Teen and his mentor visit Washington, D.C., meet President Obama

Ryan Brott, 14, left, and his mentor Andrew Knight, both of Holland-
, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of National Mentor Month White House celebration. Brott and Knight participate in Ottawa County's Journey 4-H program.
One year ago, Ryan Brott, 14, could never in his wildest dreams have imagined he would be shaking the hand of the President of the United States. But on Jan. 20, that's exactly what he got to do, during a National Mentor Month White House celebration.

Ryan, who was a troubled teen, is part of the Ottawa County Journey 4-H Youth Mentoring Program. It is one of many 4-H Youth Development programs and Ottawa County was selected to represent 4-H Youth Mentoring nationwide, joining only 12 other groups.

According to Journey 4-H coordinator Laura Schleede, the Corporation for National and Community Service made a request to 4-H national headquarters for a mentoring match from Ottawa County's Journey 4-H because of its state and national recognition as a Program of Distinction and for receiving the 2009 Michigan Governor's Service Award for Outstanding Mentoring Program.

Contributed photoRyan Brott and his mentor, Andrew Knight, recently went to Washington D.C., where they met President Obama.Officials from the organization's national headquarters contacted Ottawa County's Journey 4-H officials who had the perfect mentoring match: Ryan, and his 25-year-old mentor, Andrew Knight. Both are Holland residents.

On Jan. 19, Schleede, Ryan, and Knight, along with Ryan's mother Dawn and Michigan State University Extension specialist Lisa Bottomley, left for the whirlwind, one-night stay in the nation's capital. It was compliments of the MSU Extension office, which oversees 4-H programs.

"Of course the biggest highlight was being in the White House and seeing Ryan and Knight on stage with the president talking and shaking his hand," Schleede said. "We are very, very honored that our program was among the few selected. It was such a great experience for Ryan, who's worked so hard to turn his life around."

Schleede said she chose Ryan and Knight to represent Journey 4-H at the event because it is an ideal example the positive effects mentoring can have on youth. "They are a great match," she said, "and have been together almost a year."

Journey 4-H partners with the 20th Circuit Court Family Division/Juvenile Services. Each year, probation officers, therapists, and other community agencies refer 25 to 35 candidates for the mentoring program. Mentors commit to spending a minimum of two hours weekly with mentees for a year.

Knight heard about the program when he was attending Grand Rapids Community College studying criminal justice. "I was unemployed and looking for a purpose while trying to find work," he said. "I thought it was a good way to meet people, would look good on my resume, and give me exposure to the juvenile-justice system. It's been incredibly rewarding. Ryan has helped me at least as much as I have helped him."

Knight said 4-H does a tremendous job organizing events that mentor matches can attend. They have included sporting events like Griffins and Whitecaps games, and a favorite of both he and Ryan, an Adventure Race filled with activities that taught outdoor survival training and skills.

4-H covers the expenses of the activities. "They are well organized, and want these experiences to be fun, but also educational and to broaden experiences," Knight said. "It's way more effective at building relationships than just going out for dinner every week."

While Knight said that the absolute highlight of the trip for him was meeting President Obama, he also said there was something else that became incredibly significant to him.

"For the nation to give recognition to mentoring, something that doesn't take that much effort, just a couple hours a week, and to see the incredible difference that makes ... how something so simple is so important and vital to our nation's youth."

Knight said that the mentoring program has had a big influence on his life and is something he will continue to do with Ryan even though his one-year commitment is soon to expire.

Ryan's favorite part of the trip was also being in the White House and meeting President Obama. "It was pretty epic to shake his hand," he said. "I never could have imagined ever going there. This year has made me different."

Ryan said what he liked about the mentoring program is that it gives him something to do and keeps him out of trouble. "I don't get into trouble as often as I used to," he said. "Andrew is there to keep me out of it."

For Ryan, his visit to Washington, D.C. was life changing. "Before the visit, I wanted to go into the military but I didn't know what I wanted to do," he said. "Now I do - I want to be trained in the Secret Service."

Dawn Brott said the trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and they were still basking in the afterglow.

"When I was young, I was mentored in the Big Sister program, and I know how important that person was to me and the difference it could make in my son's life," she said.

"Ryan's very independent, and had made some bad choices and he's learned from them. He didn't have a male role model and (Knight) has been a wonderful influence." Brott said her son's view of home life and school has changed and that now he's just short of the honor roll. He also volunteers at his church.

"What I'd really like to say, is that we need more mentors as a society," Dawn Brott said. "It takes more than parents - it takes a community - to raise a child."

Source:mlive.com/

Companies look to Obama for signs on healthcare bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drugmakers, insurers and other healthcare-related companies will listen to President Barack Obama's annual speech to Congress for signs of life in his Obama's State of the Union speech on Wednesday night (9 p.m. EST/0200 GMT) is expected to largely focus on jobs and the economy as his Democratic party regroups after losing a crucial Senate seat.

Industry experts and company executives hope Obama's speech will offer hints as to whether he wants Democrats in Congress to press ahead, back off or try to work with Republicans on health care reform.

Democratic leaders have pledged to move forward with that reform, but it is unclear how they will do that.

Shares of healthcare companies have fluctuated since Republican Scott Brown won an election last week to replace the late Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy.

Brown's election casts a shadow on the fate of healthcare reform legislation, which Kennedy supported.

Before that election, House and Senate Democrats had planned to merge the chambers' bills into one version that could be passed and sent to Obama.

Both the House and Senate bills would impose tough rules on insurers while creating 30 million potential customers with insurance to pay for medicine, doctor visits and other care.

"It's the uncertainty," said Capital Alpha Partners healthcare analyst Kim Monk.

She said investors are uneasy taking positions in healthcare stocks until they know if Democrats will press ahead or pull the plug on reform.

Monk and other analysts said that without clarity from Obama, shares of companies in the sector would likely decline on Thursday.

Shares of insurers such as Aetna and UnitedHealth were mixed during the day as investors digested better-than-expected quarterly earnings for WellPoint.

Healthcare reform aside, companies face potential payment reductions from the government's massive Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs, especially as greater emphasis is placed on the economy and national deficit.

"Maybe healthcare falters, but ... there's still a regulatory cycle going on. CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) still has a lot of leeway," Concept Capital's Washington Research Group healthcare analyst John Shepard said.

Consumer advocacy groups, unions and other supporters of health care reform are pressuring lawmakers to keep the legislation alive despite the Republican victory that took away Democrats' 60-vote supermajority in the Senate.

Analysts have said that hospital owners like Tenet Healthcare and drugmakers like Pfizer and Merck & Co stand to gain the most from millions more insured patients and have the most to lose if health care reform dies.

Representatives for various groups, including American Hospital Association and America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), declined to say specifically what they expected from Obama's speech or where reform efforts might be headed.

AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said his group had not endorsed one approach over another. "We're waiting to see what policymakers ultimately decide," he said.

Source:reuters.com/