Junior Year- Who Wouldn't Want to be Me?

Junior year will rock. Do any of you remember your junior year of High School?

From the teachers, students to the clubs, junior year will be stellar for me. I will be the Buddy Director for Best Buddies this year and I am ready to speak up during meetings this year and a few days ago, when we had our first officer meeting; I definitely spoke up a lot and gave tons of input! According to my family, my speech is more clear then it was last year.

Junior year will hold more opportunities for me to be on Firebird Word, Chaparral's school announcements for Best Buddies and Lookout Club!

I can’t wait to continue my friendships with Blake Sykes, Taylor Taft, Hannah Hulst and now for the mainstream friends, officer Tyler Waller and more. Best Buddies will rock this year, thanks to our advisors, officer corps, members and program manager. The officer training in September 2011 will rock and I am ready to inspire everyone with a speech, if they do that again. I am aiming to try to give my speech without help. I know I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

I have got this plan to visit a few of my teachers I had sophomore year and take a few of my friends, including Blake Sykes to meet them.

I am ready to sing my heart out at Best Buddies meetings this year, and I will be the karaoke queen (KQ) of 2011-12 school year! The 1st picture is me singing at one of our meetings last year, which is where I was warming me voice up for the karaoke that happened at the conference.

I cannot wait one bit to see being an ambassador holds for me in terms of speaking engagements and the board in general. The ambassadors will rock and roll this year! Chaparral has two ambassadors, Matt Bloomfield and Lindsey Eaton, but our Buddy Director for a few years ago is an ambasssador. He is Taylor Ray.

I am predicting our sports teams will win State Championships and make us proud Firebirds!!!!

Best Buddies Arizona!

Presenters Julia Banahan, Lindsey Eaton and Lead Program Manager, Tim Lhotka

Best Buddies Arizona promotes opportunities for friendships and leadership with integrated employment for students and adults with disabilities. The group is led by Maggie Speer.

There are other staff members at the state office and they are Tim Bolen, Tim Lhotka and McKenzie Rosser. Fran Parker is also a staff member. Tim and Maggie are in charge of the Buddy Ambassador program. The ambassadors are students with disabilities, who are paired with a speech coach, a person without a disability. Julia Banahan, Dakota Johns, Drew Dysko and Greg Devorce are a few of the recent graduates from the ambassador board.

The program managers oversee chapters such as Higley HS, J.O Combs HS, ASU, Desert Ridge and Mountain Ridge HS. Obviously, Chaparral and many more chapters.

Arizona's fundraiser is the Spirit of Friendship, which is prom themed this year. The ambassadors and staff members were photographed for it this past June. Drew Dysko (Hamilton) and Lindsey Eaton (Chaparral), got a cute picture together. Drew was sitting on my lap and he was super cute.

Every March, Best Buddies has a Best Buddies Month Celebration where they honor outstanding chapters, leaders and buddy pairs. This quote was from the 2010-11 Best Buddies Month, I am so excited about the award ceremony and recognizing all of our outstanding chapters in Arizona!” says McKenzie Rosser, Program Manager. She continues, “it is just so rewarding to see the Buddy Pairs celebrating together.”

Statistics

Founder: Anthony Kennedy Shriver

Year Founded: 2000 (AZ) and 1989 (Best Buddies International)

# of chapters

High schools: 29 (closed 3).

Middle Schools: 3

Colleges: 2

Events:

Best Buddies Month Celebration

Spirit of Friendship Gala

Audi Quattro Golf Event (I saw this pictures on the 2nd BBAZ page...which is the one you have to friend.)

BNI Best Buddies Bowling

Social Media

Facebook

Best Buddies Arizona (Like)

Best Buddies Arizona (Friend)

Twitter

BestBuddiesAZ

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LC 2011: Reflections

As a student leader and ambassador for Best Buddies Arizona, i can tell you that the Leadership Conference changed my life. I met many new friends including a few from Virginia. Best Buddies Virginia is friends with me on Facebook. I am actually friends with some of the Chapter President's I met such as Ashley Apodoca. I miss my friends James, Ashley and Shelby and I also miss from friend, Brian and the girls I met from Virginia. The girls were really nice to me and I met a staff member from Virginia and they asked me if Maggie is our Program Manager. I said Maggie is the Program Supervisor.

I was able to meet Anthony Shriver, Nicole Raine and Melissa Wong. I shook hands with Meliss and Nicole. They were very awesome.

I really miss my speech coach, Hannah Leary. Hannah was a fun blast to work with and we got to know each other a lot. She came with me into the bookstore to buy an IU shirt on the last day of ambassador trainings. I texted Hannah this morning. Hannah asked me if I was coming back for LC 2012 as she is. I miss you a lot, Hannah!

On the night of the oscars, I heard some of our student leaders say to McKenzie "Don't get us lost, McKenzie" and I asked her what they were talking about. She said she got them lost during LC 2010.

More Facebook News:

I have become friends with Brendan Lemieux from the Kandoo Band. I posted on his wall

‎Brendan Lemieux

You guys rocked the house on Friday! You amazed me and I loved the songs you sang. I brought your song "Take the Diss Out" before LC 2011. It is a great song!

My new nickname is Karaoke Queen and Tim Bolen gave it to me. I feel like I have quite the voice and am ready to sing more at chapter meetings. Watch out Chaparral.

Student Leader advice from a current Ambassador (I am not encouraging this) but you should branch out and with a different state at night one night, which I how I met the girls from Virginia.

LC 2011: What's new

Logo: Best Buddies International


LC 2011 is 8 days away. I can hardly wait too see Emma Kitnick, Charles Calhoun, Rick Shugroue and Whitney Brodersen at the airport. I am also excited to meet Anthony Kennedy Shriver, who signed my ambasador graduation diploma from Best Buddies Arizona.

The flight leaves at 8:55am. It turns out that I am going to pre-board our flight early as I have special needs and my mom checked the option on Wednesday night. I get very overwhelmed by lines. We are flying US Airways. Family and friends, I ask that you pray that our travels are smooth to Indiana on the 22nd of this month. I am sure it will be but I would still like it if you prayed, as it is a 3 1/2 hour flight.

I am sure McNutt Quad will be a nice dormitory to live in for four nights. There will no late nights (past 11:00) as the BB staff will do dorm checks to make sure everyone is in bed.

What is the opposite of nervous? It is excited. I am super excited as I feel like everyone from BBAZ and BBI will be very welcoming, even the other student leaders from many other chapters. Plus, I know Emma really good and all the ambassadors. The party don't start till AZ arrives!!!! I can't wait to make many new friends and continue my friendships that've been going on.

They are going to show a movie called "Shooting Beauty" at the LC. It is about photographers who have disabilities. You can't rent the video from Blockbuster, but you can buy it online, when I send you the link.
http://www.everyonedeservesashot.com/

Keep your eyes on changing the world one friendship at a time. What will your role in The Big Picture be? Please watch the conference live online. It streams live at bestbuddies.tv

I will definitely look for the banner for Dick Van Arsdale in the gym. Plenty of pictures will be taken.

The R-Word in Hawaii

Yesterday at the airport in Maui, I heard someone say the r-word when they were using their phone to look something up and it offended me. Oh how that word offends students and adults with disabilities.

I felt like saying "I feel so offended since you used the r-word. Have you heard about Spread the Word to End the Word?", but time went too fast and it was time to get on the plane.

Please continue to not use the r-word around my friends and I as it offends us. If you haven't made the pledge to end the r-word please do so by going to www.r-word.org and click on pledge and be heard.

Best Buddies and Special Olympics participants and supporters appreciate your pledges and support to ban the r-word.

Thank you

Lindsey Eaton

A Recipe for a successful Friendship (Best Buddies or other)

2 cups of contacts with your friends. Use Facebook or texting to keep in touch with them.
2 cups of outings with your friends. Why not go to a movie, bowling or go to breakfast.
3 quarts of pictures to document your friendship. If you are goofy, a few funny pictures.
3 1/2 teaspoons of fun times with your friends

For Best Buddies,
3 1/2 cups of one-to-one friendships which are successful from several chapters.
2 1/2 cups of chapter events and meetings per month
1 teaspoon of BBAZ Events
2 cups of fun at Leadership Conference. Let's go BBAZ!!!!!
Party with friends, make friends and see your program manager. PM's and staff come by dorms at 11:00 to see if everyone is in bed.

Get Pumped up: LC 2011

Photo taken by Rachel Southard

Tim Lhotka, Julia Banahan and Lindsey Eaton

Photo taken by: Adrienne Nelson

Tim Lhotka, McKenzie Rosser, Tim Bolen and Maggie Speer

The countdown has begun for Indiana!!! 30 more days. I am getting so excited to be reunited with Emma Kitnick. I also get to see my friends Charles Calhoun, Rick Shugroue and Whitney Brodersen, but I also can't wait to make more friends.

I plan to look for the representative from Corona Del Mar High School in California.

One of the details on the parent packet for LC reads

All attendees must be in bed before 11:00.

Best Buddies staff will be doing checks to make sure everyone is in bed and in their dorm.

Program staff members

Tim Lhotka, Maggie Speer, McKenzie Rosser, Tim Bolen and Deona Cole will be in Indiana.

There will be a dance party one night while we are in Indiana. It's going to be such fun to bring my moves to the dance floor.

As for communication, I will not have a laptop with me, but I will have my cell phone with me. I will call home when necessary or if needed so I don't get homesick. If I don't call, don't worry; it will mean I am the best time and making new friends from all over the world.