Local middle schooler volunteers, leads

Local student Ivey Lopez, 11, will be taking part in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. this June. Lopez also volunteers with the local soup kitchen, and will be attending Fulton Middle School in the fall.
Local student Ivey Lopez, 11, will be taking part in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. this June. Lopez also volunteers with the local soup kitchen, and will be attending Fulton Middle School in the fall.

Ivey Lopez, 11, isn't too thrilled about leaving McIntire Elementary for Fulton Middle School next year, but she's got something bigger to look forward to in the meantime.

She will take a break from volunteering with her family at the local soup kitchen to go with more than 250 other outstanding middle school students across the country to Washington, D.C. There, they'll take part in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference, (JrNYLC,) a conference designed to develop and bolster students' confidence in their leadership skills.

Lopez was nominated for the conference by McIntire guidance counselor Sarah Skytte for her grades, attitude and leadership skills. She was selected, and will now leave June 9 for six days in the nation's capital, taking part in seminars and classes as well as visiting various museums and historical sites.

"I'm very proud and honored that I'm able to go," said Lopez. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm really happy that I get to go."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.