7.24.2015

Georgia HOBY Newsletter:
Thirty-Fifth Edition, July 24, 2015

Featured Alumnus: Preston Rivers '10

I can't believe it's been five years since I traveled to Americus, GA to attend HOBY for the first time. I'd never even heard of HOBY before going, so I had no idea at all what I was getting into. To be honest, I had considered not going, because I thought, “yeah, yeah... It's  a seminar. It's gonna be boring, and I'm already an awkward social outcast with crippling anxiety and depression.” But I was wrong. Once you get a whiff of HOBY, you're hooked. For some, it takes a few minutes. Many, a day. For others, sometimes they don't get excited for HOBY until the last day. But what I've learned about HOBY, is that it's for EVERYONE. Your ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious background, physical disabilities...it doesn't matter. NOTHING matters. When you're at HOBY, the pressures of the outside world cease to exist, and you've traveled into this world of real-life magic where you meet people that ACTUALLY accept you for who YOU are. And that's rare... In a sense, you become this family of uniquely unorthodox people that are a part of a “secret club” where you become birds, ride ponies, and constantly do these high energy cheers, developing lifelong bonds with people you never thought would exist in your own city. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that, unfortunately, everyone can't experience. But when you do experience it, you never forget it. HOBY has helped me internally and has also helped me transform into a more positive person, especially as I travel through adulthood. The essence of HOBY, from my perspective, is to go beyond you and give back. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything material. Giving your time and your heart to the ambassadors that attend this program could be the push that they need to keep going in their lives and change their whole outlook. From there, giving back becomes a domino effect, and before you know it, the world could be changed for the better!    

HOBY Info:
Kroger Community Rewards Program
  • If you have a Kroger Plus Card, send some dollars to HOBY through this program!
  • Keep it up, all the funds ensure the best seminars possible!

Social Networking!!!
  • Find us on Facebook: GA HOBY Alumni
  • Follow us on Twitter: @HOBY_GEORGIA  
  • Follow us on Instagram: HOBY_GEORGIA
  • Follow us on Vine: Georgia HOBY
  • Check our the website: www.gahoby.org
  • Feel free to send quotes to lutzofun@gmail.com to be put onto the Twitter page
  • Check out http://hobycheers.wikidot.com/list-of-hoby-cheers for awesome cheers

Hours
  • Keep logging them! Can you accomplish the 100 Hour Challenge? Georgia HOBY knows that you can. Here is the place to do so: https://reg.hoby.org/HOBYL4S/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fHOBYL4S%2fdefault.aspx
  • Need ideas for Volunteering projects? Email lutzofun@gmail.com, check the HOBY website: hoby.org, and/or research into what your community needs!
  • How far has your Chain Reaction of Kindness reached?

This Blog
  • If you would like a "My Favorite HOBY Experience" Blog Post to be posted in the future on this blog then, email lutzofun@gmail.com also with your response!
  • Be on the lookout for the next Newsletter or My Favorite HOBY Experience Post