Y St-er Appointed to 'The Board'!

What’s up Y St.!

I decided that I wanted to take my Y St. experience to the next level, and I did just that this past summer.  As you may know, VTSF, which became the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, on July 1st of this year, is the organization that funds Y St. and I made it a goal to earn a spot on the Board of Trustees of the organization.  The Board of Trustees has seats for pediatricians, oncologists, community leaders, legislators, and two youth seats. Just to give you a basic idea, The Board of Trustees governs things like how much money is spent and towards what, marketing strategies, and has recently taken on a new topic, as will Y St.—obesity. Upon browsing the VTSF website and talking with Marge White, Deputy Director of the Foundation, at the Y St. Leadership Team Retreat (If you didn’t apply last year, make sure you do this year!), I found out that each person on the board serves a term of four years.

Soon after, to my satisfaction, I found out that BOTH of the youth members’ terms ended on June 30th. I decided to fill out an Application for Appointment, which comes from the Offices of the Governor. Along with the application and letters of recommendation (the majority of which I got from Y St. Team!), a letter of interest and résumé were requested.

Last month, I received a phone call from the Office of the Governor and was notified that Governor Kaine had selected me to fill one of the vacancies. Simply speaking—I was thrilled! Obviously I accepted immediately.  The process had been long, but the wait was well worth it! Y St. already has a well-respected reputation in the eyes of Governor Kaine, and my involvement with this movement we’ve built up unquestionably helped earn me the spot.

December 1^st was my first meeting, and I made sure that I repped Y St. well! At the meeting, Y St. was on the spotlight multiple times for its work on the 86 and Meltdown campaigns.  I also found out that I am the first Y St-er to serve on the Board. Hopefully this isn’t just a big step for me- I hope my appointment can be a HUGE move for Y St. I will serve on the Marketing Committee, which Y St. is a huge part of.

It is my promise to YOU guys to make Y St. way bigger than it is now. I’m serious- get ready for 2010—we have so many things in store! Meanwhile, continue to work on projects (I’m trying to get mine in now!) and go out and get a sandwich…its smoke-free!