THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501180159
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
WHEN 14-YEAR-OLD Ashley Gunter was selected to attend the recent Freedom and Leadership Youth Conference in Valley Forge, Pa., she experienced several ``firsts'' in her life.
Although it was a ``little scary,'' Ashley boarded an airplane for the first time and traveled alone to Philadelphia. There she was met by adult representatives and other students. After a bus ride to the conference center, Ashley spied the largest American flag she had ever seen.
``I was the only representative from Virginia and probably one of the youngest students to attend,'' Ashley said. Her roommates, from Pennsylvania, Georgia and South Carolina, were two high school seniors and a junior.
The four-day event was crammed with fun and interesting activities. In addition to attending leadership workshops, a talent show and party, Ashley toured Valley Forge and Philadelphia, including her first look at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
The conference was sponsored by Pilot International. Students were selected by their respective schools on the basis of academic and leadership ability. Ashley was invited to attend by the Suffolk Chapter of Pilot International.
The conferences are designed to provide students with a better understanding of our national heritage, the basic values upon which this country was built, the private enterprise system and responsible citizenship.
Since Freedoms Foundation started the youth programs in 1965, more than 30,000 students from throughout the nation, Canada and the Bahamas have participated.
On the second day, students formed committees to learn leadership skills. Several were ``senators,'' while Ashley and her committee were ``lobbyists'' for a medical group who wanted to build a community health center and a hospital wing, and secure government-provided medical insurance.
``I learned a lot and got to meet kids from different areas of the country,'' Ashley said.
There was a workshop on national and international affairs and a program featuring an impersonation of Abraham Lincoln entitled ``The Wit and Wisdom of Abe Lincoln.''
Ashley's favorite time was spent at a non-denominational service the last evening of the conference. A member of the Vespers Committee, she was selected to read a poem to the group.
Ashley's family moved to Suffolk when she was 5. She is the daughter of Steve and Karen Gunter. Her younger sister, Gillian, is 10.
A freshman and honor student at Lakeland High School, Ashley is a member of the Junior Beta Club. She also plays flute in the Blue Wave Marching Band and the concert band.
She has been a Girl Scout since the fifth grade and is currently working on a Silver Award.
One of the requirements for the award is involvement in community service. She volunteered to create art activities last summer for the Children's Center in Franklin, where her mother is an inter-agency coordinator.
A member of Main Street United Methodist Church, Ashley is active in the youth group and often plays solos and accompanies the choir on her flute.
Last summer, Ashley spent a week at the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky, painting a house with other youth group members.
Her hobbies are reading and playing with the family pets - a yellow cat named Buttercup and two dogs, Ginny and Hershey.
Ashley plans to become a pediatric nurse practitioner or a physical therapist.
``I guess it's because I've worked with kids a lot,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Ashley Gunter was the only Virginia student at the youth conference
in Valley Forge, Pa.
by CNB