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

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 mentorin g 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 [email protected] .]