March 11--  Twenty high school students from four area high schools have completed this year's youth leadership program hosted by the Toombs-Montgomery Chamber of Commerce.

The program started in 2006 to inform young people about how things get done locally and the opportunities they have right here at home.

Students interviewed at graduation say it's working.

Cole Johnson from Vidalia High School says, "We just learned about our community and doing better for our community.  A lot of people say they want to leave this place, but there are a lot of opportunities here and this program gives you a lot of options."

Tamika Jackson from Montgomery County High School says it helped her personally.

"Usually I'm a shy person and I don't interact with other people, but this helped me come out of that.  The most important thing I learned was how to become an active member of my community," Tamika said.

Sarah Payne from Robert Toombs Christian Academy learned teamwork, "We learned a lot about how to work together with groups and about ourselves and how we can relate to other people.  I think that was really valuable because teamwork is something we definitely need to know going forward."

Anna McIntyre from Toombs County High School says the program opened her eyes in a number of ways.

"Even though some people think Toombs County is not a good place to grow up, they really do have a lot of resources and businesses that give back to the community.  It's a great place to raise a family," she thinks.

"I recommend the program because you get to meet different people and see what's in our community that you don't know about," Anna says.

L-R Front Row: Lacey Bishop, Tameika Jackson, Ali Waller, Cheyenne Willhite, Kourtney Owens, Casey George, Emily Arnold, Aly Helms

Second Row: Evan Clark, Joanna Hendrix, Abigail Dixon, Sarah Payne, Megan Meadows

Third Row: Ben Flamm, Raysean Ricks, Anna McIntyre, Nic McBride, Cole Johnson, John Victor Wolfe

Not Pictured: Anna Sullivan