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20 sophomores attend ranch in Colorado to learn leadership

A couple started the program on their ranch after their son committed suicide.

Badin High School student Heath Stricker gets rifle shooting lessons from one of the adult advisers at the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Ranch.

Submitted photo Badin High School student Heath Stricker gets rifle shooting lessons from one of the adult advisers at the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Ranch.

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Submitted photo One of the lessons at the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Ranch is that it takes teamwork to climb a 12-foot wall.

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By Richard O Jones, Staff Writer 2:12 AM Monday, October 4, 2010

BUTLER COUNTY — Every summer since 1998, 20 Butler County sophomores from Hamilton, Badin, both Lakota high schools and Fairfield trek out to the mountains of Colorado for an intensive, weeklong stay at the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Ranch.

“The purpose is to bring out young leaders between their sophomore and junior years of high school to go through a comprehensive training, and then go back into their community,” said Colleen Braid. “That way, they have two years of high school to make a difference.”

Colleen and Ken Braid founded the ranch in 1994 after the death of their son, Kyle, who was a sophomore when he took his own life. He began using steroids under the pressure to be “bigger, stronger, faster” for his high school football team, and the drugs led to severe mood swings.

“After his death, instead of asking why do bad things happen to good people, you have to ask what do good people do after something bad has happened to them,” Ken Braid said.

Believing that a program such as the one they developed might have prevented their son’s suicide, the Braids began inviting students from selected high schools, first in Florida, then Ohio, Illinois and Colorado.

The five schools in Ohio were chosen because Mr. Braid was in the door business and knew David Pease of Pease Industries in Fairfield.

“He heard about what we were doing and wanted kids in Butler County involved in the program,” Mrs. Braid said. “He picked five schools where his employees had students.”

They go in pairs, two boys and two girls from each school in different sessions, but are separated from their schoolmate so that they are compelled to interact with students from the other schools in attendance.

‘Camp’ is a four-letter word at the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Ranch

“Mrs. B (Ken Braid) hates when you call it camp because it’s so much more than a ‘summer camp’,” said Badin High School junior Abby Fritsch, one of 20 Butler County students who attended the leadership program during the summer, and one of eight who participated in e-mail interviews for this story.

“I expected a campground atmosphere ... with lots of horseback riding, not much unlike the campgrounds our family has visited in Ohio and some other states in the Midwest and on the East Coast,” said Dylan Yancey of Hamilton High School.

“At first I didn’t expect the Ranch to be much more than a campground, but I soon realized that this ranch was ‘a five-star ranch,’ as the Braids frequently said,” according to Brady Holmer of Lakota West.

Part of their initial perceptions were due to the ranch’s remote location, 15 miles from the nearest town and a three-hour ride from the Denver airport, and the kinds of activities they’d heard about from previous ranchers: shooting rifles, horseback riding, white water rafting, square dancing and fly fishing.

It “seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere,” Yancey said. “We ended up driving up and down the mountains through curvy roads for hours while it was raining and hailing. When we finally took our last turn it was a mile long road that took us to the ranch.”

Lakota East student Whitney Wyckoff said, “We had an amazing view of the Sangria de Cristo Mountains which didn’t cease to amaze me every time I saw them.”

“The program was set up so that you were separated from the other person from your school,” said Heath Stricker of Badin High School. “The main goal was to interact with everyone and make new friends. During that week I made just as close relationships with those guys as I do with some of my friends I’ve had for ten years.”

“At first everyone was pretty separated and kept to themselves but by the end of the week everybody knew everyone and we all shared a special bond,” said Nathan Haynes of Lakota West.

“The Braids are very good at getting everyone to interact with people from the other schools,” said Yasmin Moftakhar of Lakota West. “On just the second night all 22 of us were in the fitness center just talking and telling each other our stories. Over those seven days, we laughed together, cried together, failed together, succeeded together, cleaned together, danced together, and so much more.”

“I wanted to build relationships with every single one there,” said Tanner Lyons of Lakota East. “I did talk to the other students I went out there with, but not as much as I was expecting. I got to know the other kids really well and still talk to most of them weekly.”

In groups of four, they bunked in five comfortable cabins, heated by a fireplace. By all accounts, they were fed healthy and delicious food.

The days were divided. A morning of classroom-type activities gave way to an afternoon of outdoor team-building exercises.

“The highlights of the activities for me would be horseback riding through the mountains and taking in the scenery,” Holmer said. “It was a great experience getting to know your horse and being responsible for its care throughout the week. Amazing I can say this since my horse, Scout, took a bite out of me on the second day.”

Said Fritsch, “You’re constantly doing something. There is a lot of classroom time. However, it’s so interactive that it’s really fun. We learned helping skills, self-helping skills, refusal skills, negotiation skills, seven habits of highly effective teens, and so much more.”

At the end of the week, the students were challenged to take what they learned and put it in practice at their schools.

“I think the most important thing to do once you come back is to help someone every day,” Fritsch said. “The little things you do can change someone’s life. As a school, we pledged to create more school spirit, alcohol prevention, and Teens Leading Teens. JKB is all about making a difference in other teens’ lives and staying active in your community.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

2010 attendees

Badin: Heath Stricker, Luke Wurzelbacher, Abigail Fritsch, Kimberly Goldon

Fairfield: Jacob Milne, Toren Chenault, Zoe Anderson, Alys Brown

Hamilton: Casey Rowlette, Dylan Yancey, Kristen Smallwood, Hannah Kinch

Lakota East: Tanner Lyons, Drew Souders, Jennifer Shafer, Whitney Wyckoff

Lakota West: Nathan Hayes, Brady Holmer, Bari Schwartz, Yasmin Moftakhar

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