Youth Council Meeting - Centralina Workforce Development Board

Centralina Workforce Development Board
Youth Council Meeting
The Boys and Girls Club of Cabarrus County
Concord, NC
January 19, 2006 – 10:00 A.M.
Members Present
Carol Johnson, Mitchell Community College/Youth Council Chair
Emily Behm, Cabarrus County Schools/Youth Council Vice-Chair
Rodney Harrison, City of Salisbury Transportation
Linda Spencer, Rowan–Cabarrus Community College
Sharolyn Gray, Anson County Schools
Lakeshia Liphford, Job Corps
Jean Rekowski, Pfeiffer University
Michelle Pace, North Stanly High School student
Whitney Akers, North Stanly High School student
Lisa Smith, North Stanly High School student
Corinthia Miller, North Rowan High School student
Twyshay Patterson, Lincolnton High School student
Unshay Mull, Mitchell Community College student
WDB Staff
Patricia White
Emily Barnes
Guests
Ali Cecchini, I-Care, Inc.
Manzell Spencer, Anson County Schools
Marque Bennett, Anson County High School
Amanda Randall, Anson County High School
Sabrina Copeland, Anson County High School
Ashley Lowery, Anson County High School
Chantier Wall, Anson County High School
Robert Barber, I-Care, Inc.
Monique Phoenix, I-Care, Inc.
Kerry Motley, Salisbury-Rowan Community Service Council
Dawn Sims, Salisbury-Rowan Community Service Council
Paula Holmes, Union County Community Action, Inc.
Eunice McGee, Union County Community Action, Inc.
Angie Mallard, Union County Department of Social Services
Carolyn Mays, Cabarrus County JobLink Career Center
Crystal Bennett, Anson County 4H Youth Promise
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Ms. Carol Johnson, Youth Council Chair, opened the meeting at 10:00 AM. Thirteen (13)
members of the Youth Council were present at the meeting. Carol welcomed members and
guests and asked everyone to introduce him or herself.

Centralina Youth Council Minutes
Page 2
January 19, 2006
Approval of Minutes
Carol Johnson stated that the minutes from the November 17, 2005 Youth Council meeting were
mailed to members with the notification for this meeting. She waived the reading of the minutes
and asked for any corrections or additions. A motion was made by Jean Rekowski and seconded
by Emily Behm to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion was unanimously approved to
accept the minutes as presented.
Appointment and Approval of New Youth Council Members
Carol Johnson stated that one application for appointment to the Youth Council had been
received. Carol directed members to a handout synopsis of the potential ad hoc member, Rudy
Davis. Mr. Davis is a Customer Development Coordinator at the Statesville Housing Authority.
A motion was made by Emily Behm and seconded by Jean Rekowski to approve the following
individual for appointment to the Centralina Youth Council as an Ad Hoc Member:
• Rudy Davis – Customer Development Coordinator at the Statesville Housing Authority.
The Youth Council unanimously approved the motion for approval to accept Mr. Rudy Davis as
a Youth Council Ad Hoc member.
Member Spotlight: Job Corps
Carol Johnson introduced the guest speaker and member spotlight, Ms. Lakeshia Liphford.
Lakeshia who is a Job Corps Admissions Counselor at Job Corps. Lakeshia began by
introducing herself to the Youth Council and then shared a short video to help explain what Job
Corps offers youth. Job Corps is a no-cost education and vocational training program
administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 get a
better job, make more money, and take control of their lives. At Job Corps, students enroll to
learn a trade, earn a high school diploma or GED and get help finding a good job.
When youth join the program, they receive a monthly allowance; the longer and more active the
youth are with the program, the more their allowance will be. Job Corps provides career
counseling and transition support to its students for up to 12 months after they graduate from the
program. Job Corps have four locations in North Carolina and welcome all youth between the
age of 16 and 24. A youth can enroll in Job Corps if they already have their high school diploma
and wish to learn a trade.
After the video, Carol opened the floor for comments or questions from the Youth Council and
guests. Rodney Harrison asked what was the most popular trade that the youth wanted to learn.
Lakeshia responded that at the moment Culinary Arts is a very popular trade offered by Job
Corps. She concluded by stating that anyone could contact her office for more information about
Job Corps and the representative for each area in the state. Carol thanked Lakeshia for her time
and speaking to the group about Job Corps.

Centralina Youth Council Minutes
Page 3
January 19, 2006
Centralina WDB Program Year 2005 WIA Monitoring Update
Patricia White gave an update on the progress of Program Year 2005 Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) Youth Contractor Monitoring and PY 2004 Youth Performance Measures. She drew the
Council’s attention to a handout in the folder that gave a summary of customers served by the
WIA Youth program. Patricia noted that the last page of the summary showed youth outcomes
by county and by younger youth and older youth. She explained that younger youth are between
the ages of 14-18 and older youth are between the ages of 19 – 21. Patricia explained that older
youth are a more difficult population to serve and that the state may be making changes in order
that the older youth are more of the WIA Youth program’s targeted population. She also stated
that the younger youth stay in the program much longer before they can be exited since they may
have farther to go in their education.
Patricia concluded by stating that she would be monitoring WIA Youth programs operated by
I-Care, Inc. and Anson County Schools during the final two weeks of January 2006. She
extended an invitation to all Youth Council members to join her on monitoring visits.
Job Shadowing in Anson County
Carol Johnson introduced Mr. Manzell Spencer with Anson County Schools. Manzell’s
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) students participated in a Job Shadowing day at the Wal-Mart
in Rockingham County. Manzell explained that Job Shadowing allows youth to go to a job for a
day and to see all that is involved with the job and to see if it is something that interests them.
He then turned the presentation over to two of his participants and asked them to explain what
they did and what they learned from job shadowing.
Amanda Randall shared her experience job shadowing at the Rockingham Wal-Mart. She stated
that she enjoyed the activity and got to see many of the departments and what the departments
experienced each day. Amanda explained that she is very interested in culinary arts and that she
got to decorate a cake in the bakery and the Wal-Mart staff told her that it was one of the bestdecorated
cakes they had seen. She stated that this makes her even more interested in pursuing
culinary arts.
Chantier Wall shared next on his experience job shadowing at Wal-Mart. He stated that he had
no idea the things that the customer service department goes through on a daily basis. Chantier
stated that he now had a greater understanding of what employees of Wal-Mart experience with
work and customers on a daily basis.
After their presentation, Carol Johnson opened the floor for questions and comments from the
Council and guests. Emily Behm asked the youth if they got to participate in the Wal-Mart pep
rally. The youth responded that they did get to participate in the company ritual at the beginning
of the workday. Rodney Harrison asked Manzell if any other additional companies had been
contacted regarding job shadowing. Manzell stated that due to many companies closing in
Anson County they have had to go outside of the county to locate sites for job shadowing. He
Centralina Youth Council Minutes
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January 19, 2006
stated additional WIA youth participants interested in job shadowing would visit the new Wal-
Mart being built in Anson County and that South Piedmont Community College and other area
employers are being lined up for future job shadowing visits.
Rodney Harrison congratulated the youth on their experience and encouraged them to keep
participating in job shadowing activities when available. Carol Johnson stated that the youth and
the WIA program did a great job. Patricia White stated that Manzell Spencer has done a great
job as a case manager for the youth in Anson County. She continued to say that the WIA
program has really taken off in Anson County and she commended him for his efforts. Emily
Behm announced that there would be a Job Shadowing Day for the Career Technical Education
School in Concord and interested parties may contact her for more information at 704.262.6167.
Manzell concluded by also announcing that all Wal-Marts in the country would be participating
in the National Job Shadowing Day on February 2, 2006.
Youth Speak!
Carol Johnson reminded young adults that “Youth Speak” is their time to speak and share any
thoughts or upcoming events that the Council should know about. Unshay Mull gave an exercise
on a lesson she learned in her human services class on perception. She stated that the exercise
demonstrates how individuals see the world. Unshay passed around one piece of paper to the
left side of the room and asked them not to show it to the right side of the room. She then passed
around another piece of paper to the right side of the room and asked them not to show it to the
left side of the room. She then directed everyone’s attention to a piece of paper she was holding
in her hand. Unshay then asked the Council and guests to say what they saw in the picture. The
left side of the room saw an old lady and the right side of the room saw a young lady. Unshay
went on to explain that what each side saw was what was on their piece of paper that she passed
to them. Carol Johnson asked her what did the exercise teach her. Unshay stated that the
exercise showed her that first impressions is extremely important and that it is really what one
always sees each time one comes across the same person. She also said that it taught her to
listen and to take in consideration what others see. Carol stated that she had a wonderful teacher
and that she did a great job presenting the exercise.
Corintha Miller announced that she had started an internship through school at her local hospital
in the stroke rehabilitation unit. She stated that the internship has shown her the importance of
sitting and talking with patients. Corintha explained that many of the patients she assists just
want someone to talk to and to listen to them. She said she was learning a lot and enjoying her
experience at the hospital. Carol Johnson asked her what she wanted to do when the internship
was completed. Corintha responded that she was interested in continuing her education to
become a nurse practitioner.
Manzell Spencer announced that the youth at Anson County High School had just finished their
exams. Unshay Mull stated that since she was 15 (she now is 19) she could never get a job, but
now she has just gotten her first job at Burger King because she aced the interview due to the
guidance provided by the WIA program. Unshay Mull stated that initially she did not
understand the importance of dressing and grooming for success, or how to present herself at
interviews. Chantier Wall stated that Mr. Spencer conducts random interviews for the youth
involved in the WIA program in Anson County and because of that he dresses nice every day
and cleans his nails

Centralina Youth Council Minutes
Page 5
January 19, 2006
because he never knows when he could be called for an interview. Carol Johnson thanked all of
the youth and all of the service providers for their hard work and dedication. Sharolyn Gray also
announced the importance of first impressions on youth in sports that she works with in Anson
County. Emily Behm stated that not only do first impressions matter physically but it also matter
when it comes to communication skills. Carol Johnson agreed with Emily and stated that it is
hard to get past the first impression that you see.
Update: Youth Council Goals
Carol Johnson explained to that Council that it was one of the Youth Council’s goals to have a
Youth Summit in April 2006 for the Centralina WDB region. She stated that since Stephanie
Boger would be out on maternity leave until April 2006 she was recommending to the Council
that the Youth Summit be pushed back to a later date. Council members agreed that this would
be acceptable. Carol noted that she would continue to solicit ideas from Council members on the
format and agenda for the youth summit.
Folder Items/Handouts
Patricia White reviewed the following items that were included in the folders for Youth Council
members and guests:
• U.S. Department of Labor Youth Resource Connections Newsletter –
www.doleta.gov/youth_services/
November 30, 2005 Volume 5, Number 11 Edition
December 31, 2005 Volume 5, Number 12 Edition
• CNN.com – Online Article: January 2, 2006
Chinese Language Catching on in U.S. Classrooms
• NLC Institute for Youth, Education, and Families with interest in Youth – Email –
January 5, 2006
• Futures for Kids, Career Coaches Needed – Email – December 22, 2005
• Postings – Partners in Out-Of-School Time – January 18, 2006
• National Youth Employment Coalition Youth Notes – Email – December 21, 2005
• The News & Observer – Online Article: December 5, 2005
Web sites boost college planning
• Research Apprenticeship Program – Email – December 1, 2005
• Public, Private Sectors Call for Unified Effort to Support Unemployed Young Adults;
Task Force Issues Report Calling for Dramatic Expansion of Successful Programs –
Email – December 1, 2006.
• It’s About Time! A look at out-of-school time for urban teens – Time Warner Foundation
• House Passes Federal Youth Coordination Act – Email – November 28, 2005
• After school Advocate – After school Alliance
October 5, 2005 Volume 6, Issue 10
• Futures for Kids wins Top Technology Award – Email – November 21, 2005
• Former homeless, at-risk youth turns life around – The Stanly News & Press - December
6, 2005
• Looking Back on 2005 – L-I-N-K-E-D – December 2005
• Program graduates 27 budding business students – Community News

Centralina Youth Council Minutes
Page 6
January 19, 2006
• National Job Shadow Day 2006 – Email – December 1, 2005
• More Variety in after-school organizations for area teens – Independent Tribune-
December 20, 2005
• SAYSO – Email – December 12, 2005
• Community in Schools of North Carolina Annual Conference – Email – December 2,
2005
• Communities in Schools
• College Fund of North Carolina – Email – December 5, 2005
• Southern Growth Policies Board – Email – December 29, 2005
• Youth Notes – November 2005
• Independent Tribune – Young adults admire boomers, sometimes – December 11, 2005
Updates and Upcoming Events
Patricia White reminded members that the Centralina Workforce Development Board
E-Newsletter has a section titled “Youth Corner.” This section highlights youth articles from
around the region as well as upcoming events. She asked members to submit articles to Emily
Barnes at ebarnes@centralina.org. Patricia also asked if any members or guests, including
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) staff members, if they had any upcoming events they would
like to share. The following upcoming dates were noted:
• February 2, 2006 – National Job Shadow Day
The next meeting of the Centralina Youth Council is scheduled for Thursday March 16,
2006 at 10:00 AM at the Cabarrus County Schools Administrative Offices in Concord.
There being no further business, Youth Council Chair Carol Johnson adjourned the meeting at
11:31 AM.
Youth Council Meeting Minutes 01-19-2006