What's up BBYO!

I have had quite a crazy month featuring Execs, LTIs, Community visits, and more. But first, let's rewind to the start:

August Execs

After soaking up the last of my Seattle Summer Sun, I made my way to Fairfax Virginia for our August Executives Conference. We welcomed the international Executive body for a weekend of learning, planning, legislating, and bonding! We kicked off the weekend with the installations of the 100th Grand and 80th International Boards. It was so special to be surrounded by so many friends for this historic ceremony. Additionally, it was awesome to be joined by my parents who got their first real glimpse into the world of BBYO. After the festivities of installations, we immediately got to work and kicked off the weekend with our international business meetings. These business meetings coincided with the launch of BBYO’s Legislation Library, which not only has years of passed legislation but also has tons of resources to learn about writing legislation and Parliamentary Procedure. At this business meeting, we passed three new pieces of momentous legislation that we are excited to execute throughout the year.

Shabbat was a time of learning for the executive body. We went through all of the essential skills and resources that we would need for the year ahead and made sure that we were fully prepared to go into the new week. The new week meant time to get to work. After Havdalah, it was our turn to open up our computers and start grinding away at goal setting and community planning. Sunday, we said goodbye to our North American friends and got a couple more sessions with the global extension community. August Execs welcomed 125+ teens from 24 countries and we spent the following 48 hours reflecting on our biggest takeaways from the weekend, filling in the final gaps of unknown information, venturing into DC, and of course Target runs and Crumbl Cookies.

B’yachad RLTI

With the end of Execs came the beginning of the 180° tour! My first stop was a special, multi-region package, at the B’yachad RLTI. HVR, CVR, BAR, and MHR’s regional boards all came together at Camp Kenmont to kick off their years and prepare to lead their communities. I loved the high energy of the boards and the fresh innovative ideas they brought to change their regions. From community planning to shipbuilding and rock climbing, there was so much good bonding and preparation for the year. Once Friday came around, we said goodbye to HVR and welcomed 140 new chapter board members to camp. We welcomed in Shabbat together and got right down to business. It was a unique space where teens got time to learn as chapter boards, regional leaders, and within their networks across regions. I enjoyed bouncing around and seeing the differences between different regions and spending a lot of time with the president's network learning about everything from Governance to managing relationships.

Manhattan Visit

And for my first official community visit, we have the Manhattan Region! New York City was an amazing first stop on #MapMez. We had a great time at the Regional Board dinner talking about all things Manhattan Region and playing some trivia. I also had the opportunity to meet with many of the rising chapter leaders in Manhattan and get some good old Israeli Gelato. It was exciting to see many of the teens from B’yachad and hear about all of the magnificent plans they have for their chapters.

It has been the best first month on the road and make sure you follow along with #MapMez on @azagodol!

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