Leadership Bibb 2009

The adult and youth programs are guided by a 15-member Steering Committee which is divided into three sub-committees---fundraising, adult and youth. Advisors to Leadership Bibb include the Bibb County Chamber of Commerce, and Matt Hartzell, ACES County Extension Coordinator for Bibb County.

Bibb County Youth Leadership 2009

Members of the Bibb County Youth Leadership Program include:

Drew Collins, Michael Cooper, Caitlyn Lightsey, Savana Lightsey, Payten Lowery, Alexius Rutledge, Courtney Simpson, Sanethia Vance, Devonte Ward, Alicia Weems, Kelton Clinner, Lesland Clinner, Jessica Cox, Kaitlyn Crowe, Kristen Jones, Brianna LaGrone, Katie Lightsey, Ja'Miere Marina, Travis Mathis,Kimberly McCaleb, Kinsley McGee, Harper McGee, Bre Murphy, Kyle Pate and Wytesha Underwood.

The Chair for the Youth Committee is Mrs. Cena Davis, a former principal in the Bibb County School District who works with the State Department of Education's Alabama Reading Initiative.  Serving with Mrs. Davis on the Youth Committee are ACES 4-H and Youth Development Regional Extension Agent Joy Maxwell, Chuck Oliver, Ann Lynch, Tracey Mitchell and County Commissioner Al Green.

Thirty-four (34) students from Bibb County High School and West Blocton High School applied for acceptance into the 2009 Youth Leadership program.  Of these, 25 students were selected to participate---10 from West Blocton High School and 15 from Bibb County High School.  The Youth Committee used a rubric to score the applications and select the participants.

The youth program will consist of six sessions, starting on Tuesday, January 13 with an orientation.  A variety of hands-on training projects and topics, as well as several class projects will be undertaken.  Subject areas covered will include personality traits training, teambuilding, communications, decision-making, conflict management, and "getting to know Bibb County" segments.  The latter will involve educational tours of Brierfield Ironworks Historical Park in January and the Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge in April.  In February, participants will undergo a day of training at the Mercedes-Benz USA Production Facility in Vance that will include a variety of interactive speakers as well as a tour of the plant's automobile production facility. In March, the youth leadership  class will participate in Citizenship Alabama Focus (CAF), a three-day program in Montgomery guided by Extension and 4-H, which will introduce students to state government, state history and a variety of cultural education opportunities.

The April session will take the students outdoors to explore the environmental uniqueness of the Cahaba River, and the May graduation will give participants the chance to share what they enjoyed and learned about the overall program. Hartzell is especially excited about the class projects.  One project will challenge  student participants to organize and implement an E-cycling day under the guidance of Technical Knock-Out of Birmingham.  Other projects will task students with leading and completing specific projects to beautify or improve the appearance of West Blocton High and Bibb County High, or adjoining roads or areas. "The projects at the schools will require an even mixture of both West Blocton and Bibb County High students at each school," Hartzell emphasized.  "It's not like the West Blocton students will work only at their school and the Bibb County High students will only work at theirs.  The idea is to mix things up and teach tomorrow's leaders of Bibb County the team building skills they will need to succeed by working together with  people of different backgrounds and origins to improve quality of life," Hartzell said.

According to Mrs. Davis, the students will be expected to work hard but they will also get the chance to have fun along the way.  "This is not going to be simply work, work, work'.  There are going to be numerous opportunities for the students to enjoy our county's history and natural beauty, as well as to make new friends that they otherwise would not have had the chance to get to know," Davis said.Hartzell offered some words of gratitude for Bibb County Schools Superintendent Dr. Don Elam, Principals Doug Milligan and Lee Van Fleet, as well as for several local companies who have stepped up as sponsors.  "This program would not have gotten off the ground without Dr. Elam's blessing and support, and Mr. VanFleet and Dr. Milligan have also been tremendously supportive.  We also look forward to acknowledging the great support of several local organizations and companies whose resources are critical to the program's success," Hartzell said.