On Friday, Feb. 12, the eighth annual Culver-Stockton College LEADS leadership conference occurred, starting at 9:30 a.m. and ending at noon. The leadership conference featured students from various fraternity, sorority, and campus groups who attended different workshops led by faculty on campus. Once the workshops were finished, the students reconvened back at the Alexander Campbell Auditorium with the keynote speaker, Reverend David Yonker ’00.

The conference opened at 9 a.m. for students to register for what workshop they wanted to attend, some of the workshops taught the students how different ways on being a boss, how to be a leader when you are not the boss, teaching interviewing skills, and knowing tendency you have and how to better use that tendency. The event started in the morning with Rev. Amanda Sorenson and Susan Moon on what qualities make the best leader, having students interact and list what they believe are the best qualities of leadership.

Rev. Yonker graduated in 2000, having played baseball on “The Hill” before becoming a pastor at the First Christian Church in Sterling, Ill. for eight years before moving to Burlington, Iowa and serving at the First Christian Church as well. Yonker also serves on the Board of Trustees for Culver-Stockton College and is on the Board of Directors for the Christian Church Foundation.

Rev. Yonker ’00 gave four important ideas of leadership: leadership is about vocation, leadership is about creating culture, leaderships is setting the tone, and leadership is not going alone. Relating these ideas to various experiences he had, both as a C-SC student and as a pastor

“As a leader, what you focus on the most will grow,” said Rev. Yonker ’00 about how important is is to set the tone for a culture as a leader. “And that is the truth.”

The event concluded after a brief question and answer section, followed by students picking up a boxed lunch and a certificate showing that they had completed the Culver-Stockton College LEADS event.