The Robins Regional Chamber of Commerce held a kick-off reception at the Chamber in honor of the 24 outstanding high school juniors that were selected by their counselors to participate in the Youth Leadership Robins Region Program.

The participants for the Class of 2015-16 are: Tionna Burner- Houston County High; Zoe Carrick- Northside High; Joel Clark- Veterans High; Amelia Clary- Veterans High; Joshua Cowart- Houston County High; Savanna Eis- Northside High; Paolo Francisco- Warner Robins High; Adrienne Kelly- Veterans High; Josh Kinnebrew- The Westfield School; Nick Loudermilk- Warner Robins High; Garrett Luke- Warner Robins High; Haley Melvin- Veterans High; Noopur Patel- The Westfield School; Shivam Patel- Northside High; Neeli Patel- Houston County High; Emma Rowland- Northside High; Emily Summers- Veterans High; Nathan Szakal- The Westfield School; Kevin Vancise- The Westfield School; Rebecca Walde- Warner Robins High; Ariel Weston- Houston County High; Camille Whitson- Warner Robins High; Hope Williams- Houston County High; and Melanie Wood- Northside High.

A presentation was also made by Pat Braski, Owner/Operator of Chick-filA Warner Robins and sponsor of the 2015-2016 Youth Leadership Robins Region Program.  “Chick-fil-A Warner Robins is proud to sponsor this program because we believe in finding and building leaders,” said Braski.  “I’m happy to say that several of my employees have been through this outstanding program.”

The Youth Leadership Robins Region program exposes young leaders to the key elements that form a strong and dynamic community and thus encourages their input and creativity.  It makes students aware of the many opportunities for them to remain in the Robins Region after their post-secondary education by equipping students with the tools needed for future leadership roles in our society.  Selection is based on character interest in the community, and the desire to shape ideas and attitudes in others.

The Youth Leadership program is also designed to contribute to the development of future leaders by exposing participants to contemporary community issues, increasing awareness of community needs, strengthening teamwork skills, enhancing communication skills, and cultivating decision making skills.  Youth LRR is presented by the Robins Regional Chamber and endorsed by the Houston County Board of Education and Westfield Schools.