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The ADVANCE, May 26, 2021 /Page 3A
Leadership Wheeler Youth Academy Reaches Milestone
GRADUATES — Larry "Gator" Rivers, former member of the Harlem Globetrotters exhibition basketball team, was
guest speaker for the Wheeler County Youth Academy graduation on May 14. Shown with Rivers are program grad
uates from left: Jaci Hill, Logan Harrelson, Jaime Mora, Tyquez Smith, Jae Dean, Kennadi McRae, Keleiyah Harris,
and Jaylen Tukes. Not shown is Logan Floyd.
Photo by Deborah Clark
THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE — Larry "Gator" Rivers, former
member of the Harlem Globetrotters, demonstrates to
Keleiyah Harris how to keep the basketball spinning.
Harris was a member of the Wheeler County Lady Bull
dogs Basketball Team that won a State Championship
in 2020.
18/ Deborah Clark
\Regional Editor
\dclarkadvance@amail. com I
The Leadership Wheel
er Youth Academy reached
a milestone on May 14 as
the graduates of this in
augural program received
certificates of completion.
It was not the end of their
journey—it was just the
beginning. Programs like
this are intended to guide
the graduates for the rest of
their lives—as they pursue
higher education, make ca
reer decisions, and discover
ways to be productive citi
zens.
As program graduate
Jaci Hill said in a letter of
thanks to the school system
for its support of the pro
gram, “I have thoroughly
enjoyed the experience of
the Leadership Wheeler
Youth Academy pro
gram. I’ve learned so much
from it. I’m excited to see
how it evolves in the future.”
Hill is this year’s salutato-
rian for Wheeler County
High School and Star Stu
dent.
Initiated in the fall of
2020, right in the midst of
the health pandemic that
closed so many doors, the
Youth Academy was spon
sored by the Little Ocmul-
gee Electrical Membership
Corporation, based in Al
amo, the Wheeler County
Chamber of Commerce
and the Wheeler County
Schools. An advisory board,
which included School
Superintendent Suzanne
Couey and High School
Principal William Bell, de
fined the objectives of the
program and who would
comprise the first class.
A diverse group of high
school students, both ju
niors and seniors began a
series of activities designed
to introduce them to the
working components of
their community and its
relationship with the world
beyond. The original itiner
ary included a field trip to
the Alligator Creek Wild
life Management Area in
Wheeler County and the
Georgia Ports Facility in Sa
vannah. While COVID-19
precluded the ports tour,
the students went on a day
long excursion to the WMA
to learn about this site’s
significance in the Coastal
Plains environment.
A trip was also planned
to the Plant Hatch nuclear
facility in Baxley, but be
cause of the health pan
demic, a representative
from this facility came to
Alamo instead to share how
this facility provides power
to the state and beyond. A
field trip to the Glenwood
Telephone Company to
see how this family-owned
company is still providing
service to the area and even
expanding to offer upgrad
ed technology, was offered
as a zoom class rather than
on site, again owing to the
pandemic. Still, students
were able to expand their
horizons with these presen
tations, as well as field trips
to the Wheeler-Montgom-
ery Airport, the Wheeler
County Courthouse, local
government offices, and the
Little Ocmulgee State Park,
located largely in Wheeler
County.
“The intention was to
introduce our future lead
ers to how local, state and
federal governments work
together for the greater
good, the abundance of
natural resources and histo
ry in Wheeler County, and
how they can participate
in their community’s pros
perity,” said Janice Mock,
Chamber President and
coordinator for the Youth
Academy. The way these
students participate can
happen immediately, she
said, noting that the Youth
Academy performed a
number of community im
provement projects such as
refurbishing the Old Police
Station building at the cen
ter of Alamo. While there
are no firm plans on how
this structure will be used in
the future, suggestions have
been made to use the small
building as a welcome cen
ter, especially during com
munity-wide events.
Acknowledging that
although the health pan
demic curtailed a number
of plans, Mock said she
regards the program as a
resounding success. She
hopes that there will be
even more hands-on ac
tivities in store for the par
ticipants in the upcoming
Youth Academy. She has a
number of projects in mind,
including refurbishing the
City’s Old Calaboose (jail)
near downtown as a historic
site and tourism attraction.
There is already a waiting
list for future participants
for the Youth Academy, and
the Chamber is busy plan
ning for an Adult Leader
ship Academy scheduled to
launch next fall.
Receiving their certifi
cates of completion on May
14 were Jae Dean, Logan
Floyd, Logan Harrelson,
Keleiyah Harris, Jaci Hill,
Kennadi McRae, Jaime
Mora, Tyquez Smith and
Jaylen Tukes.
Guest speaker for
the graduation ceremony
was former member of
the world-famous Harlem
Globetrotters basketball
exhibition team Larry “Ga
tor” Rivers. As a Chatham
County Commissioner and
an active member of the Li
ons Club, Rivers has stayed
involved with his commu
nity after achieving interna
tional fame as a basketball
player. He urged the stu
dents to embrace every op
portunity that comes along
to continue serving their
community and society in
their future endeavors.
Shooting
continued from page 1A
tain crimes, according to a
news release from Vidalia
Police Commissioner Brian
Scott.
The VPD requests any
one who knows the where
abouts of Christopher
Powell, or has information
about this incident, to call
the Investigative Services
Division at 912-537-4123
or CrimeStoppers at (912)
386- 4480.
CONGRATS
You've Earned It!
We're proud of our grads!
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