Matt Langdon of HERO Construction Keynotes; Genesee County Students Grades 6-12 Invited to Attend
Increasing the peace, having a voice in the community and finding the hero in you are among the many goals of the YouthQuest Youth Advisory Council (YAC) as they bring together teens from across the region. YouthQuest is a free after school program managed by the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.
Flint-area teens, grades six through 12 are invited to join the YouthQuest YAC for the 2013 Leadership Conference “Influencing the Right Now – Spreading the Peace”. The Leadership Conference takes place on Saturday, April 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the YouthQuest office in Flint.
Students from the International Academy of Flint (IAF) YAC conceived and organized the conference, which was created to bring local teens together to develop an action plan for the future.
According to seventh-grader Aleah Miller, a member of the IAF YAC, the conference planners want teens in the area to know they have a voice and someone is listening.
“We wanted to provide a place where teens like us could have a voice, a place to say how we feel,” said Miller. “It’s hard to believe after coming up with this idea late last year that the conference is almost here.”
Fellow YAC member Omoj Sanders added that the YAC members feel like they are making a contribution to the community through the conference. “This is an exciting opportunity to do something great for the community and we want leaders in the area to join us,” said Sanders.
The keynote speaker for the event is Matt Langdon founder of the Hero Construction Company. Langdon is an advocate of the HERO concept, which stands for Help Everyone Respect Others. He will share the process of becoming a HERO at the conference. Langdon is a lecturer who spreads the HERO concept throughout the world.
“I am so excited to be part of this student-organized, student-led event. Our kids are capable of amazing things and that’s what this conference is all about,” said Langdon.
Rhetta Hunyady, Vice President of Education and Training for the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce says the students have done an impressive job pulling the conference together.
“YouthQuest is focused on providing opportunity and preparing students for the future,” said Hunyady. “The planning of this conference is a valuable experience for our YAC members. Now they know that an idea can grow into an event with the potential to reach the entire community. That’s exactly the kind of experience we work to provide through YouthQuest. We want to empower students to take action to make the community they live in a better place.”
There is no cost to attend the conference, however registration is required. To register download registration forms at yquest.org or facebook.com/YQYACconf. Contact (810) 922-2350, (810) 422-5904 or for more information.
YouthQuest offices are located at 4100 Pier North Boulevard, Suite A in Flint. YouthQuest reaches more than 2,000 K-8 students at 15 school-based sites in Flint and Genesee County.
For more information about YouthQuest contact Rhetta Hunyady, Vice President of Education and Training for the Chamber at (810) 600-1412 or .