GSC SAAC volunteers at Birmingham YMCA
Birmingham, Ala. - The Gulf South Conference and its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) kicked off their annual meetings on Wednesday, highlighted by a visit to the YMCA on Thursday.
The conference hosted the 20+ SAAC members representing all of its schools, spanning over five different states, from Wednesday to Friday, July 29-31. The student-athletes gained valuable experience in leadership, community service, social media strategies and networking.
The meetings kicked off with an orientation and a great presentation by Jim Doggett of
FireSeeds at the Hilton Birmingham Perimeter Park Hotel on Wednesday. The day capped off with a dinner and five rounds of trivia at Joe's Crabshack.
On Thursday, the SAAC, along with representatives from the GSC, attended a community service engagement in which the student-athletes spent a day with over 200 children at the
Greystone YMCA.
The group split off into groups for visitations and a Q&A session at 9:30am (CT) and reconvened at 10 for relay races, competitions and circuit training. The engagement concluded with an autograph session in which the SAAC signed custom event cards for the children.
"Today was a great day, said UAH baseball student-athlete Landon Boggs. It was great to be able to interact with the children and give people a different perspective of the 'student-athlete'. We all care about our academics, sports and giving back to our community as well."
The SAAC meetings continued after lunch on Thursday and featured various presentations by Josh Looney and Jill Willson, both of the NCAA. The two spoke to the student-athletes about the new NCAA Division II moniker "Make It Yours" and stressed the importance of the 'student-athlete's voice' through an NCAA 101 initiative. A taco bar dinner concluded the day at Superior Grill.
The SAAC meetings will conclude with continued presentations by Looney and Willson, along with
Erik Qualman and will include break-out sessions and a business meeting on Friday.
Click
HERE to see pictures from the GSC SAAC Community Service Engagement at the YMCA.