Youth

More than 300 rural leaders from across the United States met in St. Paul, Minn., June 28-30 for the 2011 Gathering of the National Rural Assembly.

The Minnesota host committee of the 2011 Gathering of the National Rural Assembly honored "rural champions" at the evening program on Wednesday, June 29.

Rural champion awards were given to nine state leaders who have worked on behalf of rural people and their issues.

Recipients were:

• Jane Freeman
• Bob Bergland
• Anne Kanten
• Al Quie
• Rod Leonard
• Cy Carpenter
• Lou Ann Kling
• Jim Nichols
• Sr. Mary Mark Tacheny

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie addressed the Assembly after the presentations, calling on participants to use their love of place to inspire them to act on behalf of rural communities.

"As we move forward, we’ve got to think about how this story turns out. We need to engage with each other and find that purpose – find that purpose and keep going.

Written by Janney Lockman,  Greenbank, WV

While the introduction I've been giving to people I meet at the National Rural Assembly has usually consisted of my name, where I'm from, and a blurb about the work I do, it might as well be "Hi, my name is Janney, and this is my first conference." As a 21 year-old at my first major business function in the world of grown-ups, it's easy for me to be intimidated by the world of panels, business cards, and conference tote bags, and forget that we're all gathered for the same reason. We all care about rural America, and want the rural communities that we live in, represent, and are advocates for to be healthy, inclusive, and have a voice in our country's future.

By Ada Smith

Just in time for our morning breakout sessions we were greeted with a panel demanding that we raise the bar for how we continue the rest of the day.

They called us to recognize that..

Rural youth of color matter.

The face of rural America is changing. People of color, 18 and under, now make up over 26% of our population. As we see immigrants joining our rural communities, we must be willing to act on legislation that will support their future successes such as the DREAM Act which would provide access to higher education for 800,000 students Bringing youth of color to the table in a robust and meaningful ways in our organizations and institutions is the only way to ensure a vibrant rural future.

Navy Captain Wayne Porter and Marine Colonel Mark Mykleby were asked to write a new national security plan for the U.S.

From our good friend Bill Bishop at the Daily Yonder: