The creation of a Core of Leaders was one of five goals from last year's youth summit. The concept: develop a group comprised of youth and adults in the community who would unite in the leadership of asset work.

On January 9, in the old Boothbay Town Hall at the Boothbay Railway Village, members of the community attended a breakfast designed by AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer Tim Diomede of the YMCA, Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES) guidance counselor (grades 5-8) Linda Lupton, and Meaghan Hamblett of Hamblett Consulting.

Community leaders from BRES, Boothbay Region High School (BRHS), local business owners, the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, the Boothbay Fire Department, St. Andrews Hospital and Healthcare Center, the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, the Boothbay Baptist Church, the Boothbay Region YMCA and the Boothbay Civic Association (BCA), parents, and citizens were in attendance.

Diomede and Lupton facilitated the event, which included student presentations, from which they hope a core of leaders will emerge.

"We know that a lot of good things are going on in this town," said Lupton. "It was helpful for the kids to hear about what the community leaders who attended do and see the by-products of those efforts."

"The more the kids understand, the more they can appreciate what is going on and they begin thinking about what they could do, what they could contribute," Lupton added.

Suggestions for youth participation included such community events as Fishermen's Festival and Windjammer Days.

Another goal set forth at the 2006 summit was to build a skating rink. Progress has been slow, but steady, for a project that has been researched many times over the years.

Said Diomede, "The BCA has been extremely supportive of the rink. I attended the last BCA meeting with Andy Panagore and Connor Morton . We brought a copy of our newsletter, information about the 40 assets and talked about the skating rink.

"They are including information about us in the BCA newsletter and are behind us 100 percent. They are helping with the research on rink designs; and, they plan to help out with some of the financing. We still have many details to work out, but we are making progress and we thank everyone that has been working so hard on the rink project."

Diomede said that the next phase is agreeing on a design and working on a budget. Area youth would like to have a hockey regulation sized - 200' x 80' - permanent rink. Although strong location possibilities exist, nothing definite has been agreed upon at this time.

Plans were shared for the second youth summit, or as Diomede refers to it, the "Youthbay Summit" will be held on Tuesday, March 27 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the YMCA gymnasium.

"What is new about this second summit is that it is being planned entirely by the kids," Diomede said. "Last year the Search Institute provided a plan of action and direction on facilitation that they used."

Senior Brittney Markowski and Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Robert Hasch will welcome participants to the summit.

Following the welcome, youth will be revisiting the developmental assets and developing new goals for the coming year in a roundtable format with one adult facilitator at each table of eight to ten students.

Diomede will review the 40 assets, and lead one or two asset reinforcing activities.

Interspersed throughout the program there will be three to four creative showcases featuring artistic assets.

Diomede, Lupton and Hamblett will be in touch with those that attended the breakfast with a date for a follow-up gathering.

Lupton said that she has received phone calls from other community members who were unable to attend, but wish to be present at the follow-up meeting.

At that time the trio hopes that some of those individuals will decide to become the hub of the wheel that is asset building within our community.

According to Lupton, it is not necessary for the core of leaders to be large in number. This group would meet monthly and act as the clearinghouse for new projects while keeping up the momentum with current projects. They will be entrusted to "keep the wheel turning."

Diomede, Lupton and Hamblett were very pleased with the attendance and participation of those who came.

The 40 assets for healthy development, identified by the Search Institute, a non-profit organization, as necessary positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and responsible. There are external and internal assets.

Since Diomede's arrival in late August of 2006, he has been worked diligently with the schools, community members, students, parents, and organizations to educate about the importance of developmental assets in the lives of young people.

"Asset building isn't just about families, schools or neighborhoods, everyone can help build assets. The key is a consistent message," said Diomede.

In his newsletter, "The Asset Builder," he cites other asset building principles:

• All young people need assets. While it is crucial to pay attention to youth who struggle - economically, emotionally, or otherwise - almost all young people need more assets than they already have.

• Relationships are key. Strong relationships between adults and young people, young people and their peers, and teens and children are central to asset building.

• Asset building is an ongoing process. Building assets starts when a child is born and continues through high school and beyond.

• Consistent messages are important. It is important for families, schools, communities, the media and others to all give young people consistent and similar messages about what is important and what is expected.

• Intentional repletion is important. Assets must be continually reinforced across the years and in all areas of a young person's life.

"I believe that this core of leaders will make the asset development that has been ongoing be sustainable," said Diomede.

Asset Development is part of the Community School District's Strategic Plan and part of the YMCA's mission.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the core of leaders and/or would like more information, contact Tim Diomede at the YMCA: 633-2855, ext. 223 or by email: tdiomede@brymca.org

For a refresher on the 40 developmental assets, visit the Search Institute's Web site: www.search-institute.org.