By PATRICK STAFFORD

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend "A Pageant With a Purpose" the Miss Georgia Teen of Excellence 2002 pageant. While I confess that I was already an advocate of the program, I came away even more impressed with its organizers and participants.

The Miss Georgia Teen of Excellence Program is an initiative of the Housing Authority of Fulton County and Community Opportunity Center, Inc., that is designed to break the cycle of poverty by cobatting teen pregnancy and substance abuse. The program has two major components educational workshops and preparation for the pageant.

In this year's program, 19 young ladies ranging in age from 12-17 residing in public housing and participating in the Section 8 Program in Fulton County competed in either the princess or queen categories. Each participant attended more than nine months of mandatory early prevention workshops and activities that promoted education, exposure and positive support systems. Talking with a number of the contestants the day prior to the pageant, it was clear each of them had gained tremendous self-esteem, poise, and a greater understanding of life through their experiences gained from participating in the program.

As I sat through the pageant, my mind raced toward a solution of keeping these young ladies on the "proper path" and together in a learning environment. I, along with all others in attendance that evening, wanted each of them to know that we were proud of their accomplishments and that no one should feel that they were not "winners."

I left the pageant determined to develop a program that would continue to add value to their lives. The program I came up with is called "A Few More Steps. It is designed to "quasi-adopt" these 19 outstanding young ladies and help them take a few more steps in the right direction by exposing them to monthly activities and wholesome attractions throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area, along with providing firsthand experience regarding various career paths and education options. Participants also will know that "the community" continues to care that they make it in life beyond the pageant, as they take "a few more steps" toward self-sufficency and being productive citizens.

Working with Housing Authority of Fulton County officials, Fulton Industrial Business Association members will take the lead in participating, an providing some monetary support, in these so-called events beginning as early as next month. Most importantly, this program will continue to create opportunities to expose these young ladies to positive activities, role models and career choices. We do not want these young ladies to become pregnant, drop out of school, turn to drugs, or otherwise lose hope.

FIBA's service to the community will be to continue to foster participants' hope and enhance the educational process toward the value and pride of becoming a productive member of society. FIBA members will step forward to share resources and volunteer as we have in the our past contributions to United Way, local schools, and various mentoring programs among others, and also will encourage other groups we work with to become involved with this program.

[Patrick Stafford is executive director of the Fulton Industrial Business Association. He can be reached at fibamail@bellsouth.net.]

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