Who:
Deborah Rudy
Inner City Outings training coordinator
Where:
Dauphin, PA
On August 6 I was leading a three-day National Training Conference in New Hampshire's White Mountains for 91 Inner City Outings leaders from our 49 ICO groups from across the USA! Despite the presence of Mount Washington a mere eight miles away, our dedicated leaders managed to stay focused on the tasks at hand and attend all of the workshop sessions.
I have been involved with the Sierra Club for more than 12 years, first as staff in the Pennsylvania Chapter office, then as volunteer newsletter editor for the Governor Pinchot Group, then as a founding member of Harrisburg ICO. Today, as the newly installed National Chair of Inner City Outings, I take great pride in having coordinated this exceptional training opportunity for our leaders.
As staffer Sascha Paris and OAGC Chair Alison Chin presented workshops today, I was overwhelmed with the feelings that a 14-month-long plan for this training had come perfectly together. ICO leaders rated our workshops today with all 4's and 5's out of a possible top score of 5 and that shows how much they value the chance to get additional training to assist them in their roles as leaders back in their own ICO groups.
A highlight of the day was when I presented a short topic called "Making the Connection," enumerating the ways that ICO groups interact with their local Sierra Club groups and state chapters. It is a goal of the Club to fully "connect" all of its entities, and ICO has been well on the way to accomplishing this on its own!
To have spent this day leading a national training conference for ICO leaders was my idea of a perfect day! As you can see by the smiling faces in the photo, they would agree!
