Youth Leadership Bay County

Youth Leadership Bay County, initiated in 2000, grew out of a determination by Leadership Bay County graduates to reach out to the next generation. The program is designed to show youth the benefits of living in this community and encouraging them to assist in leading it, so it will continue to grow and prosper for future generations.

Youth Leadership Bay County assists Bay Area youth in developing their leadership skills and learning more about the community in preparation for constructive, responsible participation and leadership in community affairs. The program is open to students who will be sophomores and juniors in a Bay County high school beginning the following fall. Adult mentors work with the students during the six-month program.

The program is designed to provide opportunities for students to participate in a variety of hands-on activities to learn about:

Leadership

Team-building

Strengths and abilities — as an individual and as a member of a group

The program is designed to benefit not only those directly participating, but many other stakeholders:

Schools, by strengthening their ties with other schools in the Bay Area and by having students motivated and prepared to step into leadership roles within the school.

The business community, by providing the potential for participating students to eventually become members of the business community, already having a working knowledge of the community and a determination to take a leadership role.

The community as a whole, because the next generation will be prepared and motivated to lead it to succeed.