Our October 8, 2020 leadership academy will be VIRTUAL.
2020 FALL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY DETAILS
Ed Thomas Legacy Leadership Academy - for 9th-12th Graders
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UPDATED September 12, 2020:
Due to current COVID-19 precautions, our fall leadership academy will be completely virtual. Additional details such as speakers, schedule and resources will be shared soon. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this new structure! Please direct any questions you may have to al.kerns@a-pcsd.net. Thank you for your understanding surrounding this decision.
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On Thursday, October 8, the Ed Thomas Family Foundation will expand on its goal of keeping the legacy of Coach Ed Thomas alive. Coach Thomas was a leader whose main objective was teaching young people to “Do What’s Right”. He was a great role model who lived his life true to the values that he taught to all. The Ed Thomas Family Foundation will provide an opportunity for high school students to strengthen their positive leadership skills and character by sponsoring the Ed Thomas Legacy Leadership Academy.
REGISTRATION
There will be no registration as it will be free and open to the public online. Instructors can view video links as well as download/print the notebook and activity resources from the schedule listed below.
FEE
Free and open to the public.
LIMIT
No limit. All are welcome to tune-in!
WHERE
No in-person academy. Videos and activities will be shared virtually on this page. All videos will be posted according to the time listed in the schedule below. Once the videos have gone live, you will be able to view them at any point after the day has concluded.
SCHEDULE + ACTIVITIES
9:00 a.m. – Lyndsey Fennelly
Stress Evaluation Activity
10:00 a.m. – Larry Blunt
Walk the Line Activity
12:00 p.m. – Al Kerns
Ethics Discussion Activity
1:00 p.m. – Aaron Thomas
Appreciation Letter Activity
SPEAKER BIOS
LYNDSEY FENNELLY
Lyndsey (Medders) Fennelly is a former Iowa State All-American and WNBA Draftee. She has since trained over 40,000 athletes as a basketball skills trainer, created CampusCycle, a beat driven spin studio, and is a community leader in Ames. Lyndsey is a passionate advocate for mental health and a proud Mom to Will (6) and Callie (2), as well as wife to Iowa State women's basketball assistant coach, Billy.
LARRY BLUNT
Larry Blunt is in his first season on the Drake staff and joined the Bulldogs after spending two seasons as an assistant at Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y., where he helped guide the Golden Griffins to a share of the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title. In June 2016, two of his former players, former Kentucky guard Jamal Murray and center Thon Maker were taken seventh and ninth, respectively, in the 2016 NBA Draft. Blunt was also the head coach for the Oshawa Power of the National Basketball League of Canada.
AL KERNS
Former Teacher and Coach at Aplington-Parkersburg.
Al Kerns began teaching and coaching at Parkersburg High School in 1978. He retired from Aplington- Parkersburg in 2014 after 36 years of teaching. During his career at Parkersburg/ Aplington-Parkersburg, he was an assistant coach to Ed Thomas for over 30 years and the head girls’ track coach for 29 years.
AARON THOMAS
High School Principal Aplington-Parkersburg.
Aaron Thomas is the oldest son of the Late Ed Thomas. At a young age, Aaron knew he wanted to go into education and coaching because he saw the impact his father was able to have on young people. Every day he witnessed the passion Ed Thomas displayed while working with young people.
The Ed Thomas Legacy Leadership Academy was established to carry forward what Coach Thomas was most passionate about -impacting young people. Coach Thomas always claimed that the school was his mission field and he spent his life trying to help students realize their potential and the impact they can have on others.
The Ed Thomas Family Foundation is committed to carrying on Coach Thomas’ legacy by passing on his philosophies to students. Our first Ed Thomas Legacy Leadership Academy was held on October 2, 2014 at Aplington-Parkersburg High School with over 490 students and supervisors in attendance. The response was so positive that we have continued to offer our academies each fall and spring. We have held five academies with over 2,300 students and supervisors in attendance. With our academies we hope to continue impacting young people to become positive leaders in their schools and communities.