Youth summit sees professionals ‘Pushin’ Progress’
On Saturday, Aug. 3, The Safe Place PSJ, Inc. held its third annual Youth Empowerment Summit called Pushin Progress.
Port St. Joe resident Kenneth Monette, M.Ed., an assistant principal at Merritt Brown Middle School in Bay County, said the summit invites professionals who were raised in Gulf County and surrounding areas to impart wisdom to students in the sixth through 12th grades.
Students circulated to different groups, as presenters covered topics related to finance, technology, health care, mental health, education, and sports compliance. In the general session, students and parents were able to visit with Tom P. Haney Vocational School, TRIO from Gulf Coast State College, and SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) from the Gulf County Health Department.
The summit continued with inspirational speakers, County Judge Timothy McFarland and Gulf Coast State College Men’s Basketball Coach Lane Below. Students received door prizes and gifts for their participation.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.