Beyond the yellow ribbon
Minnesota Military Teen Panel 
Quarterly News  

 

 

 

Spring 2012 

 

In This Issue
Greetings!
Service Projects
Homebound
USAR Teen Panel
Poems
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Want to join the Minnesota Military Teen Panel?

Contact the Youth

Programs Coordinator,

Laura Groeneweg 

612-327- 4730

or email

 

Contact the Minnesota Operation: Military Kids Program Specialist,

Amber Runke

612-624-8198

or email

 

Or, find information about the Teen Panel here

 

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Be sure to visit the Minnesota Military Teen Panel on Facebook!

Teen Spotlight
Mitchel Howe
Military Teen Panel

Military Affiliation

His father, Maj. Jeff Howe, has been in the military for 32 years. Mitchel's dad has deployed to Iraq twice, once as a company commander and the other as a logistics officer, and has two bronze stars.

 

Why He Joined the Teen Panel

Mitchel wanted to inform and connect with other military teens and give opinions and output of what a teen goes through during a loved one's deployment. Before joining the Teen Panel, Mitchel didn't have any other connections or teens to turn to when times were rough.

 

Other Interests

Loves to play football, run track and just have fun.

 

Mitchel's Unique Attribute

Mitchel's team won the State 4A championship in football.

Responsibilities

When a parent goes overseas, you gain a lot of responsibility. Cooking, babysitting younger siblings, doing your own laundry, mowing the lawn and helping younger siblings with homework.

 

When you help people, you gain new skills and maturity. Maturity is a good thing to have in life because people will look up to you - and you will be a good role model.

 

- Written by Megan & Claire, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Favorite Songs

Everyone has a favorite song, especially a song that has meaning.

 

Here are a few songs that Teen Panel members feel help them through deployments, school and stress:

 

Eden

- "Nothing," by The Script

- "Best Love Song," by T-Pain

- "Cricketz," by New Boyz

- Also loves Lil Wayne, Drake, Chris Brown and Justin Bieber

 

Mitch

- "Little Lion Man," "Winter Winds" and "The Cave," all by Mumford and Sons, Mitch's favorite band

 

Kiana

- "Beautiful People (dubstep remix)," by Chris Brown

- "Big and Rich," by Carrie Underwood

- "Good Girl," by Blake Shelton

- Also likes "Footloose," Kip Moore and Nickel Creek

 

Alivia

- "Fly," by Nicki Minaj and Rihanna

- "Show Goes On," by Lupe Fiasco

- "Buzzin," by Mann

 

Sean

- "Sound of Winter," by Bush

- "Through the Glass," by Stone Sour

- "Martians vs. Goblins," by Game

- "Work Out," by J. Cole

 

Claire

- "A Thousand Years," by Christina Perri

 

Dario

- Likes David Guetta and any LMFAO song

 

Megan

- ANYTHING Justin Bieber

- "Not Over You," by Gavin Degraw

- Also likes Chris Brown

Teen Events
Laketrails at night
Youth Camps

We're gearing up for summer, and with summer comes camps and retreats for military kids!

 

We hope you take advantage of one of these great events. All registration forms can be found by clicking here.

2012 Summit

"Price of Peace"

When: June 24-26, 2012

Where: Holiday Inn, St. Cloud

About: Military teens make a lot of sacrifices when their loved ones are deployed, so that's the price of peace. The Minnesota Military Teen Panel invites teens ages 13-18 years old to take a break and have some fun by attending leadership workshops and connecting with other military teens.

More Info: Website

Youth Speaking

Speak Out for Military Kids Retreat

When: July 22-24. 2012

Where: Radisson Hotel, Bloomington

About: For military youth that have completed grades 6-11, this weekend retreat is designed to help youth meet other young people and help tell others about what military families go through during mobilization and deployment. Youth will learn about technology to help tell the family story and spend time at the waterpark!

More Info: Website

OMK Camp

When: Aug. 12-16, 2012

Where: Camp Voyageur, Mound

About: Operation: Military Kids invites military youth ages 8-14 to this four-night, five-day camp. The camp includes canoeing, kayaking, archery, arts and crafts, nature study, waterfront activities and much more. The $15 camp fee can be waived upon request.

More Info: Website

Greetings from the Teen Panel!

As we welcome the tulips this spring, the Minnesota Military Teen Panel would also like to welcome all the Soldiers that are on their way home!

Service project ideas

Looking for something good to do in your community? Want to have some fun? If so, then service projects are right for you.

 

The Minnesota Military Teen Panel has been doing some service projects and has some ideas for you.

 

We've gone to Munsinger Gardens, a community park in St. Cloud, to move plants and pull weeds. Then we went to a thrift store and helped organize clothes and other items.

 

In November, we went to an Edina nursing home and played bingo with the elderly. Then we went to the Minneapolis Crisis Nursery and played with kids and served a healthy snack.

 

The Minnesota Military Teen Panel has a goal of doing 50 hours of community service. Some of the members have volunteered at their church by cleaning dishes and helping with Sunday school and Wednesday-night church. Some of us worked a booth at the State Fair, mowed lawns, shoveled, worked at concession stands and performed set up and tear down on tents for school events.

 

With all that being said, you can do a lot for your community. You could volunteer at Feed My Starving Children, pick up garbage at your local park or help at the Animal Humane Society.

 

- Written by Sean Gill, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Homebound

On February 10, my dad, Bruce Kelii, was able to come home on his R&R leave. It was spectacular having my family back together for a full two weeks before he had to return back to Kuwait.

 

Waiting for him to get off his plane was agonizing. I don't believe my brother or I were able to stand still at all. We were positive he was coming out of one terminal, but then we saw Soldiers coming out of a terminal on the other side of the airport.

 

My mom, brother and I were having a contest to see who would spot him first. It felt as if time had stopped when I saw just the top of his head all the way at the other end of the hall. It was the perfect TV moment. I ran as fast as I could, not even bothering to let my brother or mom know that I had seen him.

 

I'm surprised I wasn't tackled by those friendly TSA officers with my insane, sprinting-through-the-airport behavior. I screamed for my dad as loud as I could, but he didn't hear me in time. He had gotten on the escalator that brought him two levels up in the airport. He bent down to look at me right before the wall leading up had cut off his sight.

 

You have got to be kidding me, I thought. Right when I thought I would be the first to hug Dad, he went the wrong way.

 

By that point, my brother had gotten the hint that I had found him and we waited anxiously at the bottom of the escalator for him to come back down. Tears streamed down both of our faces as we watched him descend, and proceeded to attack him once he got on our level. Hugging Dad for the first time in nine months is always like a first again ... GREAT!

 

- Written by Kiana Kelii, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

416th USAR Teen Panel

When my Dad was deployed, I went to a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon event and was asked if I would like to join a United States Army Reserve, or USAR, Teen Panel. I had heard that these teen panels were getting started throughout the military, and it sounded like it would be a great support group, so I applied and got accepted. During our first meeting, we were asked to pick roles. I applied to be president and got it.

 

My responsibilities are to organize the agenda for the conference calls. During meetings I have to setup and lead the meeting and summarize the outcomes. We have members from Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, Washington and Nebraska. Our objective is to represent USAR teens from our regions and to bring insight of what teens think about deployments and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon events.

 

- Written by Zach Jelinek, Minnesota Military Teen Panel

Poems by Mitchel Howe

I Am

 

I am the packed bags at the door

I wonder if he will come back

I hear the gunfire from overseas

I see myself in the tears on my face

I want him to stay

I am the goodbye

 

I pretend to be strong

I feel emptiness

I touch the clothes he left behind

I worry about his safety

I cry for my family he leaves back home

I am deployment

 

I understand that it is his duty

I say that I'm used to it

I dream of peace

I try to get over it

I hope for him to come home

I am a military kid

I am Mitchel Howe

 

  

Place

 

This place is one of a kind

It puts a lot on my mind

So much to do

It makes me go cuckoo

Feeling a lot of insignificance

Takes a lot to gain magnificence

Milestones take place here

Cheering fans numb the fear

Sweat runs down my face

No time to slow my pace

Must be fast to react

It's all action that's a fact

This is no place to yield

Your teammates are a shield

This is the football field

 

 

 Red

 

Red is commitment and selflessness

The time you put in to being perfect

Red is the color that drips off your face after a good hit

It is the anger we use to punish our opponent

Red is pumping through your veins

 

Black is the armor you wear to the battle field

It is the feeling of a community

Black is the color that gives us fearlessness

It drives us, pushes us, and protects us.

Black is the color that is a symbol of our team

 

Red and black are a family

It is the glue that holds us together

Red and black is the team, the family, the community

They are the road to state, the underdog, the Spartans

Red and black is ROCORI

 

 

 

 Hurricane

 

Is the rage of nature?

The ripping winds cause torture

The rain from above

Hit down the flying dove

The chaos of it all

Make even the tallest things fall

The storm of the season

It attacked for no reason

For the damage was great

Everything gone that I used to appreciate

Then comes the calm

Like God's palm

The eye of the storm is near

Soon everything will be clear

The is the hurricane time of year

 

 

 Childhood

 

Childhood is opening a new transformer and trying to change

It is the feeling of sand between my itsy bitsy toes

Childhood is thinking the dog is huge

But then finding out you wish it was bigger

Childhood is peeing your pants

Because you thought you could hold it

Childhood is trying to go across the ice in a sled

Soon finding out a sled can't float

Childhood is sitting at daycare playing Army

Wishing you were like your dad

Childhood is sitting in the corner for being to loud

Then pouting to get out of it

Childhood is watching him leave for a whole year

Then hoping for him to return

Childhood is crying when he gets back

And not wanting to let go

 

 

Sport

 

This sport has a team

We all share one dream

It is to win state

Something the community can appreciate

It was a game for the books

All the fans stand and look

Everyone was in awe

We couldn't believe what we saw

We won the game

We felt no shame

It was the first in history to win

This feeling should have been a sin

The feeling of being the first

Finally we came through the worst

We were the first

 

 

Dream 

 

I have dreams

Kind of cheesy it seems

This dream wasn't boring

It made me feel like I was soaring

I never felt these feeling before

It was something I couldn't ignore

Nothing has happened like this at night

Almost gave me a fright

This dream did come true

And it was brand new

The feeling of winning it was

Made me feel like throwing a fit

We won! We won!

There wasn't anyone to shun

It was a dream

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