Carol Lauer nominated YEA Corps for a Connecting With Kids Leadership Award. In her nomination she said, “With Mary Helen’s guidance, the students met with the city council, used all available resources to create a community garden and successfully marketed their produce. In the process, the students gained insight to managing their time, teamwork, organizing and presenting ideas to the city and realizing a goal based on hard work. Mary Helen directed the sight of this group and used her mentoring and marketing skills to guide them to their goal.”

The Chowen Park kids and Mary Helen Franze, Yea Corps’ Executive Director, went to the Leadership breakfast on February 26, where they had the opportunity to meet with business leaders, school leaders, School Board members, the mayor and other civic leaders. Although YEA Corps did not win the award, they were honored to be nominated.