The Leadership Training Division (LTD) is responsible for the “Knowledge” portion of the GWRRA motto, “Friends for FUN, SAFETY and KNOWLEDGE”. One recurring misconception of Leadership Training is that, “It is only for the Officers”. NOT TRUE! Leadership Training is for everyone in GWRRA and for that reason; a greater emphasis has been placed over the past year on developing even more training seminars of particular interest to the general Member. Just because this is our “hobby” doesn’t mean that we can’t learn new and interesting things while we are pursuing it. The Leadership Training Division Staff at the District, Region and National level are all working very hard to make new and informative programs available to all Members. LTD has and will continue to make training available to the GWRRA Officers at all levels within the Association, but this new emphasis on Member training should add a new dimension to the value of a membership in GWRRA.

One of the goals of the Leadership Training Division is to have a qualified Trainer as close as your District Staff. The District Trainer will have a resource for information and assistance in the Region Trainer who will be in close contact with the National Staff. This line of communication will insure that the Officers and Members will have access to the latest information available at all times.

LTD has adopted a series of operational Goals designed to enhance the training delivery system currently in place. One of our key goals is to expand our network of Certified Instructors to the level that training, in the form of individual seminars, can be delivered in a more distributed fashion. We have coined the phrase “Cluster Training” as a descriptive term for delivering seminars to small groups of geographically close chapters. After a successful trial in Region N, starting in the spring of 2006, this “cluster training” model will be implemented, in a controlled manner, in five regions of GWRRA (B, D, E, H and I). Our long-range goal is to implement this style of training delivery throughout the association, but we feel it best to “walk before we run” so we are taking small steps at first.

If you have suggestions for topics you would like to see added to the LTD Curriculum, feel free to contact anyone in the Leadership Training Division, District, Region and National. We are very much interested in your ideas. Training is a need-generated service and we want to strive to fill the needs of all Members and Officers of GWRRA.