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Media Alert: 2017 Speak Hard Youth Conference

 

Media Alert
Contact: Natalie Newville
573-635-6669 (office)
660-596-9578 (cell-day of event)
nnewville@actmissouri.org

13th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference Held in Jefferson City

Why: Speak Hard has given youth the opportunity to learn about underage drinking, substance abuse, and prevention since 2005.  Once again Missouri teen voices will unite at the State Capital to attend workshops, march to the Capitol, and visit with legislators.  A highlight of the day will be an Outstanding Youth Prevention Award ceremony, honoring teens from across the state who have proven to be dedicated to prevention.

What: A wide array of experts will present on substance abuse and prevention topics, including several youth presenters.  Kyle Scheele, the 2017 keynote, is a professional youth speaker, amateur beard grower, and full-time adventurous life-liver.  But Kyle isn’t like any speaker you’ve seen before. Rather than lecturing students with a list of what NOT to do, Kyle shows students how their lives will be defined by the things they DO: the actions they take, the people they help, and the lives that they change.

At noon, teens from across Missouri will be honored with the 2017 Outstanding Youth Prevention Award.

When: Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 8:00am-2:30pm

Where: Capitol Plaza Hotel, 415 W McCarty St, Jefferson City, MO

Visit the Speak Hard page for more information on the event.

Media Alert: Speak Hard 2016

SpeakHard16CC

Media Alert
Contact: Natalie Newville
573-635-6669 (office)
660-596-9578 (cell-day of event)
nnewville@actmissouri.org

12th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference Held in Jefferson City

Why: Speak Hard has given youth the opportunity to learn about underage drinking, substance abuse, and prevention since 2005.  Once again Missouri teen voices will unite at the State Capital to attend workshops, march to the Capitol, and visit with legislators.  A highlight of the day will be an Outstanding Youth Prevention Award ceremony, honoring teens from across the state who have proven to be dedicated to prevention.

What: A wide array of experts will present on substance abuse and prevention topics, including several youth presenters.  EPIC Assemblies, the 2016 keynote, is a professional touring group of 12 elite and diverse young artists who bring a powerful message to youth from coast to coast.  They blend their personal life stories with artistic expressions like dance, drama, original music, spoken word poetry, video and inspirational speaking. In the afternoon, fourteen teens from across Missouri will be honored with the 2016 Outstanding Youth Prevention Award.

When: Wednesday, April 13, 2016, 8:00am-3:00pm

Where: 8:00am- 2:00pm, Keynote, Breakouts, and Lunch, Capitol Plaza Hotel, 415 W McCarty St, Jefferson City, MO

2:30pm, Youth Awards in First Floor Rotunda, Missouri State Capitol, 201 W Capitol Ave, Jefferson City, MO

 

Beating Heroin Takes a Community

Heroin and prescription opiates are a difficult problem to tackle. As a result, individuals can feel overwhelmed. This presentation is designed to education students on how they can advocate both the legislature and organizations at home to take solid steps in combating the opiate epidemic.

 

Main Presenter: Brandon Costerison, NCADA-STL

An Alabama native, Brandon Costerison moved to Missouri in 2007 to work in electoral politics. In October 2015, Brandon took his same passion for helping those in need to NCADA, where he currently works as a Public Awareness Specialist, running the Curiosity and Heroin campaign.

2016 Speak Hard Keynote Announced: EPIC Assemblies

EPIC Assemblies is a professional touring group of 12 elite and diverse young artists who bring a powerful message to youth from coast to coast.  They blend their personal life stories with artistic expressions like dance, drama, original music, spoken word poetry, video and inspirational speaking. They cut straight to the heart of the issues young people are dealing with today such as bullying, drugs, sex, self-image issues, suicide, cutting and self harm, abusive relationships, and violence- challenging the norm and offering hope through positive alternatives.

Speak Hard information and registration can be found here.

Meet M&P Presentations

We are so excited for all of you to meet the 2015 Keynote Speakers of #SpeakHard! M&P Presentations is a positive public speaking team of two gentlemen that enjoy spreading positive energy and acting as proof that a great life is very achievable. But enough from us…check out the video they made just for you!

To learn more about Speak Hard and register for the event, visit our website.

Connect with M&P on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram before Speak Hard.
Connect with ACT Missouri on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too!

Speak Hard 2015 Update

 

Good morning!

We are so excited that it is almost time for Speak Hard 2015! Almost a year of planning goes into this event, so it is always great for us to see how much fun the youth have, and how much they learn throughout the day. In order to secure a location and a keynote speaker for Speak Hard, we start planning months in advance.  Unfortunately, this means that we select the date for Speak Hard before the legislative calendar has been set.  For the past eleven years, Speak Hard has been during the same week and not conflicted with the legislature’s Spring Break.  This year, we were not that lucky and the legislature’s Spring Break has been moved and will take place during Speak Hard.  While I know that some groups look forward to legislative visits as a bonus to Speak Hard, there is still so much to look forward to at this year’s conference!

This year’s keynote, M&P Presentations, is an awesome team that brings high energy and will get the prevention inspiration started early in the day. We’ve also changed the schedule so that every participant will see the keynote and an additional four sessions.  That is two additional sessions from last year!  There is a ton of fun and education planned for the 11th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference.  Youth will have the opportunity to gain knowledge that they can utilize when advocating in their local communities.

While most representatives will not be in Jefferson City on the date of Speak Hard, there are numerous ways to reach out to them.  We encourage you to call, email, or write a letter to your representative.  We can still deliver the message that prevention is important and advocate for our communities even if our representatives are not in Jefferson City.

Thank you for your flexibility! We hope to see you all at the 11th Annual Speak Hard Youth Conference so that we can learn together and teach youth the importance of Substance Abuse Prevention!

For more information, and to register, visit the Speak Hard page.

 

Sincerely,

Chelsea Billeck
MYAA Project Director

Contact Us

2208 Missouri Blvd. Ste. 102 #122
Jefferson City, MO 65109
phone: (817) 832-8559
email: info@actmissouri.org

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