Assistant Director Sam Henley is a member of the 26th class of Leadership Camden County! Director Ron Gentry nominated Sam so she could begin building a network here in Camden County and begin learning about our county through the eyes of the organizations, agencies, and businesses who serve our area!
October 27th brought Sam to part 2 of her experience. Name games, “Secret Shopper” missions, and group activities were the highlights of the day!
They started with a slideshow containing photos of Day 1:
Then they covered the rules of the facility they were using (Community Christian Church) and then it was time for the Name Game. The Name Game is a fun activity to help everyone remember each other’s names in the class. They started with Michelle and she gave her favorite food as M & M’s. They proceeded to the next person, Jamie, who had to give Michelle’s name and favorite food before providing the same for herself (Jamie chose Jelly Beans). This continued through the whole class and the advisors. They felt sorry for the people at the end who had to recite ALL of the names and foods, but the group members helped if they faltered or couldn’t remember! Did we mention they had to pass around a rubber chicken as the memory aid?
After that, they had a paper with the numbers 1-54 in various sizes, font’s and directions provided to us. They were split into pairs within their teams to find all of the numbers in order in the fastest time possible. Jordan (Sam’s teammate and partner for this activity) was a whiz at it the first time around and by the second run, they netted first place with a time of 1 minute 57 seconds. What really was crazy was the third time around. Michelle (their instructor) told them the numbers were set up in a grid (even though they looked random). Jordan was SO FAST. Between the two of them, they completed it in 53 seconds!
The next thing they had to work on was an exercise in near-futility! Each team was provided with a bag containing PVC pipes of varying lengths (NO TWO THE SAME) and connectors and were instructed to use every single piece to build a shape. Sam’s team came up with what was described as almost a “Structure or house” as their solution. Others were two dimensional, still others looked like biplanes, and others had no comparison. All of the teams were able to construct a shape and use all of the parts, so they were pretty proud of themselves. The most awesome thing about their group (Sam, Jordan, Amber, and Jeff in order in the final photo of the PVC project) is that if something didn’t work, they quickly changed tactics and kept at it until they had the completed project, which you can see below!
After that, it was time to be “Secret Shoppers” and Sam has to admit, she was VERY excited about this event. NO, not because she likes to shop, but because it made her get out into the area and interact with people she has never met! They each had two businesses to visit and give an overall score and rundown on and then they met for lunch to complete the score on their lunch place together as a team.
Jeff was kind enough to chauffer Sam around since he lives in the area they were assigned and knew where the businesses were located. They had a great conversation about the “quiet side” of the lake, the fall colors, the businesses and business owners in the area, and more! Both of the businesses Sam visited received the highest marks she could give them. The cashiers/owners were pleasant, helpful, courteous, and all-around nice people. The businesses were clean and well-organized. Their lunch place also received the highest marks. The food was phenomenal! Unfortunately, Sam can’t name names, as the Secret Shopper system actually turns out a report for each of the businesses, but she can say they were all along Highway 5.
The last activity which, believe it or not, was the most important one to date in Sam’s opinion, was the personality type/test/activity. Learning their individual personality types and about other personalities has already made it a lot easier to figure out how to work with people who don’t share personality types with us! It also helps to know about their personality to use them effectively during projects or jobs. It has definitely proven there is a way for people who are polar opposites to work together effectively! Sam is already looking into getting the program for the EMA so we can put our volunteers through it. She thinks they would have a blast and learn a thing or two!
The final part of their day was meeting with their groups to plan upcoming meetings. The instructors planned and filled the first two Leadership days; now it’s the groups’ turns! Sam’s group, Infrastructure, was given the responsibility of the November 24th meeting. They already have a full day planned and they can’t wait to share it with everyone!
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See you in Part 3!
Camden County, MO Emergency Management Agency 
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