Three-School Youth Leadership Team Visits Business World
March 2004

Youth Leadership Team Sees Fiber Optics Demo NATCO Vice President Steven Sanders Jr. gave a demonstration of fiber optic cable properties to ninth grade students on the South Shore-Marion County Youth Leadership Team recently. Using a flashlight, he sends lights along the cable and students can see how the light travels through the cable. Students pictured here are Tyler Kidder of Bruno-Pyatt school and Katie Crook of Yellville-Summit school. It was "Tech Day" for the leadership team, which found them spending most of the day learning about technology's role in the telecommunications business.

Sixteen ninth-grade students from Marion County schools went to "work" in telecommunications at NATCO on a recent Friday. It was "Tech Day" for the students on this year’s South Shore - Marion County Youth Leadership Team.

Members of the team had sessions with NATCO Plant Manager Steven Sanders Jr., discussing how a Telco business functions by departments, and with Internet Services Supervisor Larry May. Then, the students met six department managers. Students also took part in a video conference from two different locations within the NATCO building and heard Business Manager Steve Smith discuss scholarships offered to graduating seniors of the South Shore area schools.

"Tech Day" is the eighth of nine monthly activities for this group of students in leadership training. They also complete sessions about state and local government by meeting with elected officials and traveling to the State Capitol, energy and tourism at Gaston’s Resort and Bull Shoals Dam, teamwork and communications led by youth specialists from the Cooperative Extension Service, and real world skills led by Mike Ragland of Entergy.

Leadership team members will finish up their year of training with an April session at Arkansas State University Mountain Home about careers and job interviews, then a graduation reception in May.

Renee Myers, of the Marion County Cooperative Extension and co-chair of the adult advisory board with Steve Hobbs, said the program is based on the premise that the youth of today will serve as the leaders of tomorrow. Activities are designed to identify and strengthen leadership skills in youth and build their self-confidence as they learn to serve their schools and communities.

A total of 59 students have graduated from the leadership training program for ninth-grade students. All together, the students have completed more than 10 community service projects, such as beautifying school campuses, donating food to the needy, donating gifts to needy children at Christmas, organizing and conducting a program to encourage diversity, and much more, said Mrs. Myers.

Students attending the NATCO Tech Day included: Karen St.Clair, Crystal Blair, Brandy Hicks, Chelsea Flud, and Tyler Kidder, all of Bruno-Pyatt; Katherine Sneed, Elizabeth Wiley, Steffie Marberry, and Kary Black, all of Flippin; Katie Crook, Savannah Smith, Steven Evans, Thane Marcusen, Casey Jensen, Zack Hill, and Rachelle Stewart, all of Yellville-Summit.

Any eighth-grade student desiring to be on next school year’s South-Shore Marion County Youth Leadership Team may obtain an application from their school counselor, from the Marion County Extension Office (870) 449-6349, or online at the South Shore Foundation Web site at www.southshore.com/mcyjoin.htm and submit the application by June 15.

Team members will be selected by the members of the Marion County Adult Leadership Advisory Committee. South Shore Foundation, the charitable foundation of NATCO, is the major funding sponsor of the youth leadership team. Additional sponsors are Entergy, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, local schools and local businesses. For more information about South Shore Foundation, call 1-800-775-6682 or visit the South Shore electronic community Web site at www.southshore.com.