Albury Wodonga's outdoor club for bushwalking (and skiing, cycling and canoeing)
Personal Development???
Our club offers a wonderful opportunity for personal development. Imagine how it would look on your CV if you could claim that you led a walk around Lake Sambell at Beechworth without losing a single member of the group!
Achievements like this are possible!
All you have to do is suggest that you would like to lead an activity.
It is well known that George Washington started out by leading bushwalks, and he become president of the United States. Admittedly he was in a different club, but the BBC is also a great place to develop your leadership skills. You may think that you are already a leader because of your role at work, but leading a bushwalk can be more challenging than leading a team that has to follow you because you write their annual assessments.
Leading any club activity is quite simple if you have passed Common Sense 101. There is some advice available on this web-site, and more comprehensive instructions in the Members' Handbook which is the small green booklet that you carefully put away somewhere just after you became a member.
However, the real bonus is that the club has a system of mentors. If you don't feel confident at the outset, simply contact one of the committee members who will assign a mentor to you, or you can contact one from the list provided on this site. All our mentors are lovely people who will actively assist you or just wander along in the background in case you need them.
If you have a go at being a leader, the walks coordinator will love you, the committee will love you, and the people who go on your activity will all thank you profusely, even if they have spent all day walking up a steep hill in pouring rain to see a view that was covered in fog.
Most importantly, you will love yourself because you will have learnt new skills and have joined the 'inner circle' of the club - those who make the activities happen.
If you think that we are exaggerating the benefits of being a leader, try this: At the next club meeting, observe those who attend. You will see that they can be classified into three groups; the visitors and onlookers, the members generally, and those who 'own' the club. The latter group comprises those who take on the leadership roles, either administratively or in the field. They exhibit a sense of confidence and cameraderie that sets them apart from the others.
Half interested in being a leader? Have a look at some possibilities for walks on this list.