VALDOSTA — In 2006, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College created the B.E.L.A.Y. (Becoming Exception Leaders And Youth volunteers) Academy.

“We started it because we have all these leader programs for adults and middle school is a great time to catch this age group,” said April Lamon, Director of Economic Development at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.

Lamon, along with Wiregrass employees Bill Tillmann and Kelly Wetherington, as well as one hired student from Valdosta State University, lead the week-long day camp that focuses on building leadership skills through teambuilding exercises. Participants — which includes 16 children ages 11 through 14 who are rising sixth through ninth graders — foster a sense of service for their community through volunteer efforts in partnership with The Greater Valdosta United Way.

“Being a leader is not only about being in charge,” said Lamon. “It’s about giving back to your community.”

While B.E.L.A.Y. is a camp that is designed to be fun, it is also incredibly informative and beneficial as it targets young adults and helps foster a sense of leadership and responsibility that participants can utilize in school and later on in their professional lives.

“I have second and third generations of families in this camp,” said Lamon. “It’s a testament to me of our program.”

A typical day for the B.E.L.A.Y. campers started with a morning lesson in leadership at 8:30 a.m. A big part of the lesson in leadership that they talked about every day came from “The Pillars of Leadership.”  

“It talks about integrity and trust,” said Lamon.

Accomplishment was also discussed in detail. The camp’s mantra became a quote from George William Curtis that states “the fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” Campers were taught that you’re not always going to get a ‘thank you’ for something good that you do. A sense of gratification and accomplishment have to come from within.

After their lesson, campers moved on to morning activities at the Challenge Course — which is an extensive ropes course at the Wiregrass campus — for four hours.

“They have to problem solve and work together as a team,” said Lamon.

Participants, who were split into teams on the first day, Monday, June 18, had to go through “elements” in the ropes course. The elements included various tasks that the teams had to work through and complete together. According to Lamon, we have become a society of instant gratification, so the ropes course conditions participants out of this mentality.

Lamon explained one ropes course scenario that was called “from ship to shore.” Teams had a limited number of resources and had to get their entire team off an imaginary boat and onto shore. Even if some teams did not complete the task in the allotted time, they were made to return to the same task the next day until the goal was fully reached.

“We make them have endurance and patience,” said Lamon as she explained two qualities of leadership that are of the utmost importance.

After the ropes course, campers went to Lunch N’ Network which focused on leadership. Lunch was donated throughout the camp by Covingtons, Firehouse Subs and Chick-Fil-A.

“They donate lunch every year,” said Lamon. “They are committed to helping grow leaders as well.”

Aside from having lunches donated by various local businesses, Sam’s Club sponsored all 16 students by covering $100 of the $199 camp cost. Lunch N’ Network created the perfect transition into their community service projects.

Every day for three and a half hours, the participants worked on a different charity project. Campers volunteered at places such as Second Harvest of Valdosta, the soup kitchen, South Side Recreation Center and the local homeless shelter called L.A.M.P. (Lowndes Associated Ministries to People).

“At each of these places we did a project,” said Lamon.

According to Lamon, the community service projects are so pertinent to B.E.L.A.Y. because it teaches youth that if everyone works together, no one has to do a lot.

It was the community service aspect of B.E.L.A.Y. that really influenced 12-year-old camper Sam Hardy.

“I didn’t know we had a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen,” said Hardy. “I always thought that everyone lived in houses.”

Hardy also felt that the ropes course helped build her self-confidence.

“It’s going to be helpful later on because there’s going to be things that look impossible . . . but you have to know you can get it done,” said Hardy.

Twelve-year-old Colten Gibbs also gained a lot from his experience at B.E.L.A.Y.

“I learned you have to listen to each other and work together,” said Gibbs as he explained the traits of a good leader.

For the past six years, Lamon has witnessed how one week at B.E.L.A.Y. can deeply impact a child.

“This age is so important because it’s when they are starting to mature,” said Lamon. “Middle school is a good age to start growing and fostering a sense of community service and leadership in them.”

On Friday, June 22, Wiregrass graduated all 16 participants of the B.E.L.A.Y. Academy. This is a grand accomplishment as upon graduation, campers must attain over 20 hours of leadership and teambuilding instruction and 12 hours of community service.

“I hope that we are raising future leaders for this community,” said Lamon.

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