Annie’s HOBY Adventures

(With thanks to Nola Hall)

Annie Born was a wonderful young woman who became a part of our family when she was a high school sophomore. Annie was selected to represent San Lorenzo Valley High School at the Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Seminar in Northern California. She attended the seminar in the spring of 1992. The San Lorenzo Valley Kiwanis Club sponsored Annie and invited her to attend a meeting so that the members and Annie could become acquainted. That was the beginning of Annie’s relationship with the Hall family—Tom, Nola, Colleen, and Annie.

After Annie attended the seminar, she joined the HOBY alumni group and was elected to an office. During the 1993 HOBY seminar, Annie was a junior counselor and was paired up with counselor Annie Hall. What a combination!!!! These two were well matched and bonded quickly. Their friendship continued over the years even though Annie Hall was in college and lived away from the San Lorenzo Valley. Annie was a terrific junior counselor. Because she cared so very much about people, she knew how to interact with the seminar ambassadors. She was a friend and helper to the ambassadors as well as to the other junior counselors. Tom Hall was head of the junior counselors, and he loved working with Annie. She was always there when he needed help, and she was always willing to do what was needed.

Because Annie showed tremendous leadership skills and had such a caring way about her, Nola Hall asked her to participate as a program assistant for the leadership seminar for disabled high school students in California. This was a new program held during the summer in Sacramento. They followed much of the format of the HOBY seminars, so they liked to have some of the HOBY alumni members who had experience working at a seminar. This seminar was known as YLF—Youth Leadership Forum. Here Annie’s talent for working with others was truly apparent, and Annie was asked every summer after to be a program assistant.

From 1993 on, Annie and Colleen Hall worked together as junior counselors for HOBY and program assistants for YLF. They were also officers together for the HOBY alumni. Living near each other and working together in so many activities, they became very good friends. Being the same size and looking so much alike, they became known as "the bookends."

To summarize Annie’s activities with HOBY and YLF:

1992 HOBY ambassador

1993-1995 HOBY alumni member

1993 and 1994 HOBY seminar junior counselor

1993-1995 YLF program assistant