In the past few weeks, we have attended several different government meetings in our community and across the state. These include the Lenoir County Board of Education, the Lenoir County Commissioners, Kinston City Council, and Governor’s Crime Commission. At each meeting, there were many informative presentations that were given, and there were very interesting topics that were discussed.

One of the most interesting presentations to me was a group of students from Panther Creek High School (Cary, NC) that developed a solution to combat the school shootings that have been occurring throughout the country. They presented this to the Governor’s Crime Commission, and the members of the Crime Commission received it very well.

There are several reasons why it is important to attend government meetings, especially local government meetings. Having your voice heard is a big reason to attend. If you believe that something should be done to solve any issue that affects you or others, it is important to speak up. Another big reason is to get the younger generations involved in what’s going on in their community. Every decision or new motion approved/declined affects a group of people, even sometimes years and years from now. They, of course, are the generation that will have to step up once the current generation has done its part.

Overall, any meeting involving our government is good to attend. You will come across opportunities to get to know local representatives, ask them questions, and get informed about different events in our community. Each meeting that Kinston Teens has attended, we learned something new and were able to meet those that work behind the scenes to bring everything together. I also got to soak up personal advice and knowledge from different board members on the different committees. My experience has been great when it comes to attending these meetings, and I hope you will join us.

Cameron Williams is a rising sophomore at North Lenoir High School and a summer intern with Kinston Teens. This summer, Cameron will be working on the organization’s in-person and online community organizing: building our social media engagement, leading community events, and conducting voter registration drives.