The Scoop

Along with the entire Jr and Sr classes at Benjamin High School, Brittany participated in our Ranch Country Communities Youth Engagement Day, with students from Knox City and Munday High Schools. Her report of the day follows:

Brittany Coop

The Youth Engagement Day was a program intended to show students in Knox County the opportunities that abound in our home communities. With a treasure hunting theme, the day really showed Knox City, Munday, and Benjamin students what opportunities could be found right here at home. Stacy Henry, Vice President of Crowell State Bank, presented “Show Me the Gold”, a workshop that asked us, "How many of you are ready to leave town? And never come back?" He shared that he too had been in that position, but found his dream job in his hometown. Tibb Burnett, cowboy poet, gave “Clues from the Past” which was a telling of the history of our region through poetry and the melodies of his harmonica. He instilled in us a sense of pride and amazement at the wonders of our county. Remelle instructed us to attach clues we had picked out to a bulletin board. We chose which was most important to us: excitement, closeness to family, career, etc. When the bulletin board was turned over, it revealed a map that showed us all the things we wanted could be found in Knox County. This was unexpected and got our attention. Barbera Rector, Amy Lorance, and Lorrie Coop were our group leaders and escorted us to the various workshops and lunch. Karina and Remelle led “Mining the Riches”, where we found out the abilities and gifts we possessed and matched us to a career path in Knox County. Area Health Education and Texas Workforce Commission partnered with the Visioning Committee to present this workshop. We learned that there were a lot more great careers here than we thought! Health proved to be a major career path of interest for many students, which was interesting to me after we realized how many health related jobs were in the area. Sylinda Meinzer, Jennifer Shaw, and Tammie Trainham presented “Creating Your Own Treasure”, where we learned about developing a career that is not necessarily on the map. The entrepreneurial spirit of these ladies was very contagious, and definitely made me want to open my own business! Fall 2008 Ranch Country Youth Entrepreneurship Fair was introduced by Darryl during “Leadership NOW”, a workshop where we learned about getting ahead through service activities. This was very important because most of us are college-bound, and leadership activities can definitely have an influence on a college application. An interview of a few students followed lunch, and it was revealed that we had learned a lot that day about what our County had to offer us for the future.