2003 Leadership Development Academy

The LDA is conducted each year by the Georgia Association of Educators to develop future leaders for the association. This year LDA was held at Callaway Gardens June 18 – 20. The theme was “We’re the new faces on the front line.”

The accommodations were beautiful and convenient. The meeting halls were all large enough so that all the activities could be held in one building. The restaurant and motel were just a short walk from the activity center. The meals were very good. All the meals were served buffet style with a good variety of food from which to choose. The motel was also very comfortable and nice.

The week was packed with excitement and fun competition. Everyone was assigned to a group which was represented by a different color. There was a red group, green group, etc. Each member of the group wore a T-Shirt that was the color for their group which made seeing which group everyone was in very easy. Time was allowed for the groups to work on presentations for the contest that was held before the dance on Thursday evening. Laughter and fun reigned. The excitement in the groups could be heard through the walls of adjoining rooms.

Speakers traveled to each group to enlighten us on different topics that applied to educators and educational support personnel. The topics included:

A. The History of GAE and NEA

B. Educator’s Rights

C. Association Representative Training

D. Time Management

E. Organization

F. Conflict Resolution/Stress Management

G. Communications

H. NEA member benefits

I. Parliamentary Procedures

All the presentations were short, concise, and exciting.

When RA’s, LDA’s and other functions such as local meetings of our organization are announced please sign up to attend. Getting involved helps you become more aware of what is being done for you and how you can play a larger role in making a difference in education.

Pictured left to right are Fred Gould, Uniserv Director for our area), Shirley Astin and Stanley Bond representatives of the Murray Association of Educators