Marion County youth leaders experience ropes course. The challenge of a ropes course was the second session of the South Shore-Marion County Youth Leadership Team this year. Here, Troy tackles a climbing tower as his team members encourage his efforts at the Alpena Long Creek Challenge Ropes Course. A ropes course is a form of learning by doing which aims toward developing skills in communication, cooperation, and trust, and improving problem solving skills as well as self-confidence. Twenty-one students in three Marion County schools are members of the leadership team, whose major sponsor is South Shore Foundation, the charitable foundation of NATCO

Ninth-graders from Flippin and Bruno-Pyatt Schools who are members of the South Shore-Marion County Youth Leadership Team found themselves on a ropes course at Alpena in September to begin their yearlong exploration of what it means to be a leader.

Yellville-Summit members joined their leadership team members for the October and November sessions, which were a Communications/Teamwork Workshop at Bruno-Pyatt School and a True Colors Leadership Style Workshop at Yellville-Summit School. Both were led by University of Arkansas Extension specialists in their fields, Dr. Joe Waldrum and Mike Klumpp.

During the day at the Alpena’s Long Creek Challenge Ropes Course, various challenges are designed to build communication, cooperation, and trust among team members and to discover problem-solving skills, increase self-confidence, self-esteem, and exploring a person’s potential.

According to Renee Myers, county extension agent-family and consumer science for Marion County, the ropes course at Alpena is a challenge by choice event. “Students choose how far they want to push themselves. Many of them learned they could climb higher than they thought they could with the encouragement of their fellow team members. Learning to be a leader involves learning to trust yourself and others. It sometimes means pushing yourself a little more when you want to quit. The ropes course was a great way to learn by doing.”

An adult advisory board helps with the events throughout the year, ending in a graduation ceremony and students’ reports on the year’s experiences. Activities remaining include exploring civic responsibilities, environmental preservation, community betterment and economic development.

South Shore Foundation, the major sponsor of the youth leadership team in Marion
County, is the charitable foundation of Northern Arkansas Telephone Company of Flippin.