2026 Grey-Bruce CLeW

Hey HOBY!

We'd love to share all about the very special day our Grey-Bruce students spent together this past June at the 2026 CLeW! Hosted at the Chesley Community Centre, we welcomed high school students from across Grey-Bruce and neighbouring counties for a day full of fun, collaboration, connection, and, of course, leadership.

Starting the day off strong, our Alumni Representatives ran engaging games of Human Knot, Magic Carpet, and Minefield, where our ambassadors dove straight into teamwork and problem-solving. Throughout the day, our Junior Group Leaders helped guide ambassadors through activities and workshops centered around HOBY's mission of empowering youth to become the changemakers of tomorrow.

Our guest speaker, Phillip Craig, connected with ambassadors through a thoughtful conversation about navigating life as a genuine leader and staying true to yourself while making an impact on the people around you.

Community service is a core pillar of HOBY Youth Leadership, and through Leadership4Service, our ambassadors, staff, and guest speakers alike had the opportunity to give back to three meaningful organizations in our community! Together, we created flower bouquets for the Grey-Bruce Hospice, handmade dog toys for our local animal shelter, and hygiene care packages for the Women's Institute. By the end of the activity, ambassadors were able to see firsthand how many small acts of service can come together to create a tangible impact.

Through our DEI workshops, ambassadors also took part in meaningful conversations on intersectionality, Indigenous perspectives, and current global issues. These discussions gave students the opportunity to share their own perspectives while listening to and learning from the experiences of others, which is an essential skill to becoming an empathetic and well-rounded leader.

Later in the day, ambassadors completed the classic HOBY Animal Inventory to discover more about their own unique leadership styles. Hawks, otters, beavers, and yaks gathered with their fellow animals to explore the strengths they naturally bring to a team, the areas where they can continue to grow, and how different leadership styles can work together. Groups tied back their animal types to our HOBY Heroes theme by tying back to real superhero characters and also creating unique cheers! This activity was a great reminder that there is no single way for any person to become an outstanding leader, as the best teams are created when members with different personalities, perspectives, and strengths come together.

Of course, our CLeW wouldn't be complete without outdoor games and plenty of HOBY cheers! Luckily, the weather was on our side, allowing ambassadors and volunteers to head outside onto the Chesley grounds for Huckle Buckle, Squirt, HOBY Pony.

As the day came to a close, ambassadors had the chance to reflect on what they had learned and shared warm fuzzies with one another to recognize the new connections they established that day.

We are confident that all of our 2026 CLeW ambassadors will continue to be OUTSTANDING leaders in their schools and communities, and we can't wait to welcome even more ambitious Grey-Bruce youth to the 2027 CLeW - and hopefully see some familiar faces return as volunteers!

Thank you to every ambassador, volunteer, speaker, community partner, and supporter who helped make this year's event such a success. We could not have done it without you!

HOBY Hugs,

Esha Gill + the Grey-Bruce CLeW Team :)