Recreational Leadership Training Course (RLTC) by Del Albright

FROM KEITH RATZBURG, President, Four Dice Four Wheel Drive Club:

"At first I did not know what to expect of the course, but have found that it is of great value in my personal life, let alone in volunteer situations. I think that you can sell the course as more then a management course for volunteers, but as a course that can be applied in your club relationships, as well as in your real life relationships.

I thought that the section talking about how to run a meeting was the most important one for me to date. Since reading it and trying to follow the steps to the best of my ability I have noticed that our meetings have improved by 100%. I have found that if you lay down the ground rules of the meeting as the first topic of discussion, it is really effective in keeping everyone on topic.

The RLTC has helped my club tremendously in preparing for our annual cleanup. The forms that Del provided helped us formulate a plan with ease. When we ran our cleanup last year it was a select group of few who tried to do everything, but by using the RICS it helped us to delegate jobs to everyone in our group. It helps you to formulate a role for everyone involved in the project, and allows them to see how their role fits in with the big picture.

One thing that may draw people into taking the course is the fact that it is not just a standard "management" type course. I think many leaders in our community forget that they are dealing with volunteers who require a totally different management style then your subordinates at work.

We need new leaders to step up to the plate and lead our community, and I think it would be of some value to let people know that these "new leaders" could be them. 2 years ago I was just another wheeler. I had never been in a club. Never read about the issues facing our community, I was totally blind to it all. I was the guy saying "wow, wonder why they put up a bridge here". Now I am the president of a growing new club. I represent our club at Cal4wheel meetings. Have drug others into volunteering at Cal4 events, fotr events, etc. and yet I am consistently the only person under 30 at every meeting I go to.....where is everyone else????"

"I am confident that I can hold an effective meeting, organize a trail project, host a convention, speak at land use meetings and write letters to bureaucrats. (Read more).