Chamber hosts fourth Youth Leadership class

Nearly 30 area high school juniors and seniors met Wednesday, Aug. 24, to kick off Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce’s fourth Youth Leadership class.

The program was co-created eight years ago by Jefferson County High School Work-Based Learning Coordinator Tammy Hodges and Thomas Jefferson Academy Middle and Upper School Director Amber Dowdy who each had connections to the Chamber’s already existing leadership program for adults.

Both said that they had noticed that a lot of teenagers, although they were very active in their own school organizations and churches, did not know about many aspects of their own community. Most do not know who their elected officials are, the ins and outs of their local government, what local industries produce and what opportunities are available around them every day.

“We were really surprised to see that kids from different areas didn’t know what the other end of the county had,” Dowdy said. “We’ve had kids who have never been to Bartow or didn’t know what they did at Atwell Pecan. At KaMin they know there’s a chalk mine, but they don’t realize how many opportunities there are for jobs.”

Hodges said that a primary goal of the Youth Leadership program is to teach this group of juniors and seniors what Jefferson County has to offer.

“A lot of our teens did not want to come back to Jefferson County because they thought that there weren’t jobs or opportunities here,” Dowdy said.

“We wanted them to gain an appreciation for their county and, at the same time, develop some leadership skills,” Hodges added. “This is a way for us to grow our community’s own future government and business leaders.”

The Chamber of Commerce hosts the program every other year and invites juniors and seniors to apply. This year members of the first youth leadership class were part of the panel that interviewed applicants.

“It was fun to have them back,” Hodges said. “Many of them were in their last semesters of college and it was fun for them to catch up and be here to talk to the current participants about what they gained from the program and what they can expect out of it.”

Youth Leadership members tour local businesses and industries and meet entrepreneurs and government officials. Six sessions are held throughout the year in different cities throughout the county and outside of those meetings participants are expected to attend at least two local government meetings and one cultural event held in the county.

“Our group is really big this year,” Dowdy said. “We have 29 participants in this class. The first year we had 12 or 14. Businesses are helping a lot more because they see that it’s a great program. We’ve also gotten better at it and have learned about different scholarship opportunities at colleges for leadership. Thanks to the generous donations and sponsorships from local businesses we’ve been able to offer two $500 scholarships, one at each school for youth leadership participants.”

At the class’s first meeting last week Hodges and Dowdy talked to participants about interviewing skills, how to use social media properly and how to present yourself when you meet someone professionally.

“We spend a lot of time on public speaking, how to carry a conversation without just talking about yourself,” Dowdy said.

They toured a few downtown businesses and met other business owners. Later meetings will be held in Wrens, Wadley and Bartow where they will learn more about economic development, attend mock council meetings and meet elected officials.

“We have several who will be 18 in the next few weeks who will be voting soon. They need to take an active role and know who these people are and what they are doing,” Dowdy said.

“Just last year a former youth leadership graduate ran for city council in Wrens,” Hodges said.

In December the students will participate in the Chamber’s annual legislative breakfast and have their own separate meeting with the county’s state and federal representatives.

“It’s a great program and we’re excited for all of the opportunities these students are going to have,” Hodges said. “We do this every other year so if students are interested in participating in the future, current ninth and tenth graders will be eligible to apply in the spring of 2024.”

Members of the current county Youth Leadership class are: Jeyley Ambrosio-Ruiz, C’khia Beasley, Daisy Becerra-Agustin, Christopher Biggers, Carson Davis, Savannah Davis, Jackson Dowdy, Mary Dalton Dowdy, John Durden, Sara Gore, Mary Wilhelmina Hodges, Jacob Holt, Lexie Lou Howard, Zoie Irby, Anay Jhaveri, Samuel Lewis, Markayla Watts, Marti Ann Bailey, Annie Mays, Elijah McArthur, Will McNeely, Hannah Miller, Joe Miller, Rashad Nelson, Lydia Newman, Chandler Smith, Shelby Valduga, Whitney Wells and Destiny Wilcher.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Chamber hosts fourth Youth Leadership class