What would you do if you woke up one day and lost a child to suicide?  Could you live with it?  How would you continue on?  What if all their lives, you'd loved them more than anything else and one day something like this happened?

The J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation was founded in 1994 by Ken and Colleen Braid. Kyle Braid was a sophmore starter on his high school football team.  One day, one of his coaches told Kyle that he had to get bigger and faster no matter what the cost.  Kyle and a friend took him up on his request and began using anabolic steroids. As a result and in a mood induced fit of rage, Kyle took his own life.

If you're a parent, can you imagine the loss that the Braids felt? Well, they didn't just stop living nor did they just accept that Kyle was no longer here. They woke up one morning and under Ken Braid's direction, founded the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation just outside of a place called Villa Grove, Colorado. This place makes Michael Jackson's Never Land look like an empty used car lot in comparison.  It's so high up in the mountains that one not accustomed to the altitude immediately succumbs to altitude sickness!  The kids - they don't miss a beat but if you're an old website geek like myself, you have a lot of trouble trying to acclimate. 

Every year for the past 10 plus years, America's finest high school leadership candidates treck to the JKB Ranch for an intense week long coarse in Leadership Development. Ken and Colleen believe that the best way to reach today's youth is by reaching their leaders.  What a concept! While driving me back to the airport after a few days at the Ranch, Ken explained to me why you teach the best and they reach the rest. Said Ken, the most efficient way to reach today's youth is not by going to the impoverished streets of our cities but instead to reach out to the brightest and most motivated teens.  Teach them some basic leadership skills, give them lots of affirmation and love then turn them loose!  And you know what?  It's worked wonderfully! 

To learn more about the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation, visit their websites at: www.jkbranch.org and www.jkbnews.org.

Editor's Note: At one time, the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation was a gift that students in the Brevard County School District (the immediate service area of Siteservants and its base operations) were priviledged to attend. Hundreds of Brevard County teens were able to be a part of this tremendous program but due to a lack of support by the Superintendant of Brevard County School District, the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation is no longer here for our students. If this doesn't sit well with you, be sure to drop a line to the Superintendant of Brevard County Schools and express your support for this amazing program.