Students prepare for ‘Key Leader’ training

Key Leader, the annual personal development and leadership event for teens, is scheduled to take place at Loyola Hall at the St Ignatius School from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 September.

The Kiwanis Club has so far raised just over $10,000 towards the cost of the event from private individuals and corporate sponsors at the Gold Level include Admiral Administration Ltd, Butterfield Bank, CITCO, Scotia Bank and UBS.

Ruud van der Pluijm, President of the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman, said: “The Cayman Islands is the smallest nation to independently host a Key Leader event for our young adults. This lead has now been followed by Aruba in the Netherlands Antilles. Our club was happy to give the benefit of our experience here in Cayman to help the Aruba Kiwanis clubs to run their own event.”

Last year’s event was attended by 81 students, four of whom were from Cayman Brac High School. It is expected that a similar number will take advantage of the opportunity this year.

Some attendees from last year will also be acting as Student Facilitators this year, assisting the experienced Key Leader Facilitators in running the event. Dick Peterson, Chair of the worldwide Key Leader project for Kiwanis International will again be visiting. Lead Facilitator will be Wendy Fraser, an experienced motivator and leadership counsellor, who has her own company Fraser Consulting LLC in Washington State.

Key Leader is open to all teens. Corporate sponsorship covers $150 of the $175 event fee. Kiwanis asks that the family of the attendee pay the small balance of $25 in order to show its commitment, both social and financial to the future of the attendee.

There are five key goals targeted by today’s young Key Leaders. First, personal Integrity – doing the right thing; second, personal Growth – developing in mind, body and spirit; third, Respect – showing consideration for self, others and property; fourth, building Community – developing relationships, in-family, national and global, to achieve positive goals; and fifth, pursuit of Excellence – expecting and achieving the best.

Teens will register at the Loyola Hall of St Ignatius Catholic School at 4:00 pm on Friday. H.E the Governor Stuart Jack will open the event at 6:00 pm. The event will then get underway and attendees and the local facilitators will sleep overnight at the school. Kiwanis Club will provide grounds security around the clock by members of the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman with additional overnight security being provided by the Security Centre.

Reliable Industries will be keeping the facilities clean and Mary Trumbach will provide meals from the St Ignatius canteen. Parents or guardians will pick up their teens at 12:30 pm on Sunday, arriving earlier if they wish to view the closing ceremony – a highlight of last year’s event with a summarising slideshow.

In addition to its Gold Level sponsors, the Kiwanis Club of Grand Cayman would like to thank for their support for Key Leader 2008: Crosstalk-Rooster 101, Daybreak-Cayman 27, Cayman Cadet Corps, Arch and Godfrey, A.L Thompson, Bodden Beverages, Cayman Insurance Centre, Cobalt Coast Resort, Coutts, Creative Tech, RBC Wealth Management, First Caribbean, Foster’s Food Fair, NCB, Sunshine Suites, Truman Bodden & Co. Further sponsorships are both welcome and needed.

For further information, please contact Kiwanis President Ruud van der Pluijm (947-9956) or Distinguished Past President Paul de Freitas (916-6331).