Leadership Education Association of Families and Friends

On September 12th, 2008, ninety-nine people gathered to collectively consider a Big Dream–the establishment of a true Leadership Education school in southern Alberta, Canada. George Wythe Institute Canada (GWIC), a private post-secondary institution based on the methods of education common to great leaders of the past and present, is one step closer to becoming a reality.  This inaugural benefit event was held in the Remington Carriage Museum, a landmark cultural centre in the town of Cardston, Alberta. Dining, discussing, learning and musical performance comprised the program for the evening.

To view photos of the event, please click here.

Sponsored and organized by LEAFF, the Gala centered on the theme “Come Higher,” a phrase derived from a modern parable-book The Dreamgiver by Bruce Wilkinson. In the story, a young man named Ordinary comes to acknowledge a great “dream” he’s been given, one that will provide profound meaning in his life…if he can overcome numerous obstacles, external and internal, along the path to that Big Dream. As Ordinary journeys,  the Dreamgiver provides guidance, encouraging the youth to come higher in order to witness the grand view of what accomplishing his Big Dream will mean to himself and to others.

The GWIC Benefit Gala is a first formal, public step toward a similar “big dream,” a Canadian satellite campus of George Wythe University. Chairman of the Board of GWIC Allan Burton explains that a George Wythe institution is needed in Canada.

“We have a growing number of young people who wish to prepare themselves for active leadership in homes, communities, businesses, churches, schools, and our nation here in Canada. They need a place where they can learn how to think like leaders, how to make decisions like leaders, and how to take action the way great leaders do. What better place for them to get that kind of education than here?”

George Wythe University has agreed to partner with George Wythe Institute Canada in providing the administration, training and mentorship it will take to replicate the successful George Wythe philosophy and methods used on their two U.S. campuses and in international projects, as well as in schools, businesses and homes across North America.

The “five pillars” of the George Wythe approach are classics, mentors, simulations, field experience and God/Truth.  Participating in tutorials, colloquia (group discussion), lecture, coaching and meaningful testing, George Wythe students are brought closer to becoming “men and women of virtue, wisdom, diplomacy and courage who inspire greatness in others and move the cause of liberty,” the mission of the University in all its operations. The book A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Dr. Oliver DeMille explains the George Wythe approach and is recommended reading for those interested in the philosophy of Leadership Education.

If you would like to learn more about George Wythe University, please visit their website at www.gwc.edu. For more information about George Wythe Institute Canada, we invite you to become a member of LEAFF and to check this space often for updates about the new GWIC website under development. Our quarterly newsletter The Mentor will feature articles, interviews and updates about the Institute.

LEAFF gives heartfelt thanks to those who gave so generously to make the Gala a beautiful, memorable, inspiring event. Please consider “saving the date” for our second Benefit Gala on October 16th, 2009 to be held at the Silk Purse in Cardston, Alberta.