Rotary
Youth Leadership Awards Program to be Held at Erskine
The 17th annual week-long motivational leadership,
training and free enterprise seminar for rising high
school juniors and seniors sponsored by Rotary
District 7750 (Western South Carolina) will be held
on the Erskine campus June 6-12. Keynote speaker at
dinner June 6 will be Michael Cogdill, news anchor
for WYFF TV-4.
Other featured speakers during the week include
Larry Shyatt, head men's basketball coach at Clemson
University, who will speak on “Attitude”;
Barbara Hodges of Clemson University on “Stress
Management; Dr. David Ritland, Associate Professor of
Biology at Erskine College, on “Environmental
Ethics”; Dr. Jack Heinsohn of Erskine
Theological Seminary, whose topic is “Grease
Paint, Nose Putty, and False Faces”; Bill Ranson
of Charlotte, N.C., on “Goal Setting”; Dr.
Jack Lieb of Columbia, who will lead a discussion on
school violence; Kim Alexander of Clemson University
on “Keeping In Motion.”
Frank Williams of Greenwood, Rotary District 7750
RYLA Chairman, will also deliver an address entitled
“This is Rotary.”
In addition to the speakers, RYLA students will
enjoy “Spontaneous Combustion,” an
interactive concert by Steve Price of Clemson
University; line dance lessons by Kathy Bernard; and
karaoke entertainment by John Johnson of
Simpsonville. On their last evening at Erskine, RYLA
participants will attend a picnic in the Erskine
College Guest House back yard.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a Rotary
youth service program coordinated by Ralph and Lynn
Patterson of Due West. Ralph Patterson, formerly head
basketball coach at Erskine, now hosts the live
call-in show “Sports Jam” broadcast Monday
through Friday on Foothills 104.9 radio in the
Clemson areas. Lynn Patterson teaches at Cherokee
Trail Elementary School in Donalds.
The summer seminar is designed to help delegates
develop sound leadership techniques for daily use in
school and extracurricular activies, as well as in
later life.
Students are selected for RYLA by the Boards of
Directors of participating Rotary Clubs, based on the
recommendations of local high schools. The seminar is
designed to encourage personal growth and development
through interaction with peers and with outstanding
business, political and community leaders.
RYLA participants are eligible to receive a $1,000
per year scholarship at Erskine College upon their
acceptance to the school, renewable for up to four
years.
