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Overview Organizational Overview "Tomorrow's Leader's Today was founded in 1991 and its mission is to identify and develop a diversified nucleus of youth who will generate positive action within the community and help resolve future community challenges." An offspring of Leadership Santa Rosa, TLT offers a 10-month long community involvement program to high school juniors. Currently, the 40+ successful applicants take part in 7 program days that expose them to current issues, challenges, and opportunities in the following areas: 1) natural resources and agriculture, 2) government, 3) education, 4) human resources, 5) planning and development, 6) criminal justice, 7) business and tourism, and 8) media and communication skills. Students also take part in a community introduction, an overnight retreat, and a graduation celebration.
The TLT application process begins in February each year, and interested sophomores who would like to apply for next year's "class" of future community leaders can find information, and print an application form at TLT's interim website, www.tomorrowsleaderstoday.org. The scope of the project was determined by responses to our Website Planning Questionnaire, and planning meetings conducted between January 31st, and March 13th. Our task is to redesign and expand on the interim site. In addition to the existing pages, plans are to include a schedule of events and a photo gallery that can be updated, a "bulletin board" where students, alumni, and administrators can post and view messages, a links page, and a splash page (if time allows). The final site will have 12 - 13 pages plus links to program day agendas, bulletin board posting and viewing pages, and a printable application form in 2 formats. The main challenges are 1) producing a site with a lot of photos that still downloads quickly, and 2) providing a design and templates that will allow the client to update the photo elements regularly to reflect current programs and classes. The main objective of the website is to provide information that will attract qualified high school sophomores who are interested in becoming involved in Tomorrow's Leaders Today. Secondary objectives include 1) attracting volunteers to the program, 2) acknowledging and attracting donors, and 3) providing a vehicle for participants to stay in touch with each other and the program. TLT's primary target audience is young men and women in their sophomore year of high school with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. They are relatively computer literate, but about 25% of them do not own their own computers. The program's focus on future community involvement attracts goal-oriented youth of above average intellect. Secondary audiences include parents interested in opportunities that will enhance their children's future prospects, educators interested in the advancement of promising students and the reputation of their schools, civic-minded community and business leaders interested in the future pool of leaders and employees, volunteers interested in working with youth, and donors interested in supporting a positive program for youth by donating cash, their time, and other resources. Although the primary audience is high school sophomores and juniors, it is also critical to attract and inform a variety of adults, so the general tone of the site will be hip and inviting, but at the same time "professionally casual." To that end, the site will be colorful, interactive, and youthful with solid content for parents, educators, volunteers and donors. The images will emphasize the "team" concepts and activities that are integral to the program. The message will be "Tomorrow's Leaders Today is fun, worthwhile, and rewarding for both the participants and the adults who make it happen." |
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