Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
4:30 PM
Subject: Bulletin #4
Bulletin 4 of 8
“Being a Y&G advisor has mean that
I have been able to affect the lives of the delegates I work with like I was
affected by my advisors growing up. There is no other program that offers the
growth opportunities of Y&G. The change I see at the end of each year is
phenomenal and inspiring.”
Christy Lundy,
Lead Advisor
Culver-Palms YMCA
REMINDERS
October
12
T&E I Conference Registration Form (sent via email. Contact Pam if not received)
October
12
POSTMARK: T&E I Deposit Form
October
12
POSTMARK: Sacramento Early
Arrival Form
October
19
POSTMARK: Individual Scholarship
Applications
October
19
POSTMARK: Chaplain Application
October
19
POSTMARK: Legislative Committee
Chair Application
November
10 Press Corps
Application
(Hand deliver at T&E I)
November
10 Chief Page Application (Hand deliver at
T&E I)
November
16 POSTMARK: Supreme Court/Judicial
Review Application
November
16 POSTMARK: Jury Trial Application
November
16 POSTMARK: Broadcast Media
Application
November
16 POSTMARK: Officer Nomination
Forms for Offices elected at T&E II
Category 5: Secretary of the
Senate/Chief Clerk of the Assembly and Sgt.-At-Arms (Senate/Assembly)
Category 6: Forum Lt. Governor and
Forum Speaker of the Assembly
Category 7: Attorney General,
Presiding Justice, and District Attorney
Category 9: Youth Governor and
Secretary of State
DEADLINES
Several delegations failed to meet the
postmark deadline for Candidate Nomination Forms.
It has been our unpleasant task this week to
contact delegates to let them know that their applications have been
rejected. Several forms came in for candidates that were lacking
appropriate qualifications. Please make sure for the next round of
Nomination Forms (for T&E II) that you check the qualifications for each
office before you sign a Nomination Form.
T&E I
LEADERSHIP AND CANDIDATES
Initial response to the Training & Elections
I Conference has been great, and we are anticipating a large turnout. The
T&E I Youth Leadership has been selected and successful candidates have
been notified.
T&E I DEPOSITS AND REGISTRATIONS
Your registration deposit
form
for T&E I is due Friday, October 12th. Please remember that a non-refundable
$88 deposit is due for each name submitted on your registration form.
You will owe a $20 balance for every delegate
who attends T&E I. If you bring additional delegates not listed on your
registration, you will owe the entire $108 fee. Please bring a check or check
request for your balance of fees to T&E I
It is the policy of California YMCA Youth
& Government that:
The balance of fees is considered due
at check-in for each respective conference. Signed check requests are
acceptable payment at a conference; however, if the balance of fees is not
collected within 30 days of the event, California YMCA reserves the right to
apply late fees as per the delegation participation agreement.
GETTING TO CAMP ROBERTS
Camp Roberts is located just off Highway 101
north of Paso Robles California (map). Check-in time at
Camp Roberts Begins at 8:30 a.m. At 10:00 am we will hold a lottery for
Joint Session seats in the gym. You should try to arrive in time for this
meeting. If you miss it, you may find it hard to have your delegation get seats
together during the Joint Sessions. The opening session for T&E I will
begin at 12:30. Please allow enough travel time to arrive promptly.
Advisors traveling to Camp Roberts from
Southern California report that travel via Highway 5 to Route 46 west is very
easy; about 35 miles shorter (as measured from North Hollywood) and
approximately 30-45 minutes faster than Hwy 101. It is, however,
not as scenic. In the winter you are advised to check weather conditions
before making the trip over the Grapevine.
CAMP ROBERTS SECURITY
We have been asked by the military to have
everyone carry a picture ID while on Camp Roberts. Last year we had about
25 IDs lost during the weekend. Instead of carrying a Driver’s License or
Student Body Card behind your badge (in the plastic pocket), please ask
delegates and advisors to copy their ID (black and white is fine) and place it
behind their badge. This will save a lot of grief when delegates drop
their badge while boogying in the gym.
All vehicles entering the base will be
required to show current registration and proof of insurance at the front
gate. Make sure these documents are with the vehicle.
Be prepared for your vehicle to be searched
at the gate. Although individual luggage hasn’t been searched the past
three years, the military reserves the right to search all vehicles entering
the base.
ARRIVING AT CAMP ROBERTS
Once you arrive on the base, you will see the
Sea Scouts directing traffic (they look like the guy on the Cracker Jack box.)
Follow their directions to the bus parking lot. Once there, you will check in
with Jim Rogers and Jim McGowan. They will give you your barracks assignment.
At this point your lead advisor should take a
current roster, Medical Release forms and Code of Conduct Signature forms, and
walk to the Y&G office to check in. If you are new to Camp Roberts, the
‘Jims’ will be able to give you directions.
If you have additional advisors, have them
take your delegates to their barracks to settle in. They should stay near the
barracks until the lead advisor returns with name badges and conference
schedules.
Once your lead advisor has registered the
delegation and handed out name badges and schedules, you should head to the gym
for the Joint Session. Maps can be found in your Conference Schedule.
MEDICAL
RELEASES REQUIRED AT CAMP ROBERTS
All delegations must bring an extra set of their
medical releases in a 9x12 envelope for the Youth & Government Office.
Please clearly label the envelope with your delegation name.
T&E I PROGRAM
The ML/C staff has spent considerable time
designing a program to challenge all delegates. The conference design includes
exposure to all available roles in the program. Each delegate will experience a
committee and an assembly, and be exposed to each of the program roles.
The role exposure component will give participants a feel for the various programs
(Court, Media, Newspaper/TV, Lobbyist, Legislative Analyst, National Issues
Commission, Boards, Pages, etc.).
Sophomore Delegates will assume their
permanent roles in the Forum Program where they will be assigned to topic
groups, receive training, and begin organizing for T&E II and the ML/C.
All Juniors and new Seniors will go through
the role exposure process and join returning 12th graders in
Committees and in the Assembly. New delegates’ name-tags will have an “N”
indicating that they are new. Returning Seniors will attend workshops that will
provide expanded leadership growth experiences. Their nametags will have “R” on
them.
In the past, some delegations have conducted
delegation activities during the general program. Under no
circumstances may delegates miss scheduled events in order to participate in
delegation activities. Please check the program before
scheduling delegation activities.
PHONE NUMBERS AT CAMP ROBERTS
The Youth & Government office phone
number at Camp Roberts during the day and early evening is (805)
238-8211. If it has changed we will notify you via email. The
alternate office number is (650) 703-8066 (Pam’s cell).
The night number (after 11:00 p.m.) is (818)
681-8283
(Cathy’s cell - emergencies only)
WHAT TO BRING TO CAMP ROBERTS:
Bring:
·
An
accurate roster of those attending (number of males and females). A copy
of your original registration with absentees struck out and additions written
in is preferred. (please don’t obscure the name with the strikethrough).
·
Participant
Medical Releases with code of conduct and photo release signature page.
Bring them in a manila envelope with your delegation name on the front!
·
Flashlight
·
A
Delegation Sign (details later in this Bulletin).
·
Clothing
for cold/wet weather
·
Sleeping
bags and pillows for all of your delegation (There is a possibility that your
barrack will not have heat – bring a warm sleeping bag or an extra blanket).
·
A
couple of sets of rubber gloves. These work great for cleaning the
bathrooms.
Don’t
Bring:
·
Candles
of any kind
·
Anything
valuable
·
People
with bad attitudes!
The Clean-Up and Check-Out process
will go quickly if you are adequately prepared. The ML/C will provide buckets
and mops for wet mopping your barracks. If you want to save time, bring an
extra bucket to change the dirty water. Bring a carpet remnant to set in
the doorway. That will cut down on the dirt in the barracks!
HOUSING AT CAMP ROBERTS
Jim Rogers, the Camp Roberts Housing Guru,
will assign separate male and female barracks. So be sure to know the
exact number of males and females when you check in. Jim plans to
pre-house most delegations – therefore if you are traveling with one or two
other delegations and want to be housed together, you need to contact Jim by
Friday, November 2nd. Give him your male/female counts as well
as any special needs. He can be reached at his office during the day:
(925) 677-0420, or at home: (925) 552-5770. Best yet, contact him at Rogersmbe@hotmail.com.
FORGET ELECTRICAL
APPLIANCES
Electrical
Appliances will blow the fuses at Camp Roberts! There are very few electrical
outlets in the barracks, and a blow dryer blows more fuses than hair. Since
the fuse boxes are locked up by the army, we figure that if you bring various
types of electrical appliances, the whole camp will be in darkness most of the
time.
So,
no blow dryers, no curling irons, no electric blankets, no Christmas lights, no
VCRs, no TVs. This might be a good time to discuss exposing our inner beauty
and how it might be fun to wear hats! Tell your kids to leave the video
games at home.
LUGGAGE TAGS
The Youth &
Government Staff have been plagued for many years with an abundance of lost and
found after each conference. Although we have all enjoyed the additions to our
winter wardrobes, we really can't afford the time and space needed to deal with
lost and found.
Each
delegation is requested to label each piece of luggage and each sleeping bag
with an identifying tag. We suggested that you create a unique label that will
easily identify your delegation’s luggage.
MEALS AT T&E I
There will not be a special “Vegetarian” menu
at T&E I. The Picnic People (our food service providers) offer a
selection of foods which will accommodate both vegetarians and non-vegetarians
– if there are not enough choices to meet your delegates’ needs, have them
bring their own.
Meal Rotations:
To help facilitate the smooth flow of people during meal periods, a meal
rotation schedule will be in effect. Delegations should try to stick as
close as possible to the schedule. If one of your delegates has a meeting
during a mealtime and must eat earlier, that is fine. The schedule will
ease congestion and reduce long lines. It will be mailed to lead advisors
prior to the conference.
ASSIGNED SEATING AT T&E I
ë Once again, there
will be assigned seating for the joint sessions at the Training and Elections
conferences. At 10:00 a.m. on Friday one representative from each
delegation will meet at the gym stage with an accurate delegation count.
Arrivals after 10:00 will be moved to the back of the list.
ë We will hold two
drawings in advance of T&E I to determine the order in which delegations
will choose seats. The first will consist of premier delegations only.
The second will consist of all other delegations.
ë The delegation
representatives will, in order of the drawing, reserve seats for their delegation.
Youth & Government will provide the string to rope off the chosen area.
ë These seating
assignments will be in effect for the entire conference (all three joint
sessions)
ë Any attempt to
reserve more seats than necessary or “steal” already reserved seats will result
in that delegation being moved to the back of the list and having last choice
in seating. This will also affect the delegation’s premier delegation status.
ë Any disagreements,
arguments or confusion will be directed to the Youth & Government seating
director and the Youth & Government Associate Executive; their decisions
will be final.
DO NOT PLAN TO LEAVE EARLY
Adjournment is scheduled for 12:00 noon on
Monday. As a suggestion, those traveling by chartered bus may want to
have the bus arrive by 10:30 a.m. (if it doesn't cost extra) so that you can
load your luggage before cleaning the barracks.
Everyone wants to get home - we need to
cooperate and work together to make the check-out operation efficient and
successful.
CONCESSIONAIRE PERMITS
Concession Permits were due on October 5th and
approvals are now being issued. YMCAs may not sell any merchandise or food
without permission from the ML/C office.
Please remember: Delegations are responsible for their own
equipment and cleanup.
BRING A DELEGATION SIGN TO T&E
I
For
security and safety purposes, each delegation is required to bring a sign with
their delegation name on it for use at all Assemblies. Additionally, if you
have ever tried to find your group in a gymnasium full of 2,100 noisy people,
you know the benefits of the banner.
This
is even more important for emergency evacuation procedures. Please see
the attached flyer.
TRANSPORTATION
TO CAMP ROBERTS
Attention
delegations, Interns, and anyone else going to Camp Roberts. Kip Sturgeon
is coordinating transportation for anyone who needs a ride or who has space
available for the upcoming conference. Whether you are a lone Intern or
an entire delegation, Kip has the answers. If you are interested, first
check out our handy-dandy travel information website http://ymcatravel.org.This site will serve
as a clearing house for ride-sharing and bus/van rental information.
If
you find you still need help, you can e-mail Kip at: kipsturgeon@hotmail.com
BILLS, BILLS, BILLS AT T&E
I
In
the next few days, each delegation will receive their T&E I practice bills
in the mail. We have based the number of Bills assigned to your
delegation on the number of deposits that were submitted. Please review your
Bill(s) and also assign a delegate/delegates to be the sponsor of each Bill at
T&E I.
We
realize that it may be difficult to support a Bill that you didn't write, but
it is an important legislative exercise and experience for your delegates.
Bring
materials supporting your Bill (find articles in magazines, etc.). This will help
encourage discussion during the committee and assembly hearings.
T&E I ELECTIONS
Dustin Buss is the Lead Staff
person to Youth Officers and Elections.
Offices
to be elected at T&E I are:
q Legislative Counsel
q Legislative Analyst
q State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
q Speaker Pro-Tem
q President Pro-Tem
q Lieutenant Governor
(Primary)
q Speaker of Assembly
(Primary)
The
Chief Justice will assist Court Staff in the interview and selection of the
Supreme Court at T&E II.
A
Candidate Handbook has been prepared, and was mailed to each candidate this
week. It is also available online and in your Advisor Manual.
Delegations
running candidates for election to office at the T&E I Conference are
allowed to have a maximum of 3 hand-held placards and a limited number of
promotional items (all flyers, badges, balloons, etc. are prohibited).
Please refer to the Candidacy Guidelines included in Bulletin #2.
Each
year we are forced to disqualify candidates for inappropriate or unapproved
promotional items. Don’t let this happen to your delegate. Please review all
items they plan give away. If you have questions about an item, feel free to
call and ask.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Code of Conduct for the 60th
California YMCA Model Legislature/Court program is in the Advisor Handbook. It
is reviewed each year and is the permanent code for the program. Please go over
the Code carefully with your delegates.
It is required that you have both delegates
and advisors sign the Code of Conduct
Signature Form.
This form can serve to get "buy-in" from parents and delegates.
It is important to bring these forms to the conferences in case you are put in
a position of having to deal with a parent or delegate regarding Code of
Conduct issues.
If you have any questions regarding the Code,
please contact Rolf Davidson at the ML/C office.
The Dress Code Supplement, which outlines the
dress code restrictions for Sacramento, is also in the Advisor Manual.
T&E I dress needs to be casual, comfortable, and warm. No obscene or
disrespectful T-shirts please! Tucking an umbrella into the luggage is always a
good idea.
WHO TO CONTACT
LIST
The “Who to Contact List” provides names of
lead staff responsible for each of the program areas. These will be the people
who can assist you if you have questions after T&E I which are program
specific. Please find this list attached to this bulletin.
COMMITTEES IN SEARCH OF
ADVISORS
Oren Rothenberg and his Committee Staff are
looking for 24 volunteers to serve as Advisors to Committees. Don't worry if
you have little or no experience, we will train you at T&E I. Helping
with a committee is fun and your job is done in the first couple of days
leaving you lots of time to see your own delegates. Please call Oren at
408- 978-7938 or email him at orothenberg@gmail.com.
PRINT MEDIA LEADERSHIP
Remind delegates who are interested in
leadership positions in the Print Media program to turn in their applications
at the beginning of T&E I at the Youth & Government Office. The form
can be found attached to this bulletin and on http://calymca.org
MAILING LIST
A
mailing list of participating delegations will be mailed out next week. Please
use this to coordinate cluster meetings, transportation pools and to assist candidates
in campaigning. This list may not be used for any purpose unrelated to the
Model Legislature/Court under any circumstances.
LOGISTICS STAFF NEEDED
Jim McGowan and John
Kavanaugh are putting out an SOS for Logistics
Staff (12 to 16 people) to help with T&E I and T&E II, as well as for
the Model Legislature/Court in Sacramento.
Although the job is
not glamorous, there are lots of perks (like a staff shirt). What more could
you ask?
If you have extra
advisors who you really can’t afford to send to conferences, have them come as
Logistics Staff. Logistics Staff get primo housing at the T&Es and they get
housed 2 to a room in Sacramento. The Logistics Staff Assistants
Application Form is in the Advisor Manual.
DISTRIBUTION FORMULA
After T&E I, your delegates will begin
the process of choosing their roles for the ML/C. All sophomores will be
assigned in to the Forum Program. You will have to assign the rest of your
delegates to roles based on the Distribution
Formula. The distribution formula is a matrix type grid. Find the number
that corresponds to your total number of delegates (minus sophomores). Follow
that line across the page to determine the amount of each role your delegation
is allotted. The distribution list has been updated from last year so please be
sure to use the current copy by following the link above.
HOUSE OF ORIGIN FOR BILLS
Your
Delegation will be required to submit a bill for each 25 delegates in your
delegation.
Bills
will be submitted via our Bill Website at http://bills.calymca.org .When you submit
your delegation’s bill(s) in December, it will automatically be assigned a
House of Origin. The House of Origin is the Legislative body (Assembly or
Senate) in which your delegation’s Bill or Bills will be heard after being
passed out of Committee.
GOVERNOR'S CABINET
Governor David Murdter wants to encourage delegates
to consider applying for a Governor's Cabinet position. He is especially
interested in those who are candidates for office, since many have great
leadership skills but will not be elected.
The
Governor has selected Kyun Saiidnia
(SRV/Valle Lobo) as his Chief of Staff
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS FROM THE GOVERNOR
DEUKMEJIAN ENDOWMENT FUND
The
Scholarship Committee awarded $9,200 in Block Scholarships to various
delegations that applied for financial assistance for the T&E I
Conference.
Block
Scholarship Requests that you sent in for the Model Legislature/Court have been
received and have been forwarded to the Scholarship Committee for
consideration. The Committee will meet by October 29th to make
awards. Delegations will be notified by October 30th
Delegations
will be notified immediately of their status for ML/C Block Scholarships.
Additional funds are available for Individual Scholarship Applications.
The deadline for Individual Scholarship Applications is Friday, October 19th.
This
year, Scholarship Awards for all Youth & Government programs will total
$150,000. If you have any questions regarding scholarships, please call
Pam Sheble at (650) 522-9622.
We
are sorry to report that some scholarship requests were rejected by the
Scholarship Committee because they failed to meet the postmark deadline or were
not readable.
SCHOLARSHIPS
AVAILABLE FOR DELEGATES WITH DISABILITIES
Here’s a great opportunity for youth delegates who would
normally not consider participating in Youth & Government due to having
disabilities.
The California HealthCare Foundation has provided a
grant to Youth & Government. Awards in amounts of $366 - $500
will be given toward the cost to participate in the program to each handicapped
individual who qualifies.
The basic qualification is to be physically disabled to the
degree that such a person would not normally consider being in the
program. Examples would be persons who are blind, deaf, in wheel chairs,
etc.
We encourage Lead Advisors and YMCA Program Directors to
seek out individuals with disabilities to be participants with your
delegation. Awards can also be made to delegates with disabilities
already in the program. Contact Pam Sheble (650) 522-9622
Rolf
Davidson
Associate
Executive Director
California
YMCA Youth & Government
___________________________________________
"Democracy
Must Be Learned By Each Generation"