Story written by Codi Coulter
The Titanic museum, Silver Dollar City, every show and attraction imaginable and the beautiful Ozarks- when surrounded by all of this, you know that you’re in Branson, Missouri. I had the wonderful opportunity to spend five days in this city with 48 other Gert enthusiasts for this year’s Gerts Ongoing Advanced Leadership Summit, or GOALS.
After a six and a half hour drive through Arkansas, I pulled into Branson with the two other juniors that rode with me at about one in the afternoon. A quick glance at the GPS revealed that there were three miles to go to the hotel- almost there! Then we discovered something that I’m sure anyone who has ever been to Branson before already knows- driving down the "strip" on a Saturday afternoon is not just a quick trip. So, thirty minutes later, there we were at the Lodge of the Ozarks, ready to get started with five days filled with leadership and fun.
After everyone was settled in, we met our leadership facilitator- the wonderful Mr. Kelly Barnes, and had our first short session. Afterwards, we walked next door to the Hughes Brothers Theater for our first show of the trip; but first: dinner. We were seated at tables in the balcony of the theater, also our seats for the show, and were served a delicious dinner of salad, chicken, pork, green beans and a delicious dessert. After our meal, the show began. We didn’t really know what to expect of "SIX." All we knew was that it was a group of six brothers who performed music without using any instruments at all. As the house lights went down, we anxiously awaited the beginning of the performance, which was absolutely amazing! The brothers were able to use their voices to create sounds which very realistically imitated musical instruments including drums, electric guitar, bass guitar and more. And, not only was the music very entertaining, we also got a comedy show with it. Following the show we walked to a frozen custard place where we indulged in the sweet frozen treat and then went back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning was an early one. After breakfast we went straight into our leadership session for the day. After a few hours of learning and laughing, we hopped on our bus and headed to Silver Dollar City, an "old-fashioned" themed amusement park. We spent the entire afternoon there riding roller coasters, completing scavenger hunts and touring a cave. We had dinner at a buffet-style restaurant at the park and then went back to the hotel around seven. That night was spent partying by the pool for everyone except the junior board, who were meeting upstairs to plan out the year.
After our leadership session the next morning, we set out to tour the College of the Ozarks. This college was definitely very unique. The students are required to work on campus to pay for their tuition. The jobs range from basket weaving to fruitcake baking to working on the beef farm and more. The school offers several agricultural majors and hands-on opportunities to learn how to work in the industry. We left the college and returned to the hotel for a very educational presentation from Mr. John Ford about EPDs. We then loaded back up on the bus and went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, where the buffalo are back! This was another dinner theater, and was one of my personal favorite parts of the entire trip. We found our seats around the theater and met our server for the night. We then learned two things: first, the theater was divided into the north and the south, and we were a part of the south; second, we would not be given any silverware to eat our meals. While we watched a show about the westward expansion, the growth of the south and the civil war, which included audience participation, we were served a fabulous meal, which started with….soup. And, like I said, we had no silverware. But fortunately, the soup bowls did have handles on them so that we could drink the soup. We also received a biscuit, a pork loin, corn on the cob, a potato and a whole rotisserie chicken, followed with an apple turnover for dessert. Along with the delicious meal and fabulous show, the south won the war for the night! Following the show, we returned to the hotel for a late night leadership session, which included the most intense game of musical chairs that I have ever played.
The next morning, we woke up and loaded the bus to go to the zip line grounds where we had our final session with Kelly and a pizza lunch. After lunch, most of the group suited up for the zip line while the rest of us headed up to the balcony for a perfect view of everyone zipping. We left there around four in the afternoon and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. That evening, we went to dinner in the club at the hotel all dressed up and ready to eat; but first, we had an etiquette lesson from the nice people at the Titanic museum. We were then served a delicious steak dinner with chocolate cake for dessert. Afterwards, we enjoyed dancing and karaoke for the rest of the night. We then went to bed for our last night in Branson. The following morning, we woke up and packed up. After saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways- some of us to the airport, some home in our cars.
Amidst all of the attractions and amusement, we had to have some time for learning. In our leadership sessions, we were trained by our amazing facilitator, Kelly Barnes. We learned many things from team work to how to give a presentation to the qualities of a great leader. I know that we all took a lot away from these sessions and we are all better leaders because of this great program.
GOALS was an incredible experience for all of those who participated. We all learned a lot and had a blast. A huge thanks goes out to Mrs. Judy McDaniel and everyone else who donated their time and effort to making this year’s GOALS program a success.