The Head Honchos

Mrs. Recsetar stressed that leadership is key to the club’s success in planning activities. She attests the overwhelming popularity of the carnival to incredible leadership from the club’s co-presidents in 2011. She sees that same motivation and dedication in seniors Cassie Isaacs and Ryan Behm, this year’s co-presidents, and the club’s executive board (made up of positions like vice president and social media advisor).

“When it comes to the actual meetings I try not to do a lot,” said Mrs. Recsetar. “I think it is more powerful when it comes from our presidents and board members. I think students listen to their peers more than they listen to people like me. This year they have been super comfortable with it so it’s been super easy and they go for it. This year it has been no problem.”

Over the summer, Behm and Isaacs took advantage of attending the Best Buddies Conference at Indiana University. Both accredited the conference for enhancing their abilities to lead and creating new ideas to keep the club active.

“It was very cool because we got to talk to schools from all around,” said Isaacs. “We got ideas from all over and we got more ideas on how to run the club. Like [adding] associate members in the club, they aren’t matched with a Buddy so it is hard to keep them involved. So we put them on committees to keep them coming to the meetings and make sure they are still involved.”

Behm also found that collaboration with other Best Buddies presidents in the area helped generate new and unique ideas.

“I got to get to know the presidents from around here, Vernon Hills and Stevenson, so it is just a cool way to collaborate with people from different chapters,” said Behm. “Because each chapter is a little bit different with what works and doesn’t work.”

The club’s huge numbers can also be attributed to the strong leadership of the club. More than 160 people signed up at the first meeting, and according to Behm, the club averages 60 at each meeting. Isaacs and Mrs. Recsetar each stressed the importance of social media in the strong numbers. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram each allow the club to share their current activity with the community. Mrs. Recsetar also believes that the activities, the buddies themselves, and word of mouth also help the club grow on a yearly basis. Their goal moving forward, according to Mrs. Recsetar, is to reach an even wider audience than they currently do.

“The social media that we use [has helped the club grow],” said Isaacs. “We have an instagram this year and we have a lot of followers. We found the twitter password so we can use it this year. We can reach a greater span of people.”

Strong leadership within the club really allows for the friendships to grow. The best part about the relationships is how they are always a two-way street. Buddies and Peer Buddies work with one another to form something special.

“I think the best part of the club is that you learn so much,” said Mrs. Recsetar. “Whether you are a Peer Buddy learning from a Buddy and if you are a Buddy you learn so much from your Peer Buddy.

Behm shares similar views with Mrs. Recsetar but further elaborates on the club’s ability to help the school.

“The best part about being in the club is seeing what it gives back to everybody because you immediately see it,” said Behm. “Whether it is just hanging out with someone else who is in the club, you are seeing an immediate positive impact at LHS. Some of those kids who have disabilities and feel excluded in certain situations are automatically included. Something as simple as saying ‘hi’ to someone in the hallway can make their day and that is really cool to see.”