Local leaders spoke words of encouragement at the first annual teen male summit held at the Raine Street Center in Poplarville this past weekend.

Around 12 teenagers, ages 13 to 18, attended the summit on Saturday, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Marcus Jordan, former football coach at Poplarville and Pearl River Central high schools, brought numerous county officials together to provide an open forum where teenagers could have their voices heard.

“I hadn’t seen anything in the area, we coach and we always have our influence with these kids in school but outside of school a lot of them don’t have anywhere to go for guidance,” Jordan said in a previous story.

Several county officials provided that guidance through their words. The numerous speakers touched on topics such as peer pressure, college readiness, religious values and career advice, all to inspire the younger generation to make the right choices and live positively.

The summit began with a few words from Denairio Bolton and Donnie Lindsey, Poplarville natives and students at the University of South Alabama.

Their main message was to empower teenagers and leaders to work together in an effort to grow the community.

“Growing up here, there was a disconnect between the young and the old generation. We are here to bridge the gap to build better leaders,” Lindsey said.

As an icebreaker to bring the generations closer together, the teenagers introduced themselves and shook hands with each of the community leaders.

District I Supervisor Anthony Hales shared his story about his tough childhood growing up without a father and the road to becoming a city official. Hales emphasized that fact that even though he made mistakes he was still able to be successful.

“We’re hoping to plant a seed so you understand one day when you mature that you will fill your rightful place in the community,” Hales said.

Minister Marcus Houston stressed the importance of faith to guide an individual through any trial or tribulation.

“It’s important to have God in your life,” Houston said. “In this community, we need people to stand up and be a positive role model because they’re so many things that are not positive and we need to change that.”

In order to achieve positivity, people need to surround themselves with positive surroundings, Coach Leroy Frederick said.

He said college changed his life after he got involved in sports and surrounded himself with people who shared the same ambitions.

“Get out and experience. There’s more to it than Poplarville. Here trouble is so easy to get into. It’s all about your surroundings,” Frederick said.

Later, Jordan asked the teenagers to raise their hands if they’ve ever been in a situation where they felt pressure to do something negative; many hands were raised in response.

“Peer pressure allows someone else to take over us and we walk in the shoes they put on our feet,” Jordan said.

He told the teenagers that they always have a choice between what’s wrong and what’s right and they shouldn’t succumb to negativity.

Poplarville Police Capt. Rossie Creel shared a story about how he spent a night in jail when he was 18 because of peer pressure. After that night, he went to work for the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

“I encourage you not to get to that point and fall into peer pressure. But if you do go to jail, you can still be somebody,” Creel said.

The speeches were followed by a question and answer session where the teenagers could voice their opinions or concerns.

At the end of the session, county officials encouraged the teenagers to reach out to them if they ever have questions or need help.

Jordan hopes to host another summit in the near future.