Meet Gabby

There is hope for the future as long as we have young people willing to serve like Gabby Manock. Gabby grew up in a family that stressed the importance of voting and being involved in one's community. One of her challenges is trying to get other young people interested in voting. She finds it hard to imagine that they don't bother to vote. Gabby told me her parents always took her with them when they voted. It just seems like the right thing to do. Her maternal grandfather was a mayor and her father serves on our country board.  They also taught her independence. Just 18, Gabby works for a local bank and is buying her own car. This summer, she is interning in the Peoria office for our Congresswoman, Cheri Bustos. Gabby plans to study finance at our community college before transferring to a state university nearby. Last week, Gabby was appointed to fill a vacancy on our county board, making her the youngest person to ever serve on that body. I asked her what challenges she thought she'd face as a new board member. Gabby said she just wants to do a good job and make believers out of those board members who voted against her appointment. When I asked her how she planned to do that, Gabby said her parents always taught her the value of treating others the way she wants to be treated. I think that's a pretty good way to start out in politics, don't you?

Now, as you can see from Gabby's profile, parents and grandparents have quite an impact on a young person's views. We can influence young people to get involved. We can talk and talk and do our best to convince young people to vote and teach them what we know about the political process. Don't you see, our future depends on getting them engaged. Here's an article to give you some ideas: http://rare.us/story/an-idiots-guide-to-getting-americas-youth-engaged-in-politics/