What is a Heritage Keepers of America Leader?

    First and foremost, a Keeper leader must understand and adhere to the precepts of the Heritage Keeper organization.  Christian values, Patriotism, the love of heritage preservation and the love of working with youth is a must.  A Keeper Leader must be energetic, willing to learn, willing to teach and willing to lead.  A Keeper Leader understands, although this is a volunteer work, the rewards of changing young lives is the richest blessing of all. A Keeper Leader is someone who is willing to go into the public and private school systems and initiate contact with local principals on the setting up of school chapters in the Heritage Keepers of America organization.  A Keeper Leader will function somewhat in the fashion of a Boy or Girl Scout/4-H leader and conduct monthly, 30-minute to one hour school meetings in the classroom or other meeting areas.  These meetings will take place preferably during school hours and on school property when allowed.  if special arrangements are to be made for non-school hours and/or locations, that will be up to the Keeper Leader and the school principal's discretion.  This would happen only in the rare case of a conflict with a school's curriculum.

A Keeper Leader must be willing to expose students to local, regional and national subjects of historical significance.  This could require organizing bus trips to sights off campus and overseeing the tour of the sight, plus acquiring the historical data that is pertinent to the sight.

Most locations provide pre-printed information so the resources are easy and available.  On-sight class trips are where students seem to learn the most.   Interest levels in history and heritage increases twofold after a field trip.   Field trips are optional and are not required, but they do prove to be most effective.  Some schools have cut back on bus trips, but most still burn up the highways in the spring of  the year searching for somewhere to go.  Places like Shiloh National Battlefield are perfect for a one-day trip from most anywhere in West Tennessee, and there are hundred and thousands of sights such as this across the nation.

A Keeper Leader must be a Keeper Leader recruiter.  This is not a one person job.  If you have a spouse who loves history and wants to see our country's heritage preserved, recruit them to help out. If you live in a large area with too many schools for you to cover, be able to recruit someone of like mind and spirit to carry on our cause.  We must reach as many children as possible, and in order to do so, it will take many Keeper Leaders.   If each leader will find just one more leader and each one there after does the same, the leader organization will grow.  Each one teach one; that was the theory Christ used and it should be good enough for us.  As the leader corps grow, a Senior Keeper organization will take us into phase two.  If we are to make a difference in America, it will take the efforts of many, but it always starts with just one.  I hope you are the one in your area to be brave enough to care to make a difference.

This job is not for the faint of heart.  If you are not afraid of work, talking to people and spending time with school students, then you might just be cut out to be a Keeper Leader.

The things that made our country great are at risk of ceasing, so we must be vigilant.If we can turn our youth around by restoring a sense of pride in our country, then America just might remain the great nation that she is.    If we loose sight of our past, we are destined to repeat the same mistakes in our future.