The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program hosted its 12th Annual Workshop in June. The four-day conference is a place for up to 400 senior NGYCP staff to network, participate in training, learn from each other, and plan the upcoming year. This year’s event was especially successful in inspiring participants and equipping them to make improvements to their programs because the themes of teambuilding, networking, and striving for excellence were so strongly underscored throughout the week. Joe Padilla, National Guard Bureau’s ChalleNGe Program Manager said, "It's always great to look out in the audience and see people in attendance who are totally committed to making a positive impact on ChalleNGe kids in their care."

Keynote speakers John Foley and Hill Harper served as the inspirational cornerstones of the week and aligned perfectly with the recurring theme of ‘excellence.’ John Foley, a former member of the elite Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team, spoke of the pursuit of excellence and gave concrete techniques to embrace challenge and strive for ever-higher levels of performance. Hill Harper, an author and Hollywood actor currently appearing on CSI: New York, has made a commitment to work in service of youth. He shared how his own life experiences led him to where he is today and stressed how education and mentoring are crucial in helping youth become productive citizens. Based on conference feedback, the participants found both speakers engaging and entertaining and thought the messages were applicable to their own lives as well as to their work with NGYCP. One audience member called the speakers “relevant, inspiring, and entertaining,” and that sentiment was echoed throughout the feedback. Joe Padilla said, "We try really hard to find keynote speakers who will educate, motivate, and inspire; I believe that was the case this year in San Diego."

The conference’s thirty-six seminars, each led by qualified subject matter experts, included topics such as conflict resolution, experiential learning in education, and gang awareness and intervention, as well as targeted “dashboard” seminars for specific program roles. The variety of options gave participants several opportunities to expand their knowledge and learn something that can help them in their work with NGYCP’s youth.

At the conference closing, participants exuded a tangible enthusiasm for getting back to the programs and implementing new skills and new shared knowledge. Excitement and eagerness for the upcoming year marked the event and, as one participant put it, “getting to meet people from other programs and hear new ideas is invaluable.”

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