Pomeroy- High school students in Meigs County came together on Friday, May 12, 2023, for a mental health summit called, “About Hope Always (AHA for short).” Hundreds of students from Southern, Eastern, and Meigs High Schools attended the event at Meigs High School in Pomeroy.
The student-led event included guest speakers Judson Laippley, Lexi Vest and Harvey Alston.
There were also games between speakers. On top of that, there was a concert during lunch. The band was made up of alumni from all three schools, along with the Renee Stewart Band. Rockin Reggie was also there to DJ the event and the students enjoyed dancing during the breaks.
Special guests included: State Representative Jay Edwards, Juli Stephens, a representative from Congressman Brad Wenstrup’s office, Jacob Sargent, a representative from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office, Jamie Carmicheal, Deputy Director of Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Meigs County Commissioner Zach Manuel, and Meigs Local School Board Member Barbara Musser.
On the way out, every student was given a goodie bag, which included mental health resources and other swag items.
Students at Meigs High School breathed life into the AHA event after seeing classmates struggle with mental health issues. The idea was mentioned to MHS’s Student Council and then taken to the Meigs County Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s High School Ambassador’s Program created a spark of hope in the dedicated efforts to hold a health summit for students at all three Meigs County Schools.
With a team of students, teachers and volunteers working hard to spread the word about AHA, donations exceeded the goal of $10,000.
Thank you to all the event sponsors. We appreciated every donation!
A big thank you goes out to volunteers, teachers, staff and administrators at all three schools for allowing the event to happen.
To ensure the safety of the event, deputies with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office participated in AHA.
