Youth Leadership Team Gets Acquainted at Picnic
August 2006

Three-School Group Gets Acquainted at Picnic The South Shore Marion County Youth Leadership orientation picnic was held at the new Fred Berry Conservation Education Center Aug. 7. The event brings together students in the ninth grade in three different Marion County schools. Food donations were made by Everette and Cathy Long and Joyce Boggan. Arvest Bank provided the grill and meat with Randy Livingston and Mike Rotenberry cooking hamburgers and hot dogs. Shown, in front row from left are: Meresa Smith, Courtney Rovinsky, Kyerra Hart, Tabitha Porter, Kayla Gussy, Lizzy Sneed, Kenzie Butcher, Ashton Shaw, Annelise Whitsell, and Ashlee Wilson. In back row from left are: Nathan Pierce, Cody Stoops, Clayton Welch, Bailey Burleson, Jesse Rodgers, and Matt Casey. Several team members are not pictured.

Over hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon, a group of teenagers from area communities began their journey Aug. 7 through the South Shore Marion County Youth Leadership program with an orientation picnic at the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center at Yellville. As leadership team members, the ninth-graders from three schools will get together monthly until next May.

Renee Myers, an adult advisor to the program since 2000, said the purpose of the program is “to develop and enhance leadership skills of these students so that they can be a real force for improving their schools and communities.”

Students enjoy their year with the program, Mrs. Myers said, quoting a recent graduate as having said, “My favorite part was learning while having fun.”

Support comes from a South Shore Foundation grant of $3,500; Entergy and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, which provide instructors, supplies, and facilities; school districts which provide transportation and meeting space; and local businesses, which provide speakers, refreshments, and meeting space.

Members of the South Shore Marion County Youth Leadership Team for 2006-07, chosen from their applications through the schools, are: from Bruno-Pyatt school - T J Blair, Bailey Burleson, Cara Hilles, Ashton Shaw, Clayton Welch, Annelise Whitsell, and Ashlee Wilson; from Flippin school - Mackenzie Butcher, Matt Casey, Kayla Gussy, Kyerra Hart, Jody Henry, Tabitha Porter, and Elizabeth Sneed; from Yellville-Summit school - Braden Jefferson, Maggie McCormack, Nathan Pierce, Jesse Rodgers, Courtney Rovinsky, Maresa Smith, and Cody Stoops.

At the orientation picnic Randy Livingston, adult advisory board chairman, welcomed all the students and guests, Mrs. Myers outlined the upcoming monthly sessions, and Everette Long led get-acquainted games.

Monthly leadership sessions take the students out of their classrooms and into areas of practical skills like communication, self-confidence, and cooperation with others. The 21 participating students will meet local elected officials and will learn about the ”real” world, careers, business, and technology. Students will tour the State Capitol and historical sites at Little Rock. They will end the year working on a community service project, then a graduation and awards program where they’ll give reports to their families and sponsors.

For more information about the South Shore Foundation or to obtain a grant application, call 1-888-774-6731.