Young leaders offer hope for the future

In a nation increasingly fragmented and struggling with optimism, recent actions by two Pottstown-area elected officials offer hope in the leadership of a new generation.

Emanuel Wilkerson and Connor Kurtz are both elected school board members in their respective districts, Pottstown and Daniel Boone Area. Both are of the generation known as millennials, young adults working to find their place in today’s world. Both are Republicans in affiliation.

Both represent districts where a local tax burden challenges the quality of education. Pottstown and Daniel Boone schools perennially struggle most with balancing budgets against the concerns of tax-burdened property owners without sacrificing educational quality and extra-curricular demands.

Both young men, elected while still in high school, have admirably risen to the demands of their job as school directors.

In the past week, they have gone above and beyond those roles to demonstrate true leadership in their communities.

Kurtz, 20, who in addition to school board vice president, is also an elected Republican Party committeeman from Amity Township, resigned that party position to demonstrate opposition to Donald Trump as the GOP candidate for president.

“This is not a man that I am comfortable seeing elected as the next president,” Kurtz said. “And I feel I have an obligation to myself, my country, and my party to see that he’s defeated this November.”

Kurtz called on others to take a stand, to engage in dialogue with friends and family, and to work together to get beyond rhetoric and embrace actions that follow the ideas and principles of the party, not of a single person.

Wilkerson, 18, of Pottstown, has also taken up the cause for improving community dialogue, successfully organizing a town talk to address social diversity and the future of Pottstown.

Nearly 100 people answered his call and packed into Connections on High earlier this week to talk about what’s wrong and what’s right with Pottstown.

The meeting brought forth discussion that went beyond Pottstonians’ tendency to bemoan how times have changed and instead embraced talk about good things emerging that can grow.

Diamond Street resident Ralph Bainbridge could be said to have set the tone of the exchange when he urged Pottstown to “get up off your butts and do something.”

Bainbridge, who organizes the annual “Iron Horse” motorcycle show downtown, suggested Pottstown emulate efforts in other towns like Phoenixville and host monthly “First Friday” events, with music and food.

Others, including Borough Council Vice President Sheryl Miller, said there are plenty of fun and interesting things to do in Pottstown — singling out the new farmer’s market that is held downtown every Thursday — but they are not supported by local residents.

Another millennial, Pottstown High School alum Olivia Coleman, spoke out specifically about getting youth involved to change Pottstown, not run from it.

Wilkerson who graduated high school just this year said it pains him to hear his peers say “they can’t wait to get out of this town.” If Pottstown is going to build its next generation of leaders, this generation of leaders needs to find ways to make those young people want to stay, he said.

Wilkerson and Kurtz exemplify that next generation of leaders, and this week, both offered reasons to believe in the future.

Kurtz demonstrated that change within the political system starts with each individual, whether a township committeeman or a congressman frustrated with the direction his party is taking.

And, Wilkerson proved that inviting the community to discuss its problems with an eye toward solutions is the first step to solving them.

The future many fear looks brighter with these young leaders to pave the way.

The future many fear looks brighter with these young leaders to pave the way.