Monday Group of the Day and Awards

As Head Table, we judge all of the home group competitions during LYS.  We’re happy to announce some of the first results!

Here are the results for the Skit Competition…

1st Place: Paleontologists

2nd Place: Reptiles

3rd Place: Velociraptors

We also announced the winners of the Color, Mascot, Symbol, Theme Presentation…

1st Place: Shovels

2nd Place: Reptiles

3rd Place: Velociraptors

And last but not least, after a crazy day of cheering and traveling, we finally announced Group of the Day!

3rd Place: Stegosaurus

2nd Place: Volcanoes

 MONDAY GROUP OF THE DAY: Herbivores

“WE LOVE IT! WE LOVE IT! HEY HEY, WE LOVE IT!”

Looking forward to a SUPER GREAT day tomorrow!
Head Table

Representative Chris Broadwater – Political Party Speaker

Representative Chris Broadwater addressed the delegation at the Political Party kickoff this morning.  His bio is below: 

Representative Chris Broadwater was first elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2011. He serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, and also serves on the Ways and Means Committee, Education Committee, House Select Leadership Committee, Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, House Executive Committee and is Chairman of the House Fiscal Note Review Committee.

He is a graduate of the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert School of Law (Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Civil Law), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Louisiana College (B.A. in Sociology/Family Life Studies).

In 2008, he was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor/Director of the Louisiana Office of Workers Compensation where he spearheaded significant reforms of the workers compensation system.  After his election, Representative Broadwater joined the law firm of Cashe, Coudrain and Sandage in Hammond, Louisiana where his practice is focused in the areas of Employment Law, Workers Compensation and Insurance Defense.

Chris currently serves on the National Board of Directors of Jobs For America’s Graduates, is a member of the Labor and Economic Development Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators, a member of The Council of State Governments Legal Task Force and a member of the advisory policy board for the Comprehensive Public Training Program for State employees.

He has been recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Louisiana State Troopers Association (2013 and 2014), Legislative Champion for Healthcare by the Louisiana Hospital Association (2015),  Legislative Champion for Economic Development by the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association (2013), Legislator of the Year by the Louisiana Athletic Trainers Association (2014), recipient of the Guardian Angel Award by the National Federation of Independent Business (2014), Recipient of the 2016 Chairman's Award by the Chamber of Southwest Louisiana and Recipient of the 2016 Jobs For America’s Graduates National Leadership Award.

Chris and his wife, Hilaria, have 4 daughters.

Sunday Group of the Day

Every day Head Table will award Group of the Day to the group that displays the most spirit,  travels the best, and works well together all day. The Group of the Day receives the coveted LYS Flag (you can spot it in pictures throughout the week).

Today’s winners are…

3rd Place Group of the Day:  T-Rexes

2nd Place Group of the Day:  Explorers

SUNDAY GROUP OF THE DAY:  PTERODACTYLS

”You are the best! Better than the rest!”  Once a group wins Group of the Day you’ll hear the other groups cheering “HEY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU SAY? LET’S TAKE THE FLAG AWAY!”

Welcome to LYS 2017- Monday Wrap-up!

The 47th Louisiana Youth Seminar is off to a great start! Each day we will provide a wrap up of the day with links to photo albums of all of the day's activities.  Please check our social media outlets for live updates as the seminar progresses: 

• Student delegates were welcomed to the dorm by LYS Staff and volunteers eager to start our 2017 Seminar! 
• Delegates were divided into "home groups" where they met their Counselor and Junior Counselor and ate lunch with their home group members.  Meet our staff here
• The 2017 Seminar officially kicked off with Opening Convocation where we first experience the power and enthusiasm of LYS.  The convocation included: 
  • Welcome to LYS by Executive Director Dr. Sonja Pruitt-Lord
  • Introduction of the LYS Theme Song- "No Man Is An Island"
  • Presentation of the '71 Club Inductees for 2017 - Tammy Little, Barry Klein, Kal Laviolette, and Lynn Livingston for their support of LYS throughout the decades. 
  • A crowd favorite, the JC Dance, a hilarious skit by Head Table and much more... 
• After some more time with our home groups, getting to know each other a little better, we returned to the ballroom for Mixer.  During Mixer the delegates had the chance to experience what the LYS motto, “No Man is an Island” really means as they participated in some fun group bonding activities including: trust exercises with other delegates they had not met before, small group discussions led by staff members, and conversations amongst themselves about their goals and dreams.     With music, laughter and great conversations echoing throughout the ballroom, Mixer brought the whole delegation closer and the first night to an exciting end. 
• Before bed, Home Groups are convening to make costumes and roll call cheers for tomorrow.  
• THIS JUST IN: Head Table just surprised the delegates with news that they have to create a banner with their color, mascot, symbol, and theme which they picked during home group time earlier this afternoon! 

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Will Syll, LYS Program Director

Will is a Covington, LA native and graduate of St. Paul's School and Louisiana State University.  In his non-LYS life, Will teaches science in the Baton Rouge Teach for America program.  His message for the delegates is this: If you knew you could not fail, what new things would you try? What great things could you accomplish? What talents might you discover? I invite each of you to approach this week with attempting to discover all you can about yourself, because at LYS you truly cannot fail. You will be amazed at the personal growth and discovery that can occur in just one short week. I challenge you to be open-minded, have fun and give this week your all. I promise you will not be disappointed.

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WHO WANTS THE FLAG?
Every day Head Table will award "Group of the Day" to the group with the most spirit that travels the best and works well together all day. The group will then receive the coveted LYS Flag (you can spot it in pictures throughout the week). The winning group is in charge of the flag until the next Group of the Day is announced the following evening, but there’s a catch! Group members often find themselves eating, cheering, and even sleeping with the flag because if they aren’t touching the flag for even one second, delegates from any other group can come and steal the flag. So Group of the Day must hold that flag closely!
 

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Want to stay in touch?  Regular updates will be made on the LYS Facebook Page- LYS-Louisiana Youth Seminar - Like our page to see the latest updates as the week progresses and for leadership updates throughout the year.  We will keep you posted and post pictures throughout the week!