Sunday, April 26, 2009

Good Morning from St. Louis

We were too busy getting our grooves on at the kick-off mixer last night (we'll post photos ASAP, promise! We got some great ones!) to post about our Saturday night welcome event. At the Saturday night orientation session, teams gathered for the first time to meet and greet, review some important LifeSmarts ground rules, and show some spirit.

Tom Quinn from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education delivered a great welcome to the teams, recounting the story of the origin of Missouri's "Show Me" nickname. An educator and administrator for some 30 years, Quinn welcomed the state champs and encouraged them to acknowledge that, while LifeSmarts has given them the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed, they still need to work daily on their behavior and attitude, which will ultimately determine their success.

Quinn recalled famous Missourians from Harry S. Truman ("the buck stops here") to Samuel Clemens ("reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated") and related their life stories to LifeSmarts lessons and honored the teens for their hard work on the road to LifeSmarts nationals: "You've shown people! And I congratulate you!"

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