At today's meeting, Savannah East enjoyed a great and energetic presentation from Kyle Redner, Public Affairs State Advisor for Gulfstream Aerospace. Before Kyle began his presentation on Gulfstream's Student Leadership Program (SLP), President Conni Reynolds asked members to please fill out the RCSE survey as it helps the Board plan for future speakers and events. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Melanie Farrant introduced Kyle.
Kyle started his presentation with a Gulfstream update sharing that the company employees over 13,000 workers in our area. As the largest manufacturer in Georgia, Gulfstream wants to inspire and prepare the next generation of manufacturing workers. They strive to do this through K-12 education, working with Savannah Tech and other local colleges, and military outreach.
Kyle was then joined by Melanie Hoffman to talk about the Student Leadership Program which is school district program that Gulfstream supports. It begins sophomore year and goes through senior year. There are 450 students who participate from 13 area public high schools. The goal is to help students discover their future through exploration, employability skills, and engagement with mentors. 95% of participants report that they can apply what they learn to future endeavors. The program needs Community Advisors to work along the students six days during the year. Conni then shared her story as a Community Advisor saying it helped her be a better person and leader.