IT IS often said that today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow. When it comes to our local communities, youth involvement in community leadership is essential for building a vibrant and inclusive future. Local youth can bring fresh perspective, creativity, and energy to their community. By taking on or observing leadership roles, they learn the importance of responsibility, teamwork, and civic engagement. It can also foster a strong sense of belonging and investment in their communities, empowering them to drive positive change.
Fayetteville resident and Leadership Lincoln Youth chair Trish Bouldin knows firsthand the power of community involvement. For the past three years, she has been a member of the Leadership Lincoln Youth. Bouldin also serves as secretary for Leadership Lincoln and is a member of the board. She is also a member of the Tennessee Association of Community Leaders, a statewide association of community leaders.
Each year, there is one Leadership Lincoln class and one Leadership Lincoln Youth class. Each class is made up of 15-20 community members and students selected from an application process. Both groups have the unique opportunity to spend almost a year learning about their community, how things are run and coordinated, and how each of them can make their community a better place to live.
“We pull some great kids from all our high schools,” stated Bouldin. “This year, we’re adding some homeschool students. We have two of our homeschool students from the community.”
Filling the shoes of past Lincoln County Youth leaders Jim Neale and Carla Warden, Bouldin said she understood the assignment from the beginning of taking over the group and has worked hard to keep the roots of the group strong while branching out and creating new opportunities for the students.
“It’s been an interesting journey,” said Bouldin. “It’s been awesome because we’re able to change some things and add some new features. I have loved every minute. It’s just a great program. We want these students to return after college or trade school and be productive leaders. We want them to come back and pour into their home base. That’s kind of the gist of the program, which is to instill in them a sense of community and a sense of spirit that they want to come back and pour into where they came from.”
Bouldin added that it’s also been rewarding to see how each group of students has experienced the time with Leadership Lincoln Youth.
“I work with the students to put the cell phones down and do different things. We learn life skills,” she said. “We push them to be the best versions of themselves that they can be, and that’s what we expect. When we take them out in the community, they are the face of this program, and we want those high standards to be reflected. Just in my five years of being with these students, I have never seen any of them not fulfill that and not be the good citizen that we ask them to be.”
Bouldin also added that the community continues to pour back into the students, further helping to set them up for success as they grow into adults.
“They are very inviting,” explained Bouldin. “Around 1997 is when we started the youth program, and our community has loved pouring into our students. It’s nothing for me to call places we tour, like the 911 center, and they will bend over backwards to make sure that we can get in and see their facilities. We’ve also had that with every single one of our youth groups with Frito-Lay. They won’t let our adults in, but they let our kids in because our kids have always been very respectful.”
Born and bred in California, Bouldin and her family found themselves in Fayetteville and have since fallen in love with the community and all that it offers.
“It’s a hidden gem,” she said. “We’re going on nine years here. God brought us to Fayetteville. We love it, and I love being involved and being in leadership. This community has become very special to us.”
She said she has grown from being a part of both Leadership Lincoln and now as chair of Leadership Lincoln Youth.
“With the youth specifically, I have gained so much hope for the future of Lincoln County,” said Bouldin. “I look at these kids, and I think, globally, it’s in a dark place right now, and there’s a lot of negatives going on in the world. But I look at these kids and these young adults, and they are everything that we would like an extra generation to be. So for me, it gives me hope. I have every hope that our community is not going to fail. It is going to thrive, and it’s going to continue to be excellent because we’re handing the reins over to these kids. And in a few short years, I wholeheartedly believe that they are going to be ready to take those reins and even be better than what we are today.” GN
