The excitement of the opportunity to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. has heighten as time nears for the students to make definite plans.

Nikki Johnson and Sarah Gambles, teachers at Banks Middle School, were invited by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council to nominate students for the prestigious honor.

That was an easy task because of the quality of leadership displayed by students in both the fifth and sixth grades.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students,” Johnson said. “At Banks, we don’t offer extracurricular activities so this is an opportunity to have an unique and very meaningful learning experience outside the classroom.”

The Junior National Young Leaders Conference is designed to be a challenging and interactive leadership program for the nation’s most promising middle school scholars.

“The theme of the conference is ‘Voices of Leadership: Reflecting on the Past to Create the Future,’” Gambles said. “Past featured speakers at the conference have included Al Gore and Colin Powell so the students will have an opportunity to hear some of the great leaders of our country in person.”

Conference participants will also examine the concept of leadership in the context of historical events from America’s past.

“Students will be involved in discussing important skills and attributes, such as character, goal setting and teamwork,” Johnson said. “The select students at Banks already possess such qualities so we feel they would thrive at this conference.

“This will be a great opportunity and some students are already working diligently to raise money for tuition to the conference. Some are gaining sponsorships, scholarships and brainstorming ideas for fundraisers. We hope to have representatives at the summer conference this year as well as in the fall and the summer.”

For the Banks Middle School sixth graders, this will be their first and last opportunity to attend the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.

“We encourage individuals, businesses and organizations that would like to support these students in their fundraising efforts to contact either Sarah Gambles or me, at 372-2055 or 372-3603 with ideas or donations,” Johnson said.