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