Mayor’s Youth Council plans fundraiser Friday

May 18, 2011

By COLLEEN MCCARTHY
sdnreporter@yahoo.com

The Starkville Mayor’s Youth Council will hold a banquet fundraiser for their organization Friday evening at Davis Wade Stadium.
The Starkville Mayor’s Youth Council was founded last August by Mayor Parker Wiseman. The group consists of 25 high school students, selected to represent Starkville High School and Starkville Christian.
“The Mayor’s Youth Council is a civic club organization that focuses on leadership, mentoring and community service,” Stephanie Ashford-Shackelford, project coordinator said. “
The banquet will not only help support the organization, but will serve as a venue to demonstrate what the group has accomplished so far.
“They did an outstanding job for their first year,” Ashford-Shackelford said. “We’re going to share what they have done and what programs we’re working on for the future.”
The group has completed 815 hours of community service, through projects like their participation in the Cotton District Arts Festival. One of their main focuses is election awareness within the youth, an activity they hope to expand upon to provide election education for the entire community.
They also hope to expand their council membership to include members of Starkville Academy.
The banquet will take place in the club level of Davis Wade Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday. The Mayor of Hattiesburg, Johnny Dupree, will be featured as the guest speaker. Dupree was the first to start a youth council in Mississippi. The event is open to the public and tickets are still available. Supporters of the youth council can purchase individual tickets at $25 per plate or reserve a 10-person table for $200. All proceeds will go to the organization. For more information or to purchase a ticket, contact Stephanie Ashford-Shackelford at myc@cityofstarkville.org.