YAC Students Spark Ideas for Leigh’s Future
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThis marks the fourth year in a row that members of the Leigh Youth Advisory Committee visited a “progressive” community to see what other towns are doing to strengthen and grow their communities!
On Wednesday, April 26th, twelve YAC members accompanied by Mrs. Justine Fischer and Mrs. Megan Hillen took a trip up to Neligh, Nebraska for this year’s trip.
To kick off their day, the students headed to the Neligh Chamber of Commerce Center. Here they were able to learn about what the Chamber of Commerce Center is and what they do for their community. A chamber of commerce supports all local businesses who pay dues to be members. They try to help bring them business and provide resources to grow their businesses. In addition to the chamber, the group met with members of the Neligh Economic Development Board, and the Neligh Area Foundation, which is an affiliated fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation much like the Leigh Legacy Fund.
Following the Chambers of Commerce visit, the group toured many small businesses and other places that make Neligh, Neligh. They got to visit The Neligh Mill Historic Site, 719 Fitness, Adorn Boutique, Rural Route One Boutique, Pitzer Digital, and River Mill Coffee Co.
Senior Deandrea Rivera was one of the students that was able to go on this visit. She states, “Going to visit Neligh was a great way for us students to find new ways to make Leigh a better place for the community and to also make it more attractive for those outside of Leigh. It was a great way to see all those businesses and how they made such an impact in their community!”
After returning back to Leigh, there was a group leadership activity for ALL the members of YAC. The two-hour workshop was led by KC Belitz and Kara Weander-Gaster from the Nebraska Community Foundation. The students were able to share their ideas and thoughts on how to make Leigh a better town and what they want to see in the future for our community. They walked away with tangible project ideas they can take and implement.
April 27th was a wonderful experience for the members of YAC, and we hope that many of the students’ ideas come to life one day!