With the goal of encouraging teens to excel, the McComb School District is hosting its second annual Youth Leadership Conference on Friday and Saturday.
Held at McComb High School, the “Power to Soar” leadership event will feature nationally recognized motivational speaker Michael Chatman and a visit from Miss Mississippi Kimberly Nicole Morgan.
The two-day conference — open to all Pike County students, whether they go to public or private school or are homeschooled — kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Friday with a college and career expo at the MHS cafeteria, with college representatives on hand to share information with students and parents.
From there, the event will move into the MHS auditorium, where there will be a performance by the Walker’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church youth choir, a prayer by youth minister Dean Pierce of First Baptist Church of Summit, an address from Candlelight Ministries pastor Timmy Miller, and a performance by the South Pike High School gospel choir.
Chatman, who is making his second appearance at the youth conference, will take the stage around 7:45 p.m. for what is expected to be a powerful session with local teens.
“Last year he was there, and he spoke to kids about making the right choices,” said Monique Gilmore, director of community school relations and promotions for the McComb School District.
“He’s very interactive with the kids, and even brings them on stage. The kids absolutely loved it,” she said. “He’s was a great success last year and shared his message of how he overcame challenges he was faced with. It was about him making a decision to turn his life around.”
Closing out the night will be a short program by the MHS band and flag girls.
The conference continues at 8 a.m. Saturday, with registration and breakfast in the cafeteria until 9 a.m. The youth then will head to the high school auditorium for opening session, performances by the North Pike Jazz Band and the Southwest Mississippi Community College choir and a session with Morgan, the state’s reigning Miss Mississippi.
Following her appearance, students will take part in seven breakout mini-workshops — leadership, with superintendent Therese Palmertree and Lonnie Ross; personal development, with Jackie Martin and Curnis Upkins; finance, with Shretta Varnado of the Pike County Extension Office; responsible living, with Lori Tate of the Southwest Children’s Advocacy Center and Vince Gordon of the Mississippi Department of Human Services; faith and diversity, with Pierce and Richard Scott; health and wellness, with Cassandra Peters and LaToya Selman of the extension service; and the student-led workshop where teens learn the importance of first impressions.
“The kids will rotate through each one of them; they’re 20- to 25-minute sessions,” Gilmore said.
Dr. Sharon Slater-Smith, principal at MHS, will close out the conference.
Gilmore said the school district advisory board has been meeting once a month for the past five months to plan the county-wide conference.
“We’ve extended the invitation to all the other schools in grades 9 through 12,” Gilmore said.
The advisory board is composed of people from all walks of life, representing just about every segment of the community — clery, business leaders, elected officials, educators, community members, parents even a student.
“It’s all the community stakeholders coming together,” Gilmore said. “We really want to do this for the kids.”
Gilmore said the opening session last year drew approximately 350 students, and she’s expecting a bigger crowd this year.
She’s received inquiries from schools in Natchez and Canton about attending the conference.
“There’s an interest,” she said. “People from all over want their kids to participate.”
Those attending will be treated to meals Friday and Saturday. Admission to the conference is free, and there will be door prizes.
“We want to provide motivation and encouragement prior to state tests,” Gilmore said. “That’s coming up, and that’s part of the goal of the conference.”
Sponsors are Southwest Distributors, the McComb Housing Authority, the City of McComb Department of Community Relations and Tourism, Wal-Mart, McComb Market, Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, the Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children’s Services; 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Southwest Broadcasting and the McComb School District.
