HIT THE SHOWERS TEAM LEADER TRAINING!
The title of this blog tells it all! EEEK! The corps members literally come in less than 48 hours to the NCCC campus of Vicksburg, MS. Team Leader Training as of today is officially “in the books”! We wrapped up everything that we have been trained on in the past 3.5 weeks. Boy oh boy…it surely zipped right by! It is true when they say, once you get older, days and days get blended together and go super duper fast. That is why one of my goals this year was to stay organized and write the important things done, while also keeping in touch with family, friends, and whomever.
This last week of trainings had a great impact on my up and coming challenges of leading a team of 10. There was a wide array of trainings that benefited me greatly and consciously opened my eyes about strengthening my abilities of becoming a better leader. So here it goes:
07-24-09 (FRIDAY)
- PT in the morning to my favorite PT sport…ultimate Frisbee; our team of 10 dominated and ran all over those other TLs ;)
- 1st day of catered meals given by a catering company in Jackson, MS; they will be feeding us breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 2 possibly 3 weeks.
- Presentation on Southern culture and southern manners/etiquette put on by Program Director, Rich Smith, Jules Hampton and a couple outside presenters; I happened to pick up a few pointers here and there (including: when a southern waves at you, always wave back or you will be perceived as a bad person)
- During lunch I got together with my Unit Leader, Neal, and had a 1 on 1 to discuss our last weeks Myers/Briggs leadership test results, Action Plan, and any worries I had up to this point
- Following lunch we had a 3 hour session dealing with Disasters; it is actually fun experience working on disasters even though it is devastating to see the outcome of the hurricane
- After we had an end of the week 3 wrap-up questions pertaining the same issues such as: need more hot water, need more supplies for the kitchen to cook the food, AC turning off at random times of the day, etc.
WEEKEND
- after Friday’s trainings, some of us cleaned up and went out to downtown Vicksburg for some socialization with each other and other Vicksburgeans that were out that night
- following the downtown scene, we drove over to the Ameristar casino and saw a live variety and funk band perform; danced up a storm; I ended up winning 18 bucks playing penny slots!! GO ME!
- On Saturday, about 5 of us walked to the public pool for an afternoon swim (which I got heavily burnt!), some went to the lake nearby, and others did their own thing; the pool was fun and very relaxing!
- Sunday was kind of a catch up, cleaned the room, played some board games, and had a good sleep in preparing for the up and coming busy, busy, busy week
07-27-09 ( MONDAY)
- group PT in the wee hours of the morning, nothing too exciting to report on this subject
- 2nd group community meeting to discuss important topics, schedule changes, and any other suggestions from staff and team green
- CTI Roundtable Discussion quickly followed
o Got a rough draft schedules of what CTI will look like
o Assigned stations for corps member arrival
- found out getting new phones; mine was acting poorly with a terrible battery life
- before lunch we had a Q and A with two ex-TL’s and asked them about their TL experience and got advice
- after catered lunch we gathered for PCR (project completion report) training with Jen Prall and Rich Smith (PS. More and more I bring up the acronyms for these terms, you will pick up on it J)
- found out we received our 1st TL direct deposit check…ALL were elated!
- The next hour consisted of the briefing of our 2nd TL service project in Vicksburg at a historic nun convent
- Ended the day discussing and gathering ideas about what to talk about at the TL debrief
NOTE: catered food for all 3 meals was NASTY!
07-28-09 (TUESDAY)
- met at 7:30 AM to load up necessary tools for service project; didn’t quite know what we were going to be doing when we got there
- drove to the project site and got to the historic location and received a brief orientation and walk-through
o learned a lot; oldest building in Vicksburg was at this site
- wore our sweet, black coverall outfit, put on our respirators and masks, and strapped on goggles then went to sweep up dust/debris in one of the buildings
o ripped down ceiling tiles
o shoveled up big and small particles of dust
o bagged and dumped it in the dumpster
- the reason for this project was also like a training because we learned what asbestos looks like and to be prepared to do this when you get called to mucking out houses and have to deal with lead paint and other chemical items
- worked and sweated until 11:30 AM; got 3 TV/radio media hits…2 from Vicksburg news and radio stations and 1 from Jackson local TV station (will be finding the links to add it)
- came back to campus for lunch and then go broken up into groups to do the 15 passenger final evaluations; I, of course dominated and passed easily (helps being a driver last year as a corps member); drove with staff Counselor, Leigh Ann.
- Came home from driving and got cleaned up for the Mississippi Braves AA baseball game
o Myself, Dan, and Patrick of the TL’s went
o $4 tickets for the doubleheader! Didn’t know it was 2 games until we got there…definitely worth the price of admission; our seats were 2nd row behind the 3rd base dugout
- what a LONG and TIRING day!
07-29-09 (WEDNESDAY)
- PT at bright and early 6 AM to the sweet MTV dance to the beat workout tape with fellow Road Rules and Real World members…it reminded me when I purchased Richard Simmons DVDs for my fellow crew leaders during Summer of Service last year
- Cleaned up and had TL scenarios where the staff members acted out possible CM situations; great training and very effective
- Got great feedback from the other TL’s in our follow up debrief.
- Another CRUDDY catered lunch!
- Then the TL’s gathered for a practice run-through for our debrief; we were even dressed up in ou formal attire to later find out that our TLT debrief was switched to tomorrow (Thursday) at 11 AM…that’s the pure definition of “being flexible”, one of the important things you learn in Americorps from the get-go!
- We then had chores to do for Wade, Deputy Specialist, and broke off into 4 groups; my group had to go through the 3 different dorms and take off the plastic linings on the bed mattresses, very hot and sweaty!
- After the termination of the small tasks, we gathered in our training room (Room 10) and found out that our BBQ potluck was cancelled, but instead we were going to have an ice cream social later tonight
- Also received word that I was going to be getting a mini fridge for my personal room! I set it up and it is SWEET!
- Had dinner and then followed by the ice cream social and then everyone got more and more hyped up because the anticipation with the CM’s coming
- Wrote some letters to mail to my peeps and called it a night
So as mentioned before, TLT is officially over and now onto the big time…CM’s! All this planning, training, and sitting into listening to sessions has paid off and I believe that a majority of us TL’s are prepared to bring on the CM challenge and lead a team! I know I have been waiting for this for a long time. I think I have to pinch myself to wake up from this dream and come back to reality. All of the previous weeks really have made me think really hard about this upcoming 10 months and makes me happier and happier. I am ready for this!!
More updates to come once the CM’s have settled in. It’s now time to take on the challenge of operating a POD team before our permanent teams come!!
“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” -D.H. Lawrence
PS. Congratulations to my lovely cousin, Karah, for getting married this past weekend (Saturday)! Many years of happiness and love…wish I was able to come!
The title of this blog tells it all! EEEK! The corps members literally come in less than 48 hours to the NCCC campus of Vicksburg, MS. Team Leader Training as of today is officially “in the books”! We wrapped up everything that we have been trained on in the past 3.5 weeks. Boy oh boy…it surely zipped right by! It is true when they say, once you get older, days and days get blended together and go super duper fast. That is why one of my goals this year was to stay organized and write the important things done, while also keeping in touch with family, friends, and whomever.
This last week of trainings had a great impact on my up and coming challenges of leading a team of 10. There was a wide array of trainings that benefited me greatly and consciously opened my eyes about strengthening my abilities of becoming a better leader. So here it goes:
07-24-09 (FRIDAY)
- PT in the morning to my favorite PT sport…ultimate Frisbee; our team of 10 dominated and ran all over those other TLs ;)
- 1st day of catered meals given by a catering company in Jackson, MS; they will be feeding us breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 2 possibly 3 weeks.
- Presentation on Southern culture and southern manners/etiquette put on by Program Director, Rich Smith, Jules Hampton and a couple outside presenters; I happened to pick up a few pointers here and there (including: when a southern waves at you, always wave back or you will be perceived as a bad person)
- During lunch I got together with my Unit Leader, Neal, and had a 1 on 1 to discuss our last weeks Myers/Briggs leadership test results, Action Plan, and any worries I had up to this point
- Following lunch we had a 3 hour session dealing with Disasters; it is actually fun experience working on disasters even though it is devastating to see the outcome of the hurricane
- After we had an end of the week 3 wrap-up questions pertaining the same issues such as: need more hot water, need more supplies for the kitchen to cook the food, AC turning off at random times of the day, etc.
WEEKEND
- after Friday’s trainings, some of us cleaned up and went out to downtown Vicksburg for some socialization with each other and other Vicksburgeans that were out that night
- following the downtown scene, we drove over to the Ameristar casino and saw a live variety and funk band perform; danced up a storm; I ended up winning 18 bucks playing penny slots!! GO ME!
- On Saturday, about 5 of us walked to the public pool for an afternoon swim (which I got heavily burnt!), some went to the lake nearby, and others did their own thing; the pool was fun and very relaxing!
- Sunday was kind of a catch up, cleaned the room, played some board games, and had a good sleep in preparing for the up and coming busy, busy, busy week
07-27-09 ( MONDAY)
- group PT in the wee hours of the morning, nothing too exciting to report on this subject
- 2nd group community meeting to discuss important topics, schedule changes, and any other suggestions from staff and team green
- CTI Roundtable Discussion quickly followed
o Got a rough draft schedules of what CTI will look like
o Assigned stations for corps member arrival
- found out getting new phones; mine was acting poorly with a terrible battery life
- before lunch we had a Q and A with two ex-TL’s and asked them about their TL experience and got advice
- after catered lunch we gathered for PCR (project completion report) training with Jen Prall and Rich Smith (PS. More and more I bring up the acronyms for these terms, you will pick up on it J)
- found out we received our 1st TL direct deposit check…ALL were elated!
- The next hour consisted of the briefing of our 2nd TL service project in Vicksburg at a historic nun convent
- Ended the day discussing and gathering ideas about what to talk about at the TL debrief
NOTE: catered food for all 3 meals was NASTY!
07-28-09 (TUESDAY)
- met at 7:30 AM to load up necessary tools for service project; didn’t quite know what we were going to be doing when we got there
- drove to the project site and got to the historic location and received a brief orientation and walk-through
o learned a lot; oldest building in Vicksburg was at this site
- wore our sweet, black coverall outfit, put on our respirators and masks, and strapped on goggles then went to sweep up dust/debris in one of the buildings
o ripped down ceiling tiles
o shoveled up big and small particles of dust
o bagged and dumped it in the dumpster
- the reason for this project was also like a training because we learned what asbestos looks like and to be prepared to do this when you get called to mucking out houses and have to deal with lead paint and other chemical items
- worked and sweated until 11:30 AM; got 3 TV/radio media hits…2 from Vicksburg news and radio stations and 1 from Jackson local TV station (will be finding the links to add it)
- came back to campus for lunch and then go broken up into groups to do the 15 passenger final evaluations; I, of course dominated and passed easily (helps being a driver last year as a corps member); drove with staff Counselor, Leigh Ann.
- Came home from driving and got cleaned up for the Mississippi Braves AA baseball game
o Myself, Dan, and Patrick of the TL’s went
o $4 tickets for the doubleheader! Didn’t know it was 2 games until we got there…definitely worth the price of admission; our seats were 2nd row behind the 3rd base dugout
- what a LONG and TIRING day!
07-29-09 (WEDNESDAY)
- PT at bright and early 6 AM to the sweet MTV dance to the beat workout tape with fellow Road Rules and Real World members…it reminded me when I purchased Richard Simmons DVDs for my fellow crew leaders during Summer of Service last year
- Cleaned up and had TL scenarios where the staff members acted out possible CM situations; great training and very effective
- Got great feedback from the other TL’s in our follow up debrief.
- Another CRUDDY catered lunch!
- Then the TL’s gathered for a practice run-through for our debrief; we were even dressed up in ou formal attire to later find out that our TLT debrief was switched to tomorrow (Thursday) at 11 AM…that’s the pure definition of “being flexible”, one of the important things you learn in Americorps from the get-go!
- We then had chores to do for Wade, Deputy Specialist, and broke off into 4 groups; my group had to go through the 3 different dorms and take off the plastic linings on the bed mattresses, very hot and sweaty!
- After the termination of the small tasks, we gathered in our training room (Room 10) and found out that our BBQ potluck was cancelled, but instead we were going to have an ice cream social later tonight
- Also received word that I was going to be getting a mini fridge for my personal room! I set it up and it is SWEET!
- Had dinner and then followed by the ice cream social and then everyone got more and more hyped up because the anticipation with the CM’s coming
- Wrote some letters to mail to my peeps and called it a night
So as mentioned before, TLT is officially over and now onto the big time…CM’s! All this planning, training, and sitting into listening to sessions has paid off and I believe that a majority of us TL’s are prepared to bring on the CM challenge and lead a team! I know I have been waiting for this for a long time. I think I have to pinch myself to wake up from this dream and come back to reality. All of the previous weeks really have made me think really hard about this upcoming 10 months and makes me happier and happier. I am ready for this!!
More updates to come once the CM’s have settled in. It’s now time to take on the challenge of operating a POD team before our permanent teams come!!
“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.” -D.H. Lawrence
PS. Congratulations to my lovely cousin, Karah, for getting married this past weekend (Saturday)! Many years of happiness and love…wish I was able to come!
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