Delegation Resource Manual: Club Work
Page 7
YMCA PA Youth & Government Program
Words of Wisdom for Y&G Club Presidents
Prepared by: Patricia Nichols (2003-2004 President, Clearwater FLA High School)
The Prep Work
1.
Meet with your officers and advisor!! These people are the ones you will rely on throughout the
year, as they will rely on you. It is important to build a relationship of trust among this group.
Make sure you meet regularly throughout the entire Y&G year with your sponsor and officers. It
would be wise to set a tentative schedule as soon as possible so you can give potential Y&G
members a vague idea of the time commitment involved in being a Y&G member. MAKE
SURE TO READ THE SCHEDULE AND BLUEBOOK!!!
2.
Recruit! Find out if your school has a Club day, and if so, set up a table at lunch with pictures
and fliers about Y&G. You can also ask about setting up at freshmen orientations to bring in
new members! Hang posters around the school, put it on the announcements….get the word
out about how awesome Y&G is! If these opportunities have already passed – no worries…
seeking out those who you think you can build a lasting legacy with is always a good thought.
Ask teachers and administrators about any upcoming leaders - sophomores on student council or
debate teams are a great start.
3.
Delegate!! It is EXTREMELY important to lighten your own workload by delegating.
Remember, the person you delegate to does not have to do the job as well as you, they just have
to get the job done and then you can help them “make it perfect”. Sometimes it’s hard to
delegate when we feel we can do the job ourselves. After awhile this WILL become
overwhelming, and your officers are there to help you!
4.
ASK QUESTIONS! It is ok if you don’t know something. No Club president I’ve met has
known the answer to every question about Y&G. It might sound cheesy, but this whole
experience is about leadership development – if you knew it all already you wouldn’t love the
program half as much as you do.
If you need help, have concerns, or simply don’t know the answer to a question, ask your
sponsor, contact a Presiding Officer, consult the Blue Book, or call/email the State YMCA (they
really are not that scary!) The worst thing is to ignore the problem/question and think it will fix
itself…TRUST ME - it won’t.
Time Management
1.
Be sure to set your CLUB deadlines at least two weeks before the STATE deadline, if at all
possible. This gives you time to check and recheck everything you are submitting to the State
YMCA, thus making their job, as well as yours, easier. This also eliminates your advisor having
to come back to you for missing information and/or corrections, and I assure you they’ll
appreciate your extra effort. As President, you should check everything your members and
officers turn into you and what you turn in to the state at least once.
2.
Obtain the state calendar as early as possible so you can plan your schedule of events, such as
important payments and written submissions, including applications for different positions.
Many people miss the press/cabinet/justice and other position applications simply because they
miss the deadline, or don’t even find out about it until after the fact.
