Yerger Middle School

HOPE – Yerger Middle School was awarded a $500 career development fund prize at the recent Explore Success youth manufacturing conference at Hempstead Hall on the University of Arkansas-Hope campus.\r\n

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Yerger Principal Josclyn Wiley accepted the check, along with YMS students Victor Santamaria, Dasia Ricks, Quan Bradley, and Emy Resendez.\r\n

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The check presentation was made during the morning general session which included the introduction of business and industry representatives from AmeriTies, Georgia-Pacific, Hempstead County Economic Development Corp., National Parks Service, Pafford EMS, Southern Arkansas Development Alliance, Southwest Arkansas Educational Cooperative, Tyson Foods, and the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana in Hope; Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., Express Employment Professionals, Southwest Electric Power Company, Texarkana College, Texarkana Manufacturers Regional Partnership, and Texas A&M University-Texarkana, from Texarkana; Firestone Building Products and Prescott Economic Development Foundation from Prescott; Domtar, Husqvarna, and Ledwell and University of Arkansas Cossatot from Nashville; and, Lockheed Martin and Southcentral Arkansas Educational Cooperative from Camden.\r\n

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Sponsored through the Southern Arkansas Developmental Alliance, the conference brought more than 900 middle school and high school students from across southwest Arkansas to Hope. Eighth grade students from Yerger Middle School and the Hope Academy of Public Service attended the event.\r\n

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Keynote speakers for the event were Paul Vitale and Mychal and Jami Bangs.\r\n

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Vitale is president of the Matt Birk and Co. consulting firm in Little Rock, native of Arkansas, and graduate of the University of Central Arkansas. He has been an organizational dynamics and motivational consultant for more than 20 years. Vitale is well known on Arkansas school campuses as the voice of Peak U., an educational success and soft skills curriculum for students.\r\n

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Mychal and Jami Bangs are married and partners of a management and consulting firm headquartered in Naples, Fla., that specializes in building corporate structures for success, with some 40 success stories among businesses that grossed more than $50 million, according to their online service SpeakerMatch.\r\n