The Laguna Beach Breakers Keystone Club attended the 2010 National Keystone Conference in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania from March 12th-15th. Imagine this; the Pittsburg Hyatt hotel taken over by over 1,300 teenagers from all over the county, including Keystone Clubs from military bases in Japan and Germany, spilling out into the city of Pittsburg. To many, this may seem closer to a nightmare; however that was not the case. Theses are motivated and dedicated teens. They brought with them inspiration, infusing the city of Pittsburg with an unmistakable positive vibe.
Keystone members are not your average teenagers; these are the elite, cream of the crop teens, who dedicate countless hours to their Clubs, communities and their own academic and future success. For example, all the attending Keystoners spent their entire Saturday engaged in community service projects to support the people of Pittsburg as well as beautify the city. Projects included feeding the homeless, throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party for seniors, putting together book packages for inmates, writing letters to our soldiers, cleaning animal shelters, recycling projects, and cleaning vacant lots and littered roadways. The Keystone members also visited local colleges and businesses as their ongoing commitment to their, (ultimately our), futures.
The National Keystone Conference provides Keystoners a positive leadership experience, allowing teens to network with peers and reinforces Keystone’s three focus areas: academic success, career exploration and community service. However, it is also an extremely fun and social event. Keystoners were treated to performances by Ne-Yo, Young Jock and Ken Ford, a Keystone favorite (if you don’t know who he is, look him up!). Keystoners were inspired with speeches by April Holmes, 2008 gold medalist Paraolympian and fastest woman on one leg, achievement specialist, Dr. Crystal Kukendall, eight-time All-Star NBA great Bob Lanier, and listened to an amazing live one-on-one interview with Hip-Hop artist, Nas, during the conference’s Hip-Hop Summit. Every night Keystoners were treated exciting evening activities that included karaoke, huge dances, carnival games, inflatable challenges, art projects, Wii, pool, ping-pong, fooseball and every other king of Club game tournament, dominoes, late night card games, photo booths and every teens favorite, FREE FOOD! The Laguna Beach Keystone Club, true to Laguna’s artistic spirit, spent their free time at the Andy Warhol museum, which is a seven story, single artist museum.
The Breakers Keystone Club worked hard all year to raise the money to attend the conference by selling food during Club events, entering national contests, recycling every bottle and can within the Club as well as selling breakfast during the summer. When it looked like they wouldn’t’ have enough funds to go, community members like Will and Catherine Rappaport and the Club’s Board members generously boosted the Breakers Keystone fund and make the conference a reality for five truly amazing teens.
Check it out yourself! Go to myclubmylife.com and click on the “2010 National Keystone Conference: Beyond All Limits” link to see pictures of the conference, community service projects, career and college experiences, evening night activities and Keystone-lead interviews with performing celebrities.
