On Thursday, February 27, 2025, 48 community business leaders met with 63 juniors from Folsom High School and Vista Del Lago High School at the 30th Annual Dave West Partnerships for Tomorrow Leadership Conference held at Lakeside Church. This conference unites high school students with business and community leaders representing the City of Folsom to discuss leadership skills and ethical choices in the work place, in schools, and in the local and global community.  Students and business leaders meet over continental breakfast.  Group discussion between students, mentors, and facilitators. |
The format of the conference is similar to a business conference. The day started with registration and a continental breakfast. At the first general session, Toby Magarian, Rotary Club of Folsom, welcomed business leaders and students. The flag salute followed led by a member of the Folsom High School Interact Club. Toby gave instructions to participants and introduced the discussion group leaders. In addition to Discussion Group Leaders from the business community, each group had a Facilitator-in-Training, Class of 2025. Each discussion group consisted of 6 or 7 business leaders from the community and 8 or 9 students. The first group discussion session was Elements of Business Etiquette and Traits of a Leader and the second session was Leadership Skills. Session 1 focused on the importance of business etiquette for a successful impression when meeting new employers, business leaders, and new friends. Traits of a good leader were also discussed. Session 2 focused on the traits of a good leader and how to help people make sound business and ethical decisions. Also discussed in the session was the Rotary 4-Way Test. The second general session had everyone back together for lunch Professional Networking.
Networking The goal of this final session was for students to have informal time to network and ask questions of professionals in an area of business or vocation that they may be interested in pursuing. There were nine groups such as finance/accounting, medical, and technology. The Keynote Speaker was Julia A. Nicholson. She is an adjunct professor, expert and thought leader on resilience, author of the award winning book Move Forward Stronger, TEDx speaker, and sought after keynote speaker. She empowers audiences to embrace challenges, find answers in setbacks, and take actionable steps to lead with humor and purpose.  Julia A. Nicholson Closing Comments were made by Toby Magarian. The Discussion Group Facilitators were:
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Students, Mentors, and Facilitators sat together for lunch.