Elmore County represented in youth leadership conference

By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer

High school freshmen and sophomores from across the state gathered at the Alabama 4-H Center in Columbiana earlier this month for the Alabama Farmers Federation Youth Leadership Conference.

The 96 Students enjoyed teambuilding activities and outdoor recreation while hearing from Mike Lutzenkirchen of the Lutzie 43 Foundation and participating in leadership workshops facilitated by high-energy, high-impact trainer Rhett

Laubach.

“In a nutshell, we bring students in to learn a lot about leadership development, but along the way, we want to make them advocates for agriculture,” Federation Young Farmers Division Director Hunter McBrayer said. “No matter what county or background you come from, we need good leaders for our community and state, and we need good voices for agriculture.”

The Alabama Farmers Youth Leadership Conference, free for attendees, was sponsored by the Federation, Alfa Insurance, Alabama

Farmers Agriculture Foundation, Alabama Ag Credit and local Farmers Federations. The Federation received a record number of applicants this year — well over 200.

During the two-day conference, students were challenged to step out of their comfort zones, find their strengths and realize their influence on others.

Laubach challenged the students to be their B-E-S-T, or “better every single time.” Laubach pushed students, such as Marbury High School student Jamyracle Williams, to understand leaders are observers, trustworthy and positive.

“Everybody can be a leader, but not everyone has the tools or the voice to be a leader,” Williams said. “I found my voice here.”

Fellow attendee Lyndee Meadows from Woodland High School in Randolph County did too.

“I grew up in agriculture raising and showing cattle and pigs,” Meadows said. “I will use everything I learned from this conference and take it back into my agriculture experiences to promote and share it with others.”

Applications for the 2023 Youth Leadership Conference will be available in September, with the conference being held in November.