SLAPSHOT participants were Jessi Rickerson, Christine Wdowiasz, Jackson Janicki and Alexander Godfrey. Submitted photo

Four local high school students participated in the Rotary District 7090 “SLAPSHOT” or “Student Leadership Award Program for Students High On Training” weekend experience during May 3-5 at the Adventure Learning Centre at Canterbury Hills, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.

The four young leaders and their respective school districts were Jessi Rickerson of Westfield Academy and Central School; Christine Wdowiasz of Brocton Central School; Jackson Janicki of Chautauqua Lake Central School; and Alexander Godfrey of Chautauqua Lake Central School.

Their leadership camp experience was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville. It was organized by Dan Smith, Westfield-Mayville Rotary’s Youth Services Chair and Rotary District 7090 Vocational Training Team US Chair. The Westfield-Mayville Rotarians who transported the four teens to and from Ancaster were Sue Hammond, Jim Wakeman, Patty Benton, and Steve Stratton.

SLAPSHOT offers 100 high school students throughout Rotary District 7090 in the US and Canada the opportunity for a fun learning experience in an adventure camp that is located in the picturesque Dundas Valley Conservation Area. Its main focus is to foster the development of leadership, positive self-esteem, and teamwork in youth of the ages of 15 to 18 years.

This was the 14th year of this Rotary District 7090 program that promotes, honors, celebrates, and fosters leadership in teens. The Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club has proudly sponsored local teens for all 14 years of this program. Each Rotary Club may sponsor up to five SLAPSHOT students, and school districts select the students. The program’s desired outcome is that participants will gain confidence and the necessary skills that will enable them to make a positive difference in their schools, local communities, and beyond.

The program is run by Rotary District 7090 members from Buffalo, Niagara, Hamilton and Brantford in collaboration with the expert team members from Adventureworks, who are growth facilitators and operators of a high ropes course that is a feature of the weekend’s activities.

The four participants sponsored by the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club and their parents were invited to attend the May 14 meeting of this Rotary club so that the students could share highlights of their experience. SLAPSHOT students Wdowiasz, Janicki, and Godfrey were present at the session, which was held at the Lakeshore Assembly of God Church in Westfield.