Rotary District 7850
2013 RYLA Conference – June 21 through June 23, 2013 (8:00 a.m. Friday through 12:00 p.m. Sunday)
Dear RYLA Club Contact:
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) conference will be held again this year at Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, Vermont from8:00 a.m. Friday, June 21stthrough 12:00 p.m. Sunday, June 23rd, 2013. RYLA IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF ROTARY’S NEW GENERATIONS INITIATIVE. New Generations refers to the youngest generation in the family of Rotary, our fifth Avenue of Service added in 2010. RYLA, of course, has been a major program for youth by District 7850 for many years.
Participants will be involved in a variety of leadership skills development and team building activities, which include many challenges such as a ropes course conducted by the experienced staff of the College’s Adventures Program. RYLA is designed to teach and further evolve participants’ leadership abilities as well as provide a fun environment for meeting students from all parts of our multi-lingual district.
Housing will be provided in the beautiful Rita L. Bole Complex and meals will be supplied by the excellent college cafeteria. Transportation to and from the program is the responsibility of the participant, with help from your club, if needed. Participants are NOT allowed to drive themselves to or from RYLA.
Rotarians from throughout District 7850 will participate as facilitators and chaperones for the duration of the conference, and have passed background checks in order to do so. We ALWAYS need help! If you or a member of your club is interested in volunteering for all or part of the weekend, please have them contact me, Judy Christensen[ or (802)922-2967].
Now is the time to get RYLA information into the schools to ensure early applications! It is recommended that each club target at least two participants (preferably 1 female & 1 male). Due to popular demand, this year RYLA will expand the age range for participants to include thosethat are completing their freshman or sophomore year (Age 14-16).Enclosed is the 2013 Guide for Local Clubs, Club Checklist, 2 sample applications, Registration Information Form & Liability Releases, as well as a poster you can use to get the word out. The cost is $375.00 per participant.
Your club should establish its own deadlines and processes for choosing your participants.The deadline for registering applicants with the District is April 30, 2013.Registration for your student(s) is via the online process at Have each participant’s legal guardian fill out the enclosed Registration Information Form & Liability Releases. A member of your club then inputs the data on the Information Form online to partially register the student using the user name and password provided to you via email.Liability Releasesand checks (payable to Rotary International District 7850)should be mailedto Registrar Larry Varsat the address on your checklist no later than April 30, 2013. Registrations not paid by this deadline or without waivers will not be considered complete, and space will not be held for the student(s). Following the April 30th deadline, any remaining space in the program will be immediately available to clubs on a first come, first served basis for those interested in sending more than their initial 2 students, using the same online & mailing process as above. Registration for RYLA, including for students submitted after April 30th, will close on May 31st; no further applications can be accepted after this time. Further information about the RYLA website and online registration will be emailed to you.
Thanks for your work, and here’s to another exciting year of RYLA!
Judy Christensen
2013RYLA ChairDistrict 7850