The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina held the Annual Lumbee Youth Leadership Conference November 3-5 at Clarion Prince Charles Hotel and Suites in Fayetteville. The event brings Lumbee youth together to stimulate and educate them about issues while hearing their concerns and to brainstorm solutions.

“I am very proud of this conference and the opportunities the youth services program is providing here for our youth,” said Jimmy Goins, Tribal Chairman of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Breakout sessions included: money management; military leadership now-then of the 82 airborne museum; native tobacco; governmental tobacco action; Lumbee history, and the importance of NASA presidents involvement in student activities.

“We thought holding the event in Fayetteville was critical to reach youth,” states Robert Carter, Youth Coordinator. The first year was held in Pembroke and the second was held in Lumberton. “Also, by holding the youth leadership conference in Fayetteville, it gave the youth an opportunity to visit and tour the 82nd Airborne Museum, which most of the youth never had done.”

The North Carolina Indian Economic Development Initiative hosted a workshop on money management entitled “financial freedom”.  Speaker of this session included Tony Hayes, director of the Initiative, and Ester Acker of Consumer Credit Counseling.

“This year there was a positive exchange between presenters, such as Mark Ezzel or Shannon Flegg and the youth,” said April Whittemore, Tobacco Cessation Coordinator.

Shannon Flegg of the Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill facilitated a session on developing anti-tobacco infrastructure in local school systems.

NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Teen Tobacco Prevention Initiative sponsored Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina 100% Tobacco-Free Schools Program for a break out session.  This program has been successful in encouraging 78 of the state’s 115 school systems to adopt 100% tobacco-free schools.

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