Be the Change 406 Youth Coalition Members Get An Up Close Experience of National Government

Dillon Middle School 8th graders, Brooklyn Williams and Olivia Kailey, members of the Be the Change 406 Youth Coalition, traveled to Washington D.C. last week with adult coalition members; Kim Martinell, Katherine Buckley-Patton and Andrea Schurg to attend CADCA’s 30th Annual Leadership Forum. While there, Brooklyn and Olivia had the opportunity to attend workshops: Empowering Youth with Brain Science, How to Elevate Leadership Skills to Become an Advocate for Change, The Health Risks for E- cigarettes, and other skills such as Money Management. They were able to network with over 500 youth attendees from around the country, and were two of only three youth representing Montana! The highlight of their trip was “Capitol Hill Day” when they attended Montana Coffee and met Senators Daines and Tester, and Congressman Greg Gianforte. After touring the Capitol Building, the youth were scheduled to meet with each of the congressmen. During the meeting with Representative Gianforte he invited Brooklyn and Olivia to join him on the House Floor! Andrea and Kim watched from the Gallery as Mr. Gianforte took the girls all around the House Floor introducing them to both democratic and republican congressman and congresswomen. They shook hands with the longest serving congressman, youngest elected congresswoman, and the Speaker of the House. He showed them how to vote, and then allowed the girls to submit his vote on three separate bills, one of which he was a co-sponsor of. This was an experience of a lifetime for our youth. Dillon is lucky to have these two future leaders! 

QUESTIONS: Please contact Andrea Schurg @ 307.438.1727 or Kim Martinell @ 406.596.1284