(Above) Taylor Burgess
CLINTON, Ark. (April 6, 2009) – Shirley High School sophomore Taylor Burgess has been selected as the fourth winner in the “Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders” program. Burgess is a member of both the Shirley Future Farmers of America and the Van Buren County 4-H Club.
Burgess, 15, daughter of Todd and Michelle Burgess, was selected for her participation and leadership in both FFA and 4-H. She is on the Parliamentary Team and is leader of her Agronomy Team in Shirley. Plus she is involved with Project Pals and exhibits sheep in her local chapter.
The person who nominated Burgess wrote: “Taylor pushes other students to study harder and organizes practices on her own. She mentors younger students in Project Pals and lets them know they have a friend. I cannot think of a more deserving young lady. Taylor maintains a 4.0 GPA.”
Following the tornado last year and the recent ice storm, Burgess worked with her church and prepared meals for workers and people who had been displaced from their homes.
As sponsor of the “Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders” program, Chesapeake Energy will donate a computer to Shirley High School in Burgess’s name. And as a weekly winner, she is now eligible to win her own laptop computer at a banquet for winners and their families in May.
The “Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders” program is open to all students in Van Buren County. People in the schools and communities can nominate students who belong to either FFA or 4-H and exhibit outstanding leadership qualities. A weekly winner will be elected for eight weeks, and a computer will be donated to each winner’s school.
The nomination form will run every other week in the Van Buren County Democrat and the Fairfield Bay News. An online version of the form is also available on the newspapers’ Web sites as well as the Web site of KFFB-FM Radio. The two newspapers and KFFB are media partners for the program.
“Chesapeake wants to recognize FFA and 4-H students for their leadership and contribution to their communities,” said Robert Zeiler, manager of community affairs for Chesapeake in Arkansas.
