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Last updated on Monday, February 5, 2018
(BEDFORD) - The Lawrence County Boys and Girls Club has elected the first ever Members Council made up of 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students.
"We decided to start a membership council to give the kids a bigger voice in the club... let them decide more of what they want to do, give them responsibility and to make it feel like its more their club and they're not just doing what somebody else is making them do. So, they will maybe have more participation in the activities we are doing," said Limestone Unit Director, Kathy Craig.
It was Craig's idea to start the Members Council. Two students from each of the three grades were elected by their peers and the teen volunteers at the Limestone Unit for the council.
Craig hopes the students will learn life long lessons with the new initiative.
"It teaches them responsibility, it makes them accountable and hopefully they, in return, will make their peers accountable for things - like taking care of equipment, respecting staff, so it kind of puts everybody on their toes to making the person next to them accountable for their actions," said Craig.
"And it gives them really good leadership skills that will obviously follow them throughout the rest of their life."
The race was very close in each grade. According to Craig, totals were very close with some "just a couple of points between the two."
"I was very pleased."
Jane Bingham and Jake Martin were elected as Member Councilors from the 3rd grade. Adaila Pruett and Luke Morris were elected as the 4th grade representatives and Angelina Zeri and Kalen Shalenburg from the 5th grade.
"They were the ones that showed the most imitative and the most outspoken in the club... have come to me in the past and given me ideas about on things that they would like to see happen. Some of the things we have already implemented. It wasn't a surprise who was picked," said Craig.
Their first meetings will be facilitated by Craig and other members of the Boys and Girls Club to help build the Member Council by laws and set a plan of action for each meeting. They will then gradually start planning club activities so an entire week of activities will be nothing but member council planning.
The Member Council will hold their position for a year.
The video below showcases the speeches given by the candidates that chose to give a speech in front of their peers.
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