The following is a brief of the story. For the full version, see the Monday, Aug. 10 print edition of the BDN.

This summer, though, through the Next Generation Jobs Team (NGJT) summer youth employment program, at least two youth in the Boonville area have been given the opportunity to learn the details involved in city government.

Thanks to funding made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Missouri Division of Workforce Development (MODWD), Central Region Workforce Investment Board (C-WIB), and Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA), Cody McFatrich, Jessica Elbert, and several hundred other youth between the ages of 14 and 24 in the 19 counties C-WIB oversees, are gaining valuable knowledge this summer, and earning a paycheck in the process.

McFatrich, 19, who is job shadowing Lisa McClary at the Boonville Chamber of Commerce, is learning how businesses come together to improve the community. A history major at the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, McFatrich has a natural interest in Boonville’s past, and says working at the Chamber of Commerce has allowed him to learn a great deal more than he ever imagined about the Boonville area. McFatrich would like to be a high school history teacher in the future.

A single mother, Elbert, 21, said she loves working with Gallagher, and looks forward to going to work each day. Coming into the job with no prior office experience, she has had to learn to use a variety of office machines, the importance of details when taking messages, file organization, and the day to day tasks necessary to keep Gallagher’s office running efficiently.