Hazel Payne, one of the students here at BFA, shared how he has been developing his leadership skills throughout his life and impacting our community. He’s gained experience from Norwich challenges, the American Legion Cadet Program, and the Civil Air Patrol. He went to both the Norwich FLC and LCW, and he attained the rank of Staff Sergeant during his time in the Civil Air Patrol. He was able to teach basic drill and ceremony during the American Legion Program at the police academy. Hazel also got to form the honor guard, which was important because it was the first class they held in nine years!

He’ll be going back as a full staff member this year, to teach cadets everything he can from his point of view, from classroom ethics to search and rescue. ”I was put in charge of a certain balloon, at the Adirondack ballon festival, and that was the first test of leadership, as he had to ensure crowd control, support, and I had a year of learning leadership before that, but when you put it in play, its different, giving people the opportunities to learn leadership is important, because when push comes to shove, the classroom lessons arent anything like the real life… I think it’s a very important life skill people don’t teach as much as they should.”
Much of this comes from the NCTC instructor, Kristine Koch, and Hazel credits her for allowing him to lead at the Cadet Program. “I think Ms. Koch is an outstanding teacher when it comes to the subject that she teaches, because she has such passion about educating the youth from the passion of the fields she was in, I don’t think I could have had a better teacher for public safety.”

He also gives back to the community by working with the Red Cross and other organizations, such as Martha’s Kitchen here in Saint Albans. He’s a big believer in mental health and being a good Samaritan. He also really believes in mental health, which is a big issue in the world, and tries to help with it. Hazel is an overlooked person for what he does in the community. Whether instructing cadets or helping give back, he’s a great example of a good person.