Congratulations to Blayze Chapman for his recent trip to West Creek Ranch in Montana last month for the Leadership Summit hosted by First Tee and PGA TOUR Superstore.
During this weeklong event, teens were encouraged to further develop their existing strengths and values in a close-knit environment that fosters community, inspiration and connection with their peers, adult mentors and the great outdoors.
Blayze recently recapped his week for us:
“My 2 biggest takeaways from the Leadership Summit in Montana were to lead firmly, but empathetically, and to give others the tool for success, but let them learn it on their own. Though I learned many things, what I thought was the most important is that leading is not always loud. Leading is often listening to others’ ideas and input and helping to guide them to make the right decision on their own. I will use what I have learned in many ways, but especially on my golf team given that I have more influence on the culture there than anywhere else in my life. I will do that by making sure that everybody’s ideas are heard and by not being too pushy in the way I lead. I will also help guide them to learn lessons on their own, on and off the course, as opposed to just giving them the answer. If I had to choose the top three things that made this experience so great, it would be the speakers, the ability to relax and reflect in nature, and the other participants. If I had to give a couple reasons to sway someone who may be on the fence for applying, I would tell them to go for the people that they will get to meet. Everybody from the speakers to the chaperones, the participants, the staff, and even the band are extremely kind and you will learn from all of them and create lasting friendships. I would also tell them about all the amazing activities we get to do. On one of the days, we get to learn how to lead, corral, and groom the horses. In doing so, we get to learn how to be confident, but gentle and we learn how to build authentic relationships based on trust. We also got to go white water rafting where we learned how to get out of our comfort zone and how to become more willing to try something new. One of the final things we got to do was a challenge course in which we learned to utilize others’ help. The challenge was to climb a giant rope latter in which the rungs get further as you go up. Most people could get up the first few rungs alone, however the earlier you learn to work with your partner, the easier it was as you went up. Overall, I am extremely grateful for the experience and I have learned so many important lessons I can take back to my community.”