Helping Those Who Are Less Fortunate

Recent news from Missouri YMCA Youth In Government State Director Ken Hussey:

Dear YIG Students and Advisors:

As the Clark State Convention approaches, I hope that everyone is excited about the opportunities that await you in Jefferson City. This time of year is often one of reflection and thanksgiving for many of us. As we grow closer to the holiday season, we begin to think of gathering with family and friends around delicious meals. However, it is important for us to remember that not everyone in our communities and state are so fortunate to have these opportunities.

This year, I would like to start a new tradition in YIG, one that pulls us together to collectively make an impact in Jefferson City. In our program, we gather in Jefferson City for three days, engage in an intense and inspiring program, and leave just as quickly as we arrived. This year, I call on all of you to help make an impact in this community.

The food banks in central Missouri are very low on resources, facing new challenges each day. I challenge each of you to bring at least one non-perishable food item to share with the food banks of Jefferson City. If each of us brought at least one item, we could provide families in central Missouri with over 450 items. What an impact we can make!

At the Lewis State Convention, we collected many boxes of food that were donated to a local food bank, making a tremendous impact. We will collect items upon arrival at the State Convention on Thursday and throughout the weekend at the Registration Table.

When you pack your suitcase for Jefferson City, please consider going to your pantry and adding an item to your luggage. Your small act of kindness will go a long way to those in need.

Thank you for your participation in YIG. Please share this message with your fellow participants and challenge them to follow your lead in this effort.

Sincerely,
Ken Hussey,
State DirectorMissouri YMCA Youth In Government
(573) 635-6215
khussey@jcymca.org
www.moyig.org

Lewis Convention, Day 2

Hey guys! Hannah and Amiria here... The two hot blonde bombshells of YIG 360 are in the house! Here's a quick update for you all of how the convention is going so far...

Convention's started off with a bang here in Jeff City! Early arrival was uneventful, but productive (we ironed out our green screens for our broadcast later tonight, "Live From Wasilla..." yeah, you betcha!), and Thursday we kicked off to a great start thanks to Governor Hanna Xu and the ever-wonderful Ken Hussey. Today, we're just working on the news and letting YIG take its course.

This isn't to say we haven't run into any problems, however. One of the delegations sent their school with a camera that wasn't compatible: it burned their story straight onto mini-DVDs that our computers couldn't read, and then didn't have a the proper cord for uploading the stories from the camera to the computer. Consequentially, we haven't been able to air their story, but Ben is endlessly toiling to work it out, and they're off working on a second story now.

There was also another issue at 11:30 as we were getting ready to go on: Final Cut wouldn't render the video. So, in the meantime, we showed a video of shorts Ben had already prepared: a spoof of the Grizzly Man trailer called Pussy Man, and a cartoon about balloons hitting a guy on the head. Needless to say, they were a hit, and Ben saved the day. Then the video was rendered, and we went live.

Also, while we were airing the news, we had a DVD in the recorder, but it didn't record. Luckily, we caught it before the broadcast was over, and were able to tape the latter half. Luckily, Ben was on the ball again, and had saved all the news stories to his hard drive.

We encountered our most recent problem this morning, when we went to do YIG Morningside: our converter box wouldn't work! We just scrapped the broadcast, and we're going to get our hands on a new converter box before The Secretary of State Show tonight. (And we'll still do Morningside tomorrow, too.) Our luck must not run out, because converter boxes are only about three dollars! To put that in perspective for you, that's as much as sixteen pieces of bubble gum! YAY US!

But enough about our dreary past problems, and let's talk about the future. At 6:30 this evening, provided we have our three dollar converter box, we'll be broadcasting The Secretary of State Show, with information for yigsters on how to vote and what they should be aware of during tomorrow's elections. Then, after the banquet and ball tonight - where we'll be the two prettiest girls there, of course, gracing the faculty and students of YIG with our presence and beautiful faces - we go live for the second night of YIG 360, and, providing all goes well, "Live in Wasilla." Morningside is on the schedule for tomorrow.

Later, we'll be updating our intro, credits, and news stories for you all to watch.

Signing off, yigsters!

Hannah and Amiria