CHAMBER ANNOUNCES YOUTH LEADERSHIP CLASS
The Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce announced this week the students selected to participate in Youth Leadership Lawrence for 2017-2018, executive director Jason Houston said.
The Chamber received numerous applications from students representing all four high schools in the county. The class of 28 students was balanced to proportionally represent all county schools. A group of judges reviewed the applications and made the final selections.
"We were very pleased with the quality of applications we received for this year's class," Houston said. "I'd like to thank everyone who helped in the selection process, all the applicants, our sponsors for this year, our day chairs and our program coordinator, Brenda Suski. It takes all of us working together to make this a successful program year after year. I feel great about this group of selected students, and we are all looking forward to a fun year for Youth Leadership Lawrence."
The application criteria for the program include work and volunteer experience, leadership roles in school, honors and awards, references and an essay on how to improve our community. The program is for students entering the 10th or 11th grade, and sophomores who were not selected for this class are encouraged to apply again in the spring of 2018 for the next class.
Members of this year's class are as follows:
From R.A. Hubbard: Kennedi Byrd.
From Hatton: Joseph Crumpton, Kendal Crowell, Sydney Ward, Scarlette McAbee, Caroline Craig, Connor West and Kinley Sutton.
From East Lawrence: Ryleigh Hill, Hunter Letson, Katelyne Campbell and Megan Tucker.
From LCHS: Paige Armstrong, Tyler Thrasher, Gracie Dutton, Erica McKelvey, Allie Lovett, Lexi Sport, Brody Franks, Rachel Suski, Caeli Woodruff, Ivey-Blake Terry, Ty Hutto, Hannah Hensley, Lexi Heidt, Abby Cook, Whitley Greene and Harlie Vinson.
The program is funded in large part through sponsorships.
"Given the financial challenges of sustaining this vital program for our county's young people, we ask local businesses, organizations and elected officials to help us sponsor the various day trips and events,” the director said. “We are grateful for their help, and we want to especially thank our sponsors."
Orientation for this year, set for Sunday, Sept. 10, is sponsored by Thompson and Associates. Leadership Day, on Sept. 28, is sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Agriculture Day, on Oct. 25, is sponsored by the Lawrence County Farmers Federation. Criminal Justice Day, on Nov. 14, is sponsored by Circuit Judge Mark Craig, District Judge Angela Terry, and District Attorney Errek Jett. Health and Education Day, set for Dec. 6, is sponsored by Lawrence Medical Center. Banking and Retail Day, on Jan. 30, 2017, is sponsored by CB&S Bank. Business and Economic Day, on Feb. 22, 2017, is sponsored by Joe Wheeler EMC and Lockheed-Martin. Legislative Day, on March 21, 2017, is made possible by funding from the Lawrence County state legislative delegation, and Tourism Day, on April 19, 2017, is sponsored by North Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourism Association and the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.
Graduation exercises for the 2017-2018 class will be held on Tuesday night, May 8, 2018, at 6 p.m. at Moulton Church of Christ. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill will again serve as the keynote speaker. CB&S Bank and APEX Real Estate will be the co-title sponsors for graduation exercises.
Youth Leadership Lawrence is a program directed and sponsored by the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. It is designed to teach local students about their home county with the goal of motivating them to grow into local leadership roles after their education is complete.
