Leadership Conference Focuses on "Green and Healthy on the Hill"

Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College are hosting a Student Leadership Conference with the theme "Green and Healthy on the Hill."

Planned for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19 and 20, the conference is designed for high school students, college students, college and university faculty and staff, prospective leaders and parents. The event is sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and the Fairmont State GEAR UP Partnership.

The $35 registration fee includes interactive sessions, speakers, all meals and refreshments and door prizes. Registration is free for FSU and Pierpont students. For more information, contact the Office of Student Affairs at (304) 367-4215.

The conference will focus on strengthening skills, both personal and professional, that are needed in becoming a successful student leader. The aim is to connect the importance of individual lifestyle choices to the overall health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.

Registration begins Friday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Turley Center Ballroom on the FSU and Pierpont main campus. At 7 p.m. Feb. 19, speaker Rod Raymond will give a presentation called "Life Is Good...Really Good." Door prizes will be awarded at 8:30 p.m.

 
Rod Raymond

Rod Raymond is the co-owner of the Brewhouse, Red Star, Burrito Union and Old City Hall, as well as the UMD Fitness and serving as a wellness director. As a nominee for the Labovitz Entrepreneur of the Year award, he has been sharing his enthusiasm "for the good life" through his books videos and seminars over the past 15 years. After winning a major international endurance event, Raymond was noted by voices magazine as being "among the top 5 fittest men in the world." His philosophy of helping others to help themselves is what he believes creates a dynamic, exciting and fulfilling life. For more information about Raymond, visit http://www.rodraymond.com/.

Raymond's presentation titled "Life Is Good...Really Good" is about learning the six insights to having a really great life. He teaches the magic of the mind body continuum, the science of mastering communication, living a values driven life, obtaining and keeping optimal health, gut busting laughter and his secrets to unlimited energy.

Registration and breakfast begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Colebank Hall gym. After a brief welcome, keynote speaker Summer Rayne Oakes will talk about "Generation Y: How to Lead and Solve Today's Environmental Issues." Oakes' presentation is also part of the Celebration of Ideas Lecture Series.

 
Summer Rayne Oakes

Growing up among Pennsylvania farmlands outside Scranton, Summer Rayne Oakes was a self-taught naturalist. In her community, she was the youngest board member of the Environmental Advisory Council.

Oakes graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources and Entomology. She began modeling while attending Cornell. Her first project brought attention to sustainable fashion and rainforest conservation with photographer John F. Cooper and stylist Peter Brown's Organic Portraits series. Oakes is an Udall Scholar and National Wildlife Federation Fellow.

At Cornell, Oakes was Vice President of the Educate for the Earth Club and a frequent artistic contributor to Ursus, the student environmental publication. She was a research assistant in the Cornell Waste Management Institute. She also worked in the Aquatics Laboratory of the Department of Entomology on stream water quality studies and studied rainforest regeneration in the Central Highlands of the Dominican Republic. Oakes was an environmental lobbyist for the Long Island Neighborhood Network against pesticide application.

Her work today as a model is tied to socio-environmental issues, sustainability, equitable trade and education. In 2008, Oakes was named spokesperson, resident expert, host and board adviser for Discovery Channel's Planet Green Channel, a 24-7 hour network devoted to the environment. She also previously co-hosted Eco 4 the World with Andrew Patterson created by Big Durian Productions in Singapore.

A student environmental expo is planned from 11 a.m. to noon on Feb. 20, followed by lunch and afternoon workshops from 1:15 to 3 p.m. The two workshops offered will be "Dream Globally, Think Locally, Act Personally," presented by Dr. Phil Yeager, and "Be Well Be Healthy" by Rod Raymond. Certificates for participants and door prizes will be awarded at 3:15 p.m.

 
Dr. Phil Yeager

Dr. Phil Yeager's interest in the environment began while growing up in Colorado with the first Earth Day in 1970. These interests lead him to degrees in biology, entomology, and ecology. His primary interests reflect the major environmental problems of the day including water, energy and urban sprawl. Yeager is an Associate Professor of Biology at FSU, where he teaches courses in biology, ecology, environmental science and geographic information systems.  For recreation he likes to pursue "green" recreational activities including bicycling, hiking, rock climbing, backcountry skiing and nature photography.

In the session "Dream Globally, Think Locally, Act Personally," Yeager will encourage students to critically think about ways they can take action in their life that will help to create a sustainable future. Participants will be encouraged to interact with other students, and learn how their actions such as recycling and conservation when multiplied have local and global implications.

Raymond's session called "Be Well Be Healthy" will feature his Platinum Circle of Health. The session will include information on how to get and stay fit and lean in today's toxic, low energy world. Participants will learn state-of-the-art strategies for improving their: cardio,

Strength, flexibility, body fat, control, breathing enhancement, vital posture position, stress strategies and motivation (pain or pleasure).

 

To register or for more information about the conference, contact Jane Delbrook at (304) 367-4215 or e-mail jdelbrook@fairmontstate.edu.

Sign language interpreting and other accommodations for those with disabilities are available by request. Call Andrea Pammer at (304) 367-4686 or e-mail Andrea Pammer on or before Feb. 12. Sign language interpreting will be provided for the keynote address on Feb. 20.

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