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ENLARGE
Area teens pretend to be tigers Thursday as they take part in the Oregon FFA Umpqua District Leadership Conference at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. About 700 teens attended the three-day event.
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ENLARGE
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Area teens gather in groups at the Oregon FFA Umpqua District Leadership Conference at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The workshop is intended to teach teens responsibility, team-building and communication, among other skills.
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When it comes to important life lessons, it never hurts to have them repeated often and by many people.
This week, several hundred Southern Oregon teenagers got a break from their teachers and listened to four professional speakers talk about the value of being prepared, working hard and getting involved to get what they want out of life.
One guest, Rhett Laubach, told the mass of teenagers around him that sometimes success is simply “sheer luck,” but even catching those breaks is a product of being ready for opportunity to strike.
“Luck comes easier to those who put themselves in a position to be lucky,” he said. “To really get where you want in life, you have to be very aware of where you are today.”
Days Creek teacher Mark Hopfer has organized the leadership event three times and schedules it for fall, every other year.
This year about 700 students from Douglas, Coos and Jackson counties attended the event.
On Tuesday, non-agriculture, vocational-technology students and student council members from schools without an agriculture and FFA program attended. Agriculture and FFA students attended on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hopfer brought in four high-quality motivational speakers from back east – Ryan Underwood, Bill Cordes, Laubach and Kelly Barnes.
He said the caliber of the speakers this year has greatly improved the impact of the event.
“The purposed of this is to teach responsibility for what you do, team building and communication skills,” Hopfer said, adding that scheduling the conference at the beginning of the year helps the students “kick off with the right mindset and thinking process.”
Local foundations and businesses granted most of the $48,000 for the program, including the Lilja Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, Whipple Foundation, Oregon Education Association, Douglas County Farmers Co-op, Rotary Market Auction Committee, Douglas County Farm Bureau, Umpqua Community College and the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
Though flying the speakers out and paying their fees was expensive, Hopfer said at $10 a plate, feeding the many teenagers for three days was the biggest expense.
Underwood, who flew in from Tulsa, Okla., was teaching students the value of networking on Thursday.
“Mark Hopfer is doing something unique to not only Southern Oregon but also in the U.S.,” he said, explaining the large-sized conference was netting more students while bringing overhead costs down.
Speakers, teachers and students seemed impressed Thursday.
“It's been good. (Now, I'm) just trying to take what they've been telling us and apply that to what I've been doing,” said Sutherlin student Chris Davis, 16.
Davis said he was surprised to learn that people get their first impression of a person within three seconds of walking in a room – it gave new meaning to the teen's idea of ‘making an entrance.'
Rogue River High School students Danielle Maynard, 18, and Haley Marino, 15, were also enjoying the event.
“They know how to work a crowd and get us going,” Maynard said.
“They're really funny,” Marino added.
Other local teachers were also impressed.
“This conference is outstanding … the students are getting geared up for life,” said Glide agriculture teacher Ben Kercher. “So the take-home message is really getting hammered home.”
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
This week, several hundred Southern Oregon teenagers got a break from their teachers and listened to four professional speakers talk about the value of being prepared, working hard and getting involved to get what they want out of life.
One guest, Rhett Laubach, told the mass of teenagers around him that sometimes success is simply “sheer luck,” but even catching those breaks is a product of being ready for opportunity to strike.
“Luck comes easier to those who put themselves in a position to be lucky,” he said. “To really get where you want in life, you have to be very aware of where you are today.”
Days Creek teacher Mark Hopfer has organized the leadership event three times and schedules it for fall, every other year.
This year about 700 students from Douglas, Coos and Jackson counties attended the event.
On Tuesday, non-agriculture, vocational-technology students and student council members from schools without an agriculture and FFA program attended. Agriculture and FFA students attended on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hopfer brought in four high-quality motivational speakers from back east – Ryan Underwood, Bill Cordes, Laubach and Kelly Barnes.
He said the caliber of the speakers this year has greatly improved the impact of the event.
“The purposed of this is to teach responsibility for what you do, team building and communication skills,” Hopfer said, adding that scheduling the conference at the beginning of the year helps the students “kick off with the right mindset and thinking process.”
Local foundations and businesses granted most of the $48,000 for the program, including the Lilja Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, Whipple Foundation, Oregon Education Association, Douglas County Farmers Co-op, Rotary Market Auction Committee, Douglas County Farm Bureau, Umpqua Community College and the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
Though flying the speakers out and paying their fees was expensive, Hopfer said at $10 a plate, feeding the many teenagers for three days was the biggest expense.
Underwood, who flew in from Tulsa, Okla., was teaching students the value of networking on Thursday.
“Mark Hopfer is doing something unique to not only Southern Oregon but also in the U.S.,” he said, explaining the large-sized conference was netting more students while bringing overhead costs down.
Speakers, teachers and students seemed impressed Thursday.
“It's been good. (Now, I'm) just trying to take what they've been telling us and apply that to what I've been doing,” said Sutherlin student Chris Davis, 16.
Davis said he was surprised to learn that people get their first impression of a person within three seconds of walking in a room – it gave new meaning to the teen's idea of ‘making an entrance.'
Rogue River High School students Danielle Maynard, 18, and Haley Marino, 15, were also enjoying the event.
“They know how to work a crowd and get us going,” Maynard said.
“They're really funny,” Marino added.
Other local teachers were also impressed.
“This conference is outstanding … the students are getting geared up for life,” said Glide agriculture teacher Ben Kercher. “So the take-home message is really getting hammered home.”
• You can reach reporter DD Bixby at 957-4211 or by e-mail at dbixby@nrtoday.com.
