The Grinnell Rotary Club held its regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Following the opening of the meeting, members shared good news and club business. The speaker for this week’s meeting was Gavin Gable, a recent graduate of RYLA.
Gavin began by telling us that he had been scared of new opportunities and also scared of change. But after attending the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) event his life was completely turned around.
What is RYLA? It's a six-day long program which helps high school students to develop leadership skills, build confidence, and make connections. It helps push them to make changes in the world. Gavin learned this from working with some of the most passionate and talented people he knows. He signed up for the program two years ago and came back this year as a team leader. He wanted to give the same experience to other kids. After high school, Gavin worked for several months as a pest control sales representative. He believes that RYLA gave him the confidence to pursue that path.
So what actually happens at RYLA? There are lots of speakers. One began with the topic of being present. Others included learning about time management. Clear communications, team building, debriefing skills, and de-escalation were also covered. A big one was the importance of getting enough sleep. There were sessions about emotional and mental health, and steps to getting around fear. At the end of each day there was a debriefing session where the students discussed the events of the day. From these sessions, Gavin began thinking about going into the Peace Corps.
Gavin believes that RYLA opened up major opportunities for him and opened his eyes to taking these opportunities (as well as the accompanying risks to progress) in his career path.
Annual RYLA sessions have a maximum of 230 students. The 2026 theme was the Shark Tank experience.
RYLA focuses on being a fun week, while also providing a learning experience for all types of students, no discrimination whatever.
Gavin Gable’s presentation appears on the Rotary Club of Grinnell website in the section labeled “Stories, September 8, 2026.” Grinnell Rotary Website https://portal.clubrunner.ca/1642
If you are interested in learning more about service to the community, membership, and the power of networking, come visit us at the Rotary Club of Grinnell. The club meets every Tuesday evening at 5:30 at West Side Family Restaurant.
Peter Jackson
