Teens Are Leaders

Youth Leadership Day!

2009-09-17T13:37:00.004-05:00

La Crosse Teen Leaders, post your mission statement here on the blog - in the comment area below and be sure to add your name. You will be putting your intention out into the universe and starting it in motion. It is harder to ignore something when you have shared it! Good luck and I am inspired by you all!

Check out USA Today Article on Rx Abuse

2009-09-13T20:46:00.001-05:00

Abuse of prescription drugs dips

21 drinking age saves lives, helps brains

2009-08-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

Teens - check out the letters to the Editor from the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune on 7/22/09. Text is below...what do you think? post your comments here...

LETTER: 21 drinking age saves lives, helps brains

July 22, 2009
Why is the drinking age 21?
Recently, there was a letter to the editor in the paper about "Why not lower the drinking age?" Some colleges and other organizations have also spent time wondering whether or not the drinking age should be 21. Common arguments for lowering the drinking age to 18 include: if a person can go to war at age 18, then they should be able to drink and since the majority of college students' drink, lowering the drinking age would alleviate campus enforcement issues. The reality is that lowering the legal drinking age will not alleviate each community's problems associated with binge-drinking or alcohol abuse.

What conversations fail to show is, since the drinking age was changed to 21, a significant number of lives have been saved. According to National Traffic Highway Administration, the 21 minimum drinking age law saves 900 lives a year in alcohol-related traffic crashes. Additionally, we know that the brain continues to develop from 12 years old to the mid-20s -- the years in which critical periods of brain development take place, and where the effects of alcohol can impair learning and memory (1). When drinking is delayed until the age of 21, a person is four times less likely to become an alcoholic (2). In fact, in 1984, when the drinking age was 18, only 8 percent of high school seniors had never used alcohol in their lifetime. Over time, that percent of seniors has risen to 28 percent, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's 2007 Monitoring the Future Survey (3).

Comprehensive coalitions are reducing underage drinking through community-wide strategies by addressing access and availability of alcohol, changing community norms and supporting law enforcement. Join your local coalition and be a part of the movement to reduce traffic fatalities, delay the onset of initial drinking and make our communities safer. Protect our youth by creating healthy environments free from the pressures to use alcohol.

Danielle Luther
Pittsville
(1) White, A. (2001). Alcohol and adolescent brain development. Duke University Medical Center. Durham, N.C.
(2) Moritsugu, Dr. K.P. (2007). The surgeon general's call to action to prevent and reduce underage drinking. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

(3) Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). (2009). Drinking age debate ignores the facts. Retrieved May 2, 2009 from www.cadca.org.

LETTER: Why not lower Wisconsin's drinking age?

July 14, 2009
Bars forced to go smoke-free can recover lost income if Wisconsin politicians lower the adult drinking age from 21 to 18.

I may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but I think I have common sense -- debatable -- which is more than I can say for politicians. Name one politician with common sense, and I'll submit their name to "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." Show me two, and I'll enter their names in the "Guinness World Records." If you don't believe me, look at our (previous) $6.6 million deficit. They will try to pay for it with another cigarette tax Sept. 1.

If everyone is forced to quit smoking, or cut back, how are they going to recover that loss in taxes? Maybe they'll put a huge tax on toilet paper. People can't stop using that. Oops! I've given them an idea! Sorry.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why 18- to 20-year-old adults can fight a war, and are old enough to make a decision to take a human life, or possibly lose their own, yet when they come home on leave, they can't have a beer. What are they fighting for? Our freedom, or theirs? I wonder.

They are old enough to buy a bar, serve drinks, but can't drink in it. Also, after July 5, 2010, they can't smoke in it either.

Another example of a 20-year-old adult: They can get married, but if he toasts his wife with a glass of champagne, he won't be able to drive his car on his honeymoon. I guess he can always ask Mommy and Daddy to drive, because he's just a kid. Or maybe the best man, if he's alcohol-free. But, I'd stick with my parents, because I wouldn't trust the best man on my honeymoon. Two's company, three's a crowd!

I think I've figured out why politicians don't have common sense. Alcohol kills brain cells. Maybe they did too much underage drinking themselves. Their motto seems to be: "Do as I say, but don't do what I did."

Gary Keyzer
Nekoosa

For the world to see...

2009-06-17T08:07:00.001-05:00

Okay Teen Leaders, let’s see how courageous you are. Post your mission statement here (in the comment area), and add your name. You will be putting your intention out into the universe and starting it in motion. It is harder to ignore something when you have shared it! Good luck and I am inspired by you all!

What Happened?

2009-06-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

Tell us what happened when you shared your personal brand with your family.
Leave your comments here!

Prepare for Red Ribbon Week: Step It Up!

2008-10-22T08:41:00.004-05:00

Hi Teen Leaders,

By now you are all into the swing of things in school. I hope this year is proving to be a successful and meaningful one for you. At the beginning of October, many of you met with Lawrence to discuss Red Ribbon Week, which is next week. This is a time for us to remember one man, Kiki Camarena, who gave up his very life to fight illegal drugs because he believed that one person could truly make a difference. This year’s theme is…

Next week will be an exciting time for you to share this message with your school and family. Now more than ever we need to be united in our messages. Prescription drug abuse is on the rise and locally, the number of prescription drug deaths has now surpassed the number of alcohol related traffic accidents in a year. The most frightening part of all this…kids think it is safe to take prescription drugs because they came from a doctor…but everyone’s body responds differently to medication and dosages. We must push on in our education of the community; our young people’s lives depend on it.

Please make sure you are connecting with Lawrence, the youth advisor, and asking questions. We want to make a huge impact next week. Please make sure you take pictures and video. We will post your activities online! So send them in to us right away!

Good luck and thank you for making a difference!

For more information check out this link: http://www.redribboncoalition.com/

Kick Butts T Shirt Run Off!

2008-07-31T14:13:00.005-05:00

Lung Shirt

2008-07-01T17:18:00.006-05:00

Front:

Inspired By Purposefulness – Officer Buerger

2008-06-28T08:33:00.002-05:00

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

John C. Maxwell

(Who is Maxwell?)

Officer Julie Buerger is a role model and a leader. She does not just “talk the talk”. It is her purpose to know, go and show the way. Our good friend Officer Julie Buerger needs our thoughts and prayers.

On June 26, her husband, who is also a police officer, was critically injured in a car accident. Although he is doing better, it will be a long road for him, and for his wife, Julie. Here is why I am writing this blog to you all…she is always there for us. She is at every meeting, every speaking event, and every teen leadership institute. She cares so deeply about our community and especially about all of you.

As the police liaison for East and West Junior Highs, I have personally watched her work to keep our kids safer, healthier and stronger. Being an officer is not a “job” to Julie, it is a purposeful mission…a commitment…a calling. We are fortunate to benefit from this purposefulness. So now it is our turn. She is ALWAYS there for us when we need her, giving us encouragement. Let’s do the same for Julie and her husband. Moved by the situation, my five year old son, Jakey, is making Tom a “big people Packer blankie.”

Here is my challenge to all of you…
1. Post a word of encouragement to Officer Buerger and we will send it on to her.
2. Post ideas of kind acts we can do for them.
3. Encourage others outside of our group who know Officer Buerger to also write on our blog for her.

Thank You Teen Leaders…

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let’s stop and help…together.

Live…Inspired!

Hilary