On Saturday, September 17, 2005 over 350 people, mostly youth, gathered on the lawn of Hudson High School to enjoy the 4th Annual Youth Appreciation Day. The first 90 minutes was held outdoors under a huge tent and offered everyone an "all you can eat" BBQ put on by the ever popular Bubba Beans.

The First Baptist Church of Catskill provided live music and there were lots of fun things to do like a 25-foot rock climbing wall and a human bowling ball. When everyone had their fill of food and fun, the show moved inside to the school auditorium led by the Hudson Drum and Drill Team. There were lots of great prizes given away throughout the evening, including $400 in cash, commemorative T-shirts, 2 iPods, a digital camera, and a camcorder. Additionally, each participant in the program left with a nylon gear bag full of cool stuff.

The indoor program began with an awesome concert by the fabulous music ministry of Rock Solid Church of Hudson and had everyone up on their feet. The keynote speaker, Stanley Leone, (click here to read Stanley's bio) of the highly regarded Flippen Group gave a presentation that was described as inspirational, haunting, and powerful by both youth and parents in attendance. He gave a 75-minute heart wrenching and heart-warming story of his life and how he overcame abuse, drugs, gang membership, and even incarceration. He has gone on to become a voice of hope and a model of success for youth because of the changes he made in his life. At the conclusion of his dramatic presentation, youth and parents who wanted to shake his hand surrounded him.

As with all programs sponsored by Investments in Youth, the entire evening was free of charge to all participants.

Fifth annual Youth Appreciation Day planned for the Spring of 2007.

 

9/30/05

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the Investments in Youth project, I sincerely extend my thanks to all of the volunteers who helped to make the 4th Annual Youth Appreciation Day held on September 17 at the Hudson High School such a huge success.
The “red shirt team” helped with set-up, parking, security, tickets, wristbands, prize give-aways, food, and general crowd control of approximately 350.  You know who you are and we could not have done it without you! 

A big thanks as well to the sponsors, supporters, and vendors who helped round out the day ~ Bubba Beans for the great “all you can eat” BBQ, The Salvation Army for donating bottled water, House of Heroes for “manning” the human bowling ball, Outside Adventures for the 25’ rock climbing wall, First Baptist (Catskill) and Rock Solid (Hudson) churches for their inspirational music, Not Me Not Now for providing the dynamic motivational speaker (thanks Michelle), Hudson Development Corporation for their accounting services, Pro-Printers for donating posters,  the custodial staff of the Hudson City School District for their services, and for the loot bags we thank the Alight Pregnancy Center, Columbia County ACT for Youth, DWI, Mental Health Assn., Not Me Not Now, and the Hudson Youth Center.

A special thanks to Dennis Marino for the countless hours that went into the preparation and delivery of this event, Melissa LoFrisco, Kathy Clark, Michael Fulton, and Ryan Groat for their invaluable “take charge” assistance.  Your personal “investments in youth” really paid off!

Many hearts were touched by Stanley Leone’s (The Flippen Group) story of overcoming poverty, abuse, and despair through the power of change and determination.  His story went from heart-wrenching to heart-warming and we thank him for his courage to share his personal journey to benefit others.

Thank you to all who brought their youth!  I look forward to seeing you at the 5th annual!

Maria J. Suttmeier
Director, Investments in Youth