By By MaryClaire Foster
The 2008-09 Youth Leadership Atmore class has been meeting for the past several months to learn more about themselves and their community.
The group meets once a month under the leadership of Nick Smith to learn about a wide array of topics, from leadership and business skills, to community history and industry information.
Jon Dean is one of the new group members and said the program has been very enjoyable and informative for him.
Shar’nell Flavors is also a member of the group and said she too is enjoying the learning experience.
Starting off the program was an overnight retreat at Camp Beckwith where the 22 teens bonded through team building exercises on a ropes course.
Smith said the group dealt with the challenges well, but a couple of them found it a little harder to get through than others.
Flavors said she liked Beckwith a lot, particularly the physical activities like the zip line and climbing, but also enjoyed getting to really know her classmates.
Smith said one of the most well received sessions is the resumes, interviews and etiquette.
Dean said he found it to be very helpful.
Flavors agreed that that session was particularly useful.
Smith said the idea for that session came from the suggestion of two community leaders.
Smith said he considered their suggestions and agreed they would be beneficial to the teenagers.
When it was first implemented, it was held later in the year, but the schedule was changed this year to have it at the beginning so the group would benefit from it all year long.
The group also devoted a day to learning about law enforcement, hearing presentations from the Drug Task Force and touring Holman Prison.
Upcoming sessions for the group are history, education, government and business and industry followed by a graduation.