Ramie Mack still is reliving and relishing what was her third trip to the nation’s capital as a member of the Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council.
She is home now, along with Olivia Cody, 18, who is a senior at Northwood Temple Academy, and six other Youth Council members who took part in the Congressional City Conference held March 26-28 in Washington, D.C. The teenagers are celebrating the experience.
“My entire family was so excited about this and the experience I had representing my school and the Youth Council,” says Mack, 18, a senior at Seventy-First High School and an elected member of the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education and Families since 2021. “I told them the whole rundown of everything I did, and they are so proud of me.”
The three-day trip was in conjunction with the Congressional City Conference attended by Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins and Fayetteville City Council members Kathy Keefe Jensen, Shakeyla Ingram, Mario Benavente, D.J. Haire, Derrick Thompson, Brenda McNair, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin and Deno Hondros.
“On Monday, we saw them in the lobby,” Mack says about the Marriott Marquis headquarters for the conference. “We saw Councilman Haire, Councilwoman McNair, Mayor Pro Tem Dawkins and Miss Kathy,” as Mack affectionately calls Councilwoman Jensen. “A lot of them didn’t realize we were there. We took pictures with them.”
While council members spent most of their time meeting with N.C. congressional representatives and senators on Capitol Hill, Mack and her fellow Youth Council members attended workshops and sessions at the hotel’s conference headquarters, where “we learned how we can better our city and county as a whole. It was a lot sharing, and we were learning what other cities are doing.”
And then there was Monday, when first lady Jill Biden addressed all the youths at a work session.
“It was just so exciting,” Mack says. “Before the session, you could feel the energy. The energy was just great. When she came in, everybody stood on their feet. She talked about jobs and education.”
Crystal Glover, adviser to the Youth Council and a chaperone on the trip along with Brian Christopher, can still see the faces of the teenagers when the first lady arrived.
“We were able to hear from Jill Biden, and that was super inspiring,” says Glover, 37. “They were very excited about seeing her. I think it was one of the highlights of the trip.”
Monuments and cherry blossoms
Mack, Cody and other Youth Council members spent time Tuesday evening touring the city and visiting the U.S. Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, World War II Memorial, and the south lawn of the White House, where the Marine 1 helicopter takes off and lands for President Joe Biden.
“Seeing all the monuments created memories,” Mack says. “I took in everything I could.”
And making this third trip all the more special for Mack were the cherry blossoms in full bloom around the Tidal Basin along West Potomac Park.
“On the way there, all the cherry blossoms were out,” she says. “The blooms were so beautiful.”
Glover says “it was a very successful trip” for the eight Youth Council teenagers, who traveled by Amtrak to Washington. “I think the kids walked away with a better perspective of their city.”
No argument from Mack.
“I totally agree,” she says.
Mack, a member of the Student Government Association at her high school, is heading to N.C. Central University in the fall to study mass communications and business administration.
Mack says the Youth Council has made a difference in her life, and she encourages every young person and teenager to become a part of the group that is 57 members strong and meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the first and third Monday at 725 W. Rowan St.
“It has helped me grow as a leader,” she says. “I suggest every teenager should do it. I used to be an introvert so bad. Because of this organization, I now can talk to any crowd. It’s changed my life.”
Mack admires council members including Kathy Keefe Jensen, who, along with former Mayor Nat Robertson, revived the Youth Council in 2014. She also admires Jeannette Council, a member of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, all who are enthusiastic supporters of the Youth Council along with Glenn Adams, who is vice chairman of the county board. And credit, too, to Michael Gibson, director of Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation.
Jensen has hopes for every Fayetteville-Cumberland Youth Council to play a role in the city in the future.
“We are growing leaders,” says the five-term District 1 councilwoman representing north Fayetteville. “My hope is that an alumni FCYC member will take my seat one day and will see their own children representing FCYC in D.C.”
Epilogue
As for one day after college returning to the city to make a bid for a City Council seat, Mack isn’t so sure right now.
“Being a City Council member is a very big responsibility,” Mack says. “But I don’t think politics is in my future.”
Then again, don’t be surprised if one day you see Ramie Mack’s name on your Election Day ballot.
You just never know.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
