Travis Chaney and Drew Watson, business partners at Align Wealth Management, a financial planning practice, and Dynamic Directions, a coaching and consulting firm, are bringing their leadership skills to Owensboro High School. Chaney and Watson have partnered with Owensboro High School to create the TeenCentric Leadership Program, which focuses on teens interested in entrepreneurship and business.
“Helping to develop and mentor future entrepreneurs and leaders is a key to ensuring these young adults have all the skills they need to fulfill their potential,” said Watson, who participated in a similar program while growing up Harrisburg, Ill..
So far, the program has 40 students who will be exposed to real-life business lessons, like financial literacy, branding, competition and philanthropy Watson said. Watson and Chaney also plan to bring youth speakers to address the entire OHS student body, with the first in the series speaking Monday.
Jessie Funk, a world-wide professional youth speaker for more than ten years, spoke to students yesterday about leadership and what made famous leaders — like Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Jr. and even Oprah — “so great.” According to Funk, two things can be attributed to their greatness: refusing to let toxic people hold them back and choosing to forgive others. Funk, who is a 6-time published author and a professional vocalist, taught these leadership lessons through life examples and even several songs.
One lesson that resonated with students was an analogy Funk visually created beginning with milk, which she compared to someone’s self worth. She added chocolate syrup to the milk, and compared this to “breathers” or those that breathe life into others, lifting them up. She then added Windex to the drink, comparing this to toxic people that bring others down. The audience gasped when Funk drank the concoction, which was actually milk, syrup and blue Gatorade, rather than Windex.
“Anytime someone can speak to these kids and be relevant to them, it allows them to reflect and really think about their own lives and make a positive connection,” said OHS Principal John DeLacey. “We have kids of every background here at OHS and her message resonated with everyone.”
According to Chaney and Watson, the TeenCentric Leadership Program is the first of its kind in the area. Chaney said both he and Watson have children attending OHS and they have an admiration for the leadership at the school, which led to choosing their program site.
“We felt like they were the best for what we wanted to do,” Chaney said. “I have known and admired John DeLacey for several years. John and his team have made everything very easy and workable. They’re receptive to new ideas, and even though they have leadership programs going on, they see this as a complimentary addition.”
Principal John DeLacey said he’s excited to work with Chaney and Watson.
“This partnership allows us to expand on student opportunities to grow in leadership that will pay lifelong dividends,” he said. “We appreciate their willingness to share their expertise with our students.”
