CONA Wrap-Up

The YMCA Conference on National Affairs could not have wrapped up any better for the Tennessee Delegation.  Evan Ford, from Brentwood Academy, passed his proposal on banning collective bargaining for teachers in Plenary, which is the highest a bill can be ranked.  Taylor Norton, also from Brentwood Academy, presented in General Assembly with an outstanding performance on allowing firearms on college campuses.  The entire delegation was very outstanding the entire week!  We received Premier Delegation as a state for our timeliness in preparations for the conference and outstanding performance at CONA.  Nicola Shorten of Evangelical Christian School and Evan Ford won Outstanding Statesperson; only 24 out of the 570 students from the conference received this award.  Evan Ford (can you tell he's pretty awesome?!) was also named third alternate for Presiding Officer, the highest award possible.  Presiding Officers serve as the leaders of next year's conference and are picked based on their outstanding performance at the conference, outstanding performance with their delegation at home, and their evidence of servant leadership.  He will have big shoes to fill as Ryan Ray, now a student at University of Tennessee- Knoxville, did a great job as Presiding Officer this year.  We could not be more proud of Tennessee!  Congrats guys on a great week!

CONA Update

Team Tennessee has been busy at CONA this week! We have spent the past few days debating, presenting, and spending time getting to know students from across the US. We had 12 students move from first committee onto second committee, an honor that less than half of CONA delegates receive. Out of these 12 students, four students moved onto third committee, a feat that less than a sixth of delegates receive. At the moment, we are in General Assembly. We are proud to announce that Tennessee delegate, Taylor Norton, made the General Assembly docket. He is one of forty students out of the 560 proposals that were chosen. He will present his proposal on legalizing firearms on college campuses tomorrow so be sure to check back to see if his bill passes. Otherwise, Tennessee students have stood out in debates and enjoyed catching the Blue Ridge Spirit. Wish us luck as we move into tomorrow's events!

Tennessee Heads to CONA!

Our apologies for the lack of posts about our Plan Padrino trip.  We will have posts soon, but with all the learning and fun that was being had (along with limited internet access), our blogging schedule didn't work out as planned.  

That said, this Saturday, we are sending 23 of our most outstanding delegates to the Conference on National Affairs otherwise known as CONA. The YMCA Conference on National Affairs is the highest honor that a Tennessee Delegate can achieve. The top delegates from the state are selected by a committee during the two Youth in Government conferences. These delegates are the best from the conferences not only in presentation and statesmanship, but also in overall attitude, adherence to the conference rules, as well as parliamentary procedure knowledge and debate skill. Once the delegates are selected, they are invited to join other statesmen from throughout the country for a week-long conference of ideas, where the nation's future leaders come together to share their ideas for strengthening America at the beautiful Black Mountain, North Carolina Blue Ridge Retreat Center. Once on the mountain, participants will catch the "Blue Ridge Spirit." Don't worry, this isn't an infectious disease, it is the sense of respect that the delegates have for one another as they share their ideas to further strengthen the nation and promote the development of democratic ideals throughout the world. The delegates promote their ideas by writing national level proposals and presenting them at the conference as they work to pass the proposals through the various committees, similar to the committee process in the state conference. Tennessee has an outstanding record at the conference and has achieved Premier Delegation for the past several years. 

This year, Ryan Ray, Former Governor from the 2010 Conference B Youth in Government Conference, was selected to be a Presiding Officer for the 2011 Conference on National Affairs. Only four Presiding Officers are selected from all of the states attending the conference. Ryan attended Brentwood Academy and is attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville at this time. 

We will keep you updated on our happenings so be sure to check back often.  In the meantime, learn more about CONA on their website found here and leave us a comment with your favorite CONA memory if you had the privilege of going in previous years!