RGV Millennials held their 2017 Summit at the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council building in Weslaco, TX from 9am - 2:30pm. I first heard of the event from a person I met about three weeks ago at a writing workshop (which will be the topic of an upcoming post.) Despite it being out of town, and out of my comfort zone, after asking him a few more questions and reading the event description on Facebook, I grew more inclined to attend. $15 later, I had my seat and group t-shirt reserved.
I didn't arrive as soon as the doors opened, so I can't say much about the "How The Border Works" photograph display other than it sounded like a great way to get potential attendees involved in the days leading to the event. At 9:30am, the co-chairs and founders, Blanca Davila and Alberto Espinoza, welcome us, shortly explained the history and purpose of the group, and led us into the first activity.
We were split into groups and followed a formula to help us "Speak Like A Leader." Three breathless words or phrases to evoke a sense of haste and establish the tone, three statements that emphasize a phrase, another three presenting dualities that balance each other out, a metaphor, an exaggeration, and a rhyme to conclude. It was a different method of writing than I'm used to, but I'll try to post my own example after I finish this post.
After the representatives from each group presented what was written, the co-chairs introduced the 2016 Millennial of the Year, Liz Charles, who gave a recap of her past year's activities before presenting the candidates for the 2017 recipient of the award and announcing the winner as José María Colon-Uvalles II for the work he's done to help the LGBTQ community as well as being involved in demonstrations that stand up for those who are affected by "colonization, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny."
Then, we were out for lunch.
After returning, we jumped into "Startup Hour," in which we followed another process to identify a problem, who is being affected, what can be done to improve the situation, where and when action should be taken, and how to inform people that a solution has been implemented. It was less creative than the first activity but just as dependent on communication within the group. There was time for four groups to present their project before the next item on the agenda started.
As much as I enjoyed the event overall, I must say that, while I understand it is customary to allow the host to speak, there was a significant dip in energy once Ron Garza, the executive director of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, took the mic. Mr. Garza seems like the kind of person with whom I'd enjoy having lunch or coffee and listening to his experiences working for the state and the valley. However, after three hours of constant interaction and collaboration, having to sit and listen to someone speak of their career history and the duties of a development council for forty minutes was not the best way to end an otherwise engaging event, in my opinion. It was all very interesting, just out of place.
Mr. Garza, if this post reaches you, I'd love to meet you for coffee, if you have the time.
Mr. Garza, if this post reaches you, I'd love to meet you for coffee, if you have the time.
RGV Millennials is a group to which I plan devoting some time from here on out. As their welcome statement explains, they have "encouraged our generation to effect change in our community, assume leadership roles, and make their voices heard." They are a group of empowerment, and that is something I feel we should all support.
