By Dee Miller

Five high school students, each representing different commissioner districts, kicked off the first Antrim County 4-H Citizenship Academy. The youth met six times, learning about the history of the county and county government and attending a commissioners meeting. Various department heads discussed the function of their county departments and answered questions. The youth also identified what they felt were issues in the county and presented these issues to the commissioners along with their recommendations. The county commissioners proved to be wonderful mentors for these young people and spent time answering their questions, explaining why they voted as they did and discussing at length decisions they made.

Through scholarships from the 4-H Leaders Council and the Alden State Bank, these students were able to join 90 other 4-H members at 4-H Capitol Experience in Lansing for four days. During this time, they identified issues important to youth in the state, had breakfast with their representative, Kevin Elsenheimer—who gave them a personal tour on the floor of the House of Representatives—and met briefly with Senator Jason Allen. The youth identified areas of interest and participated in activities related to those areas of interest. They attended committee hearings, visited individual departments within state government, discussed issues with lobbyists, observed the House and Senate in session, and visited the Supreme Court.
All the youth felt they could contribute more to discussions on county government in the future, and that by learning about their local government they would be more willing to serve in a public capacity in their communities. 4-H Citizenship Academy helped them understand the role of government better when they went to Lansing. The group plans to keep in touch and will help facilitate the second Antrim County Citizenship Academy in 2006.