The Tipp Chamber's Teen Leadership Academy is now accepting applications!
Download MP3Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Newsmakers podcast sponsored by the Tippecanoe Gazette. I have Meredith on the show again today. Very exciting.
Speaker 2:How are you? It's good to be back.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:Back like I never left.
Speaker 1:I know. And you're liking my new space.
Speaker 2:Yes. I got Definitely an upgrade.
Speaker 1:I got some cute chairs, and I got a nice couch, and I got a table. And if you do that on the table, then it makes a loud noise in the in the microphone, and there's nothing I can do about it. That's just the way it is. But it's awesome. We just interviewed, the lady from Eclay?
Speaker 2:Eclaw. Eclaw? Karen from Eclaw.
Speaker 1:How do
Speaker 2:you say it? Eclaw.
Speaker 1:Eclaw. Eclaw. Okay. And that was really interesting. Yes.
Speaker 1:I thought that was fascinating.
Speaker 2:Check out the interview. You've not listened to
Speaker 1:it yet. I love learning about new businesses that are locating in Tip City because it show it just shows how vibrant our downtown is and how, like, people want to be there. Yes. It's exciting.
Speaker 2:It's so exciting.
Speaker 1:And we were also talking about how it's rare to have an empty storefront in downtown. And that's a lot of that is you and a lot of that is Tasha from the partnership is making sure that we're trying to make sure all the spaces are as full as possible. Sometimes we hear somebody's, like, leaving, and then the word gets around, and we've got another business. This is ready to go right in there as soon as they're closed. And I noticed the, the storefront for the old toy store.
Speaker 1:Yes. They redid the front of that. That looks so gorgeous. Yeah. I love the, like, shiny blue brick.
Speaker 2:I know. Yeah. We're gonna have a ribbon cutting for them.
Speaker 1:Really? And That's cool. Yeah. It's so On
Speaker 2:the horizon.
Speaker 1:It's so nice when businesses are successful. And I think that's I think that's just it's a testament to how nice TIP is, but also how much people are working behind the scenes to do this kind of stuff that people don't even know about or appreciate. And I I just I have to tip my hat to you. I have to tip my hat to Tasha at the partnership because it's a hard it's hard work to keep places full Yeah. And keep interest alive in that kind of thing.
Speaker 1:And then I go to other towns that don't have cute little downtowns. I'm like, I like Tipp.
Speaker 2:It's nice. Yeah. It's a destination for businesses.
Speaker 1:It is. You know? It is. It's a destination for visitors that want to come and hang out in one of the cutest little towns in in Ohio.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think. We like I would like to think so.
Speaker 1:I like it. I like it a lot. And when you've got new people coming in and opening their businesses here, that's a good sign.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Tip Tip has so much history. Yeah. It's organic. You can't fake that.
Speaker 2:It's charming.
Speaker 1:You know? It is. It is. And you can't fake that. So you're on the show today.
Speaker 1:How are you?
Speaker 2:I am doing well. I
Speaker 1:am. We gonna talk about?
Speaker 2:Something exciting to talk about.
Speaker 1:Are we just gonna talk about random topics? Did you have something specific?
Speaker 2:Specific I wanna talk about. Really? And it is the twenty twenty five Teen Leadership Academy.
Speaker 1:There are teens, and they are leading.
Speaker 2:Are you familiar?
Speaker 1:I don't know anything about it.
Speaker 2:You have no seriously.
Speaker 1:You're gonna teach me all about it on this week's episode of the Newsmakers podcast.
Speaker 2:Well, you're about to be blown away.
Speaker 1:Teen leadership. Yes. Okay. So the so I'm guessing it's a group of teens.
Speaker 2:Yes. So it is open to any current juniors, that reside in the Tip City and Bethel area.
Speaker 1:Really? Okay.
Speaker 2:So
Speaker 1:And they learn leadership? See how I'm guessing. I'm just I'm reading ahead. I don't know.
Speaker 2:They learn a lot. It's a Do
Speaker 1:they really?
Speaker 2:It's a week long program, and it is from, June 2 to June 6. And they learn all about, business, leadership, nonprofit, government. It's a fun week. I did it all with them last year and I honestly felt like I learned so much alongside of them. We get to sit in on a court case.
Speaker 2:We get to tour businesses. They get to go to rotary. We get to do a tour downtown. They get to do a mock city council trial. So it's a such a fun week.
Speaker 2:It's jam packed. It's they get to meet everyone, make connections, get all their questions answered, sit with some really awesome leaders in the community, and, it's an incredible opportunity.
Speaker 1:That sounds like a lot of fun Yeah. For them, and I'm excited about that. So is this sponsored by the chamber?
Speaker 2:It is sponsored by the chamber.
Speaker 1:So is this like an educational program that the that the chamber, like, to bring up new, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the community?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And it's kind of also, sharing the importance of a community and how a community works together. And I think a lot of students, you know, think and even I thought this, you know, when I went to Tip City High School, was like, well, you know, when when, you know, you graduate, you're gonna get out of town. You're gonna move on.
Speaker 1:Flea. Flea.
Speaker 2:But seeing the value of a small town and how a small town works together
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And the importance in it. There's such an importance for high school students to see that.
Speaker 1:I know my kids wanted to move away immediately, and I'm like, you know, you're you're gonna be back. I've lived everywhere and big city, little city, all that kind of stuff. And when you go to the big city, you're like, this is shiny and exciting. And then when you have kids or you start to think about having kids or that your cost of living doesn't match what your salary is, then you're like, maybe I should move to a small town.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Not not getting shot at in a small town, at least. That would be great.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So this program is run by the Tip City Chamber of Commerce. Mhmm. But we actually have some amazing sponsors that put this program on. So some of our sponsors are Abbott, Regal Rexnord Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Park National Bank, and then our premier sponsor, the Tip City Foundation. Nice. They give us $5,000 worth of grant money. Wow. And the students get to decide who receives the grant.
Speaker 1:Oh, cool. So they act like a like a foundation
Speaker 2:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Level, like, commit grant committee. Mhmm. And do they they so they take, like, applications?
Speaker 2:Yeah. They take applications.
Speaker 1:That's so cool.
Speaker 2:Of course, they can't give away all of the grants. So they get to make the decision of who gets the money.
Speaker 1:That's nice.
Speaker 2:It's awesome. And it's so cool to see them, you know, discussing them and deciding who is gonna walk away with the grant money. And so on the on Friday, we do a presentation and the students get to present the grants to the nonprofits.
Speaker 1:That's neat that they get to sit in the room with the people who are applying and, like, listen to their pitches. It's like Shark Tank.
Speaker 2:Kinda like that. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's neat. And then they have to they get to feel that sense of helping in the That's nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And kinda get to see how a whole community is run. But it's an incredible program. And so applications just opened up on our website.
Speaker 1:Okay. So people wanna sign up for that. They go on your web website. What is that again? Is that do you have a website?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Tipcitychamber.org. And then there is actually a section for the Teen Leadership Academy. So the application is on there.
Speaker 1:And how many people do you take?
Speaker 2:Around 10.
Speaker 1:Really? Okay. I remember this last year. Last year was the first year I ran the paper when the Leadership Academy was happening. And I remember seeing the photos of the people going around doing things and meeting people and going to meetings.
Speaker 2:And Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's just so it's such a nice benefit and it's a yeah. It's a really interesting program. I think it's neat.
Speaker 2:So we only we'll take around 10 students. So we'll be competitive.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So if you know a current junior that would be a great fit, Please encourage them to apply.
Speaker 1:Get their application in now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Because,
Speaker 1:is there a deadline on the application?
Speaker 2:There is a deadline. April 21.
Speaker 1:Oh, boy. You better get on it. If you're listening to this on April 20
Speaker 2:And they'll need two two letters of recommendation. Oh, really? Because I would recommend maybe planning ahead.
Speaker 1:Yeah. If they're listening to this on April 20, it's too late. Twenty first. April '20 first. But now if you're hearing if you're hearing this earlier, I would definitely encourage you to to, check it out.
Speaker 1:That's exciting.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it's an awesome program.
Speaker 1:And they get to see a trial? How does that work?
Speaker 2:A mock yeah. So well Does that do
Speaker 1:do you set that
Speaker 2:up? Or The trial is not mock. The trial is real.
Speaker 1:Oh, boy.
Speaker 2:The mock part is the city council meeting.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay. Yes. So they go sit in a trial in, like, up in
Speaker 2:Detroit? Judge Wall in Troy.
Speaker 1:Really? Yeah. You sit there too?
Speaker 2:I did. Yeah. It was the first time I ever experienced it. I thought it was fascinating.
Speaker 1:What kind of trial? Murder.
Speaker 2:It was not murder.
Speaker 1:Okay. Good. Actually Embezzlement probably.
Speaker 2:Yeah. There was it was yeah.
Speaker 1:Did you stand up and say guilty really loud and then get kicked out of the court?
Speaker 2:I did not. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Objection. Do you ever stand up and just say objection?
Speaker 2:That was my first time, so I can't speak on that.
Speaker 1:That's fun. You should do that. Don't do that. No. Please don't do that.
Speaker 1:That's good. And then the city council mock meeting?
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Yeah. President Huffman led it. So they the students got really into it.
Speaker 1:So they pretended like they were on city council.
Speaker 2:And they had certain things they had to discuss and
Speaker 1:Did they sit up on the diocese? Yeah. They did. They did.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Someone yeah. Someone was
Speaker 1:That's that's fun. Well, do they also come to an actual city council meeting?
Speaker 2:They do not. It's only during the day.
Speaker 1:You should have them come. Oh, okay. I mean, does work.
Speaker 2:You guys wanna meet during the day?
Speaker 1:No. Thank you. That's not gonna work out for us. I was gonna say have them come to an actual one, they can see how everything works. But that actually works better because they're doing it special for them during the day.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That is great. I like it.
Speaker 2:So
Speaker 1:That's a fun program.
Speaker 2:We're super excited.
Speaker 1:Good. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us. How would people get in touch with you if they wanted to know more about the 2025 teen leadership program?
Speaker 2:So they can email me, Meredith McKee at mmckeetipcitychamber dot org, or you can, call or text me at (937) 667-8300.
Speaker 1:That's great. And the applications are live now and on her website. And if you want to apply, I would get yours in soon because there's a limited amount of space Mhmm. Really, and they are competitive. It's competitive.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So awesome. Well, thank you for so much for joining me today. Yeah. This is exciting.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:I'm glad to have you on the podcast. Yeah. It's great. If you're, listening to this and you're interested in coming on the podcast, you can reach out to me. I'm Greg@tipgazette.com or Meredith if you want to talk with Meredith about it.
Speaker 1:But, yeah. Thank you. So thank you so much for joining us today, and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
