The Walton Tribune-Wednesday, June 26, 2002 Issue
WALTON COUNTY- In an effort to develop local middle school and high school students into leaders, communicators and community advocates, the county's Partnership for Families, Children and Youth has formed a youth advisory board.
The 12-member board is a youth-led, youth-oriented action team for Walton County which involves middle school and high school students from Monroe, Social Circle and Loganville.
Some of the advisory board's responsibilities include identifying youth programs and services within the county, in addition to having the opportunity to be a voice for youth in the community by describing what its members feel are "gaps and barriers" for youth in Walton County. The board will also help create and implement change, and will attempt to serve as a support network for all other existing youth groups and programs.
The youth advisory board was established, said Amber Kai Morgan, outreach coordinator for the Alcove in Monroe, "because the Partnership for Families, Children and Youth felt it was important to seek out the voice of youth, involve them in the process of improving our community, and to provide more positive and empowering opportunities for them in the community."
The board's first meeting was in April, and its members attended a leadership retreat in north Georgia in May led by members of the partnership, Dede Wood, health educator for ACES; and Amber Kai Morgan, outreach coordinator for the Alcove.