Hope Center to hold Youth Leadership Conference Saturday

Stacy Dodd with the Hope Center believes it’s time to help raise up the next generation of leaders and the Hope Center wants to help inspire them. 

That is why the Hope Center holds a series of Youth Leadership Conferences, the first of which will be held at the Landers Center in Southaven on Saturday, April 13.  

“The mission of the Hope Center is to equip future leaders,” Dodd told DeSoto County News this week. “Our thoughts are to have some of the top leaders in our community. These people have pretty much been born and raised in the community of Southaven and DeSoto County.”

Dodd said the speakers will spend 10-15 minutes each to share their thoughts about how they lead, why they lead, what it means to them to be a leader and why young leaders are needed. 

Saturday’s conference is the first of what will be a series of conferences in DeSoto County cities, which Dodd hopes can have an impact on the future.  

“We have to engage and be involved in our culture if we are going to change our culture,” Dodd said. “We know there are a lot of things wrong right now and our kids are exposed to it. You can’t impact culture unless you are in it.”   

Speakers for Saturday’s conference include Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite, Brown Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Bartholomew Orr, UpLift Coaching/Consulting Founder/President Reggie Davis, DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle, Circuit Court Judge Celeste Embrey Wilson, and Motivational Speaker Coach Chris Camp. 

A similar conference has been planned for May 11 in Hernando with plans for Olive Branch also in the works.  

The conference is for students in grades 6-12 and is free of charge with registration, Adults may attend for a cost of $20.  

For more information, visit the Hope Center website.