Kamryn Lillie now has her dreams and goals written in a notebook, where she can look at it every day as a reminder of who and what she hopes to become. Justin Coots has a new perspective on perseverance.Taylor Berry was inspired to believe in her power to overcome obstacles by the story of a tiny player who worked his way to a football scholarship at Ole Miss.The three are among several Vinton-Shellsburg High School students who spent Tuesday in Des Moines, listening to the speakers at the annual Ed Thomas Leadership Academy.VSHS administrators chose several students to be among the 450 people who heard "I was very proud and happy that I was picked to go. I believe that more kids should be given the chance to go to the Ed Thomas Leadership Academy. My favorite speaker was the last guy, whose name is Richie Contartesi. He had a very motivational story and he made me think about life differently. Because of him, I wrote down my dream/goal and look at it every day."Contartesi, despite being just 5 feet, seven inches tall and weighing 155 pounds, caught some passes for the Rebels during his senior year, and was the guy who held the ball for the kicker during extra point and field goal attempts. His speech focused on encouraging the listeners to overcome what they perceive to be the obstacles standing in their path. Taylor also found Contartesi's speech to be the most memorable of the day. "It was easy to relate to his story about his struggle to achieve his dream and it was easily relatable to situations in Iowa, where kids don't think they can be famous just because they live here," said Taylor. "He wanted to play football but he was super small and no one really believed in him but he did it. It was really powerful; I thought he gave a great speech."Justin said he most inspirational message he heard came from a coach who spent decades as an assistant to the iconic Ed Thomas, who was murdered on June 24, 2009, as he worked with athletes in the Aplington-Parkersburg weight room.The Ed Thomas Family Foundation strives to help young people keep alive Thomas's memory by offering scholarships, leadership events and other activities designed to help young people succeed and to learn the four core priorities: Faith, family, character and integrity. In addition to Taylor, Justin and Kamryn, other VSHS attendees included Rachel Tandy, Mike Delong, Justin Bartz, Tanner Cummings and Conner Bendull. Mr. Antonio Islas and Mrs. Deb Schirm accompanied the students to the Des Moines event. "Probably the most powerful message I got from the leadership conference was perseverance," says Justin. "So many people have goals, yet they let them slip and lose sight of them within days or weeks - take ake New Year's resolutions for example. However, those resolutions are minor, yet the same things happen with our major goals. Everyone wants to be a superstar, the best athlete, singer, musician, etc., but few have the perseverance and willingness to put in the hard work that it takes to be a champion."Justin says his favorite speaker of the day was Al Kerns, the recently-retired A-P coach who was an assistant to Thomas for nearly 30 years. "I felt that he had the most powerful message in relation to the things that I mentioned above, and it was an honor to be selected to go," says Justin.Mr. Islas offered the following summary:The leadership conference had several speakers address the attendees in regards to character and leadership in their schools and community. The day began with the first speaker Aaron Thomas (eldest son of Ed Thomas). He shared his life experience growing up in the house with his mom and dad what brought him back to A-P. The next speaker was a former Iowa State women's basketball player and WNBA player Lyndsey Fennelly, who now lives and works in the Des Moines area running her own business and basketball camps for Georges Niang. She shared with the group the about relentless work ethic and mental toughness. She was extremely energetic. Our third speaker was Elias Johnson, who is a journalist and Iowa native that shared his story of perseverance and after never qualifying for the state wrestling tournament here in Iowa he worked hard and was determined to be the starting wrestler for Arizona State University his senior year winning a Pac-10 conference championship. The speaker that our group had just before lunch was Al Kerns, Asst. Football Coach at A-P under coach Ed Thomas. He was a crowd favorite. He was very "old school" and shared his thoughts about his friend and mentor and what leadership is and how character helps you shape you. Our final speaker was a young man names Richie Contartesi who worked incredibly hard to earn a Division I football athletic scholarship despite being 5'7" and 155 lbs. He was very energetic and animated about his life story and where it led him. My thoughts about the academy: I think it was truly a great opportunity to have these young men and women hear the message of leadership and character. This is a message that could and should be heard loud and often. We are always in need of good leaders, but more importantly we are in need of people who demonstrate good character. Learn more about the Ed Thomas Foundation's goals and mission HERE.
Comments
Submit a CommentPlease refresh the page to leave Comment.
Still seeing this message? Press Ctrl + F5 to do a "Hard Refresh".