Dear HOBY Parent
You may be asking yourself, "Why exactly am I sending my child to Tallahassee, and what is HOBY all about?" Great question! Here's some information about what your "ambassador" will be experiencing during their stay with us.
The following is a letter from Cindy Johnson, a mother of a Florida HOBY alumnus
Your child is about to embark upon a life changing experience! This conference will teach them about who they really are, what they want to do with their life and how they can get there!
North Florida HOBY Co-Chair Laura Beth Johnson with
Founder Hugh O'Brian and WLC Director & "HOBY
Daddy" Tommy Osborne
Let's go back in time. The year is 1998. Our daughter was a month into her freshman year and had not been happy with her high school choice. She had pleaded with us to let her look for another school. We encouraged her to get involved in clubs but that fell upon deaf ears. Her pleading finally won over and we let her shadow with her friend at the school she really wanted to attend. What she found was that the grass wasn't any greener where she wanted to go. So, she decided that where she was was the best choice for her. We continued to encourage her to join organizations so that she would feel more a part. She finally heeded parental advice and joined some clubs and found that where she was wasn't so bad after all. She had always been very headstrong and determined and she began to see that she could make a difference in her school. The next year, when the guidance office advertised this HOBY event, she talked with some other kids who had gone and decided to apply. Hers was the winning essay. So now we have a sophomore from North Fort Myers high school packing her bags to leave home for the first time!
Off she went and we had no contact with her until we traveled the two hours to attend the banquet on Sunday. What we found when we picked her up was a different young lady than what we had left on Thursday before. We found a young lady who was full of enthusiasm and confidence and ready to make the difference that one person can make. She had found people like her who had wonderful ideas but didn't know how to go about initiating them. They were emerging leaders who just over a brief weekend had gained the tools to go about truly making a difference.
And the story didn't end at that weekend. There have been many more weekends like this. Weekends for her peers in her community, weekends for her peers in southwest Florida, weekends for kids in north Florida and weeklongs in Washington DC. When the HOBY BUG bites, it gets ya good!!
The emergence of outstanding young leaders comes from this organization. The connections can be lifelong. The commitment is your child's choice. Sometimes young people feel that the adults don't look or take them seriously. What your child will come away with this weekend will be the ability to be heard and be that young person who makes a difference in their school and community. Their peers may think that they are different because they have ideas and visions to make things better. And they are different! Amazingly different! And we need them!! Here, your child will find others like themselves and how they can help each other.
As a HOBY parent, I wish for your child to have the wonderful experience our daughter had her first weekend. Again, it is your child's choice to take away from this experience what they will. It is my hope that they find future leaders to connect with, learn how to be an effective leader and to lead their peers by their wonderful example.
Sincerely yours,
Cindy Johnson
Laura Beth Johnson's mother