rotary scholarships. A student need not be a member of Interact to apply, but, as Avery explained, the Rotary experiences tend to merge, so many students come back from RYLA and immediately join Interact.

Earlier in the meeting, we focused on our recent citrus sales. The sale went well, and a few leftover boxes were headed toward last week’s Food Pantry. Debbie reported that she has raised $1,000 toward the new doggy bulletproof vests, and urged everyone to bring their returnables to the Recycling Center on Route 27 to raise the other half of the funds needed.

Steve Demeranville, just back from vacation, praised the club for its remarkable response to the need in Philippines by raising $5,000 for Shelter Boxes. He said that Shelter Box has already sent 4,000 Boxes to the stricken area, and another 2,500 are on their way.

Dwight Swisher circulated the People Power sign-up sheet, and suggested that anyone who hasn’t signed up recently might email him to work out mutually agreeable dates. Speaking of which: This week, Thursday, Dec. 12, our waiters are Tony Curulla and John Welsh. This is an historic meeting: The last one in our Clubhouse, and Chip Griffin will lead off the program with a series of reminisces about the place. Anyone who considers him/herself an old-timer is invited to join in with anecdotes pertinent (or otherwise) to the occasion.

The following Thursday, Dec. 19, will find us in The Gallery on Route 96 for an informal Christmas social. Appetizers are needed. Please sign up with President Jen, and please remember that we will be meeting at The Gallery for the rest of the winter.