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| Volume XXIII Number 12 | September 6, 2002 |
Brighton Youth Conference
By Paula Cassels
ORLANDO — The 7th Annual Brighton Youth Conference was
held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel & Inns on the week of August 5-9.
The welcome committee of Alice Sweat, Jenny Johns, Salina Dorgan, Sarah Sampson, Dawn Ferrittia, Lonnie Gore and Lois J. Smith distributed conference packets, agenda, Talent Show information and Family Quest papers to conference attendees as they entered the hotel lobby. After signing in with the welcome committee, the attendees also received towels and tote bags.
On Friday night, the opening dinner featured a dedication to Smawley Holata,
a tireless volunteer at past youth conferences who recently passed away. Her
mother, Alice Snow, gave a prayer in Creek to start off the event’s buffet
dinner.
After dinner, Brighton Council Representative John Wayne Huff, Sr. said when
Holata worked in his office she always had a smile and said “Good Morning”
or “How are you doing?” when she came to work.
Huff, who had just returned from the North American Indigenous Games that morning, wanted to thank the committee and everyone who helped organize the Brighton youth conference.
Huff said he would like to see more young people compete in the indigenous games in Canada. He knows the Seminole Tribe has good athletes and felt it would help make the tribe stronger if more athletes would participate.
Huff noted that the Adults and Children‘s classes sounded like everyone would have a good time and thanked the conference organizers for inviting him to speak at the dinner.
Brighton Board Representative Alex Johns thanked all the people that helped organize the youth conference.
“All the people that put together the event were the tribal leaders and Smawley Holata was a tribal leader,” said Johns.
He asked the children and everyone to “take the classes to heart and learn what you can, today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders”. Johns said this youth conference was in honor of Smawley Holata and her family, and wished them the best.
Speaker Jack Smith, Jr. also addressed the conference attendees, he thanked the youth conference committee and the Holata family for inviting him to speak at the dinner.
Following the speakers, a four-minute video in memory of Smawley Holata was presented by family members and Maureen Vass, and a song was dedicated to her by Mr. Dodley Hunt.
Maureen Vass presented a plaque from the Brighton community to Smawley’s mother, Alice Snow, and family members in her honor for the work she done in the community.
After the dedication, speaker Jenny Johns stated the rules and regulations that
would be in effect during the conference, which included no drugs in the rooms,
anyone who broke this rule faced a loss of room and would be asked to leave.
President/Acting Chairman Mitchell Cypress arrived in the banquet room in time
to share a story about Smawley. He recalled that, a few years ago, he saw her
at a rodeo in another state.
Smawley came up and told him that she had to spend the night in jail, Mitchell said to her, “You are the last person I thought would go to jail!” and they both laughed. He said he will always remember her as a hard working lady.
The morning after, and for the next three days at 6:00 a.m., 25 participants started the day with a one-hour fitness class by certified instructor Jenny Johns. The class activities included a Green band stretch, jumping rope and a fast walk two times around the Ramada Inn building.
Later in the day, at a PAC meeting Moses Osceola director of Seminole Employment Assistance and Training, spoke of how his department’s mission is to assist disadvantaged tribal members and other Indian students and young adults who need help to obtain employment or training programs for employment.
For more information about funding programs for schools, books and tools please contact him at the Education Department on the Hollywood Reservation.
There was also a class on Adult heath and Diabetes, taught by Phil Kaplan. Kaplan said that, on average, people are eating too much sugar. The average person eats 168 pounds of sugar in a year. People need to learn to drink a lot of water for a healthy body.
Kaplan said that you must also eat more food, about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours a day, to get your body use to burning fat.
The conference also held Juvenile Division classes, which focused on parent awareness about juvenile drug and substance use and gave pointers on what to look out for. They also outlined steps to take if you suspect a problem, and helped conference attendees learn to recognize the signs of alcohol abuse and even experimentation.
The classes stressed the need to help your child deal with peer pressure, children who are taught to be gentle and loving may need parental permission to say “no” to negative peer pressure. Team up with other parents to join a support groups, they can take steps that will reinforce the guidance that is provided at home.
The Seminole Police program showed a video about teenagers caught by police selling drugs, they were arrested and sent to jail. The video also showed the truth about teens on drugs and the consequences. The video showed a newborn baby coming down from drugs because the mother was an addict.
The parents were also shown hardcore drug and substance abuse involving alcohol drinking and the inhaling of household toxic sprays, and what it can do to their body organs.
Motivational speaker Joseph Jennings told of his life as a gang member, his drug abuse and what it did to his family. As a young man, Jennings supported himself by selling drugs.
Jennings’ message was about change and wanting a better life for you and your family.
The turnaround in Jennings life happened when he was shot five times. He had to stop and ask himself, “Is this what I want for my kids? Do I want them to follow in my footsteps?”
Jennings said he changed his life, he found God and his family goes to church every Sunday and he doesn’t hit his wife anymore.
Joseph Jennings implored everyone to start right now, to change their life for their wife and children.
The children’s classes focused on education. The Seminole Police had a table set up so the kids could have a picture I.D. and finger printing done, which will be helpful to identify them in the future. Bike stickers and balloons were handed out to the kids for participating.
The K-2 grade, the students learned about the different touches: good touch, bad touch and a secret touch. The kids learned not to be afraid to tell an adult if someone touches them in their private places.
In the K-2 rodeo class, the children learned to compete with other kids. The kids were set up in teams and ran down and around trash cans on the back of a stick horse.
In the 3-6th grade culture craft class, the kids made Dreamcatchers and Jenny Shore taught the kids to make beaded daisy necklaces.
For the 9-12 grade, Alice Snow play a game called language bingo with the kids. The game was like regular bingo, but played with pictures of animals with the creek name on them.
After the classes were over, an afternoon dip in the cool waters of the pool or just lounging at the poolside helped end the days on a high note.
On Thursday, in the afternoon everyone drove to Water Mania, where the water was just right and the sun was hot and bright. They had huge water slides, and the kids had a great time.
That night, Dusty Nunez staged the talent show. Singers, dancers, men, women and children from Brighton came out to show off their special talent.
The favorite was the Miss Brighton Pageant, when three ladies dress in their teeny-weeny bikinis. Contestant number one, Miss Booty, contestant number two, Miss Chesty, and contestant number three, Miss No Bottom, ran a tough race and no one could decide on a winner.
At the end of the show, all the kids got up on stage and danced to the music. On Friday morning, everyone meet in the banquet room to have breakfast and the closing ceremony.
During the closing ceremonies Dusty Nunez gave cash awards to the singers, dances, family quest winners and jeopardy champions.
Jenny Johns gave medals to the fitness participants, and presented the Brighton Youth Conference working committee members with a portfolio booklet, towels and small travel cooler.
Johns thanked everyone for coming, and told them to make plans to come back next year.
Special recognition goes to John Wayne Huff Sr.(Sponsor), Alice Sweat, Jenny Johns, Salina Dorgan, Diane Smith, Sarah Sampson, Denise Girtman, Alice Snow, Lorene Gopher, Jenny Shore, Louise Gopher, Dawn Ferrittia, Stacy Jones, Dallas Nunez, Lonnie Gore, Lois J. Smith for their help in putting together this year’s youth conference.
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