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Bridge Builders Alabama asks Montgomery County for funding as enrollment in leadership program grows
Summary
A Bridge Builders Alabama board member told the Montgomery County Commission the county’s youth leadership program has nearly doubled planned enrollment and renewed a request for funding; commissioners indicated they had previously made contributions but formal county action was not taken in the meeting.
Richard Bradford, a board member for Bridge Builders Alabama, told the Montgomery County Commission the countywide youth leadership program planned for juniors and seniors has grown from an expected class of 20 to 39 and asked the commission to renew a request for funds.
"We had originally planned a class of 20. We've now got 39 high school juniors and seniors," Richard Bradford said during public comment, explaining the program provides leadership and financial-management skills and brings students from across the county together.
Bradford said the group's executive director previously requested county funds in February and that Bridge Builders seeks continued support. The original funding request presented earlier this year was $20,000, Bradford told commissioners. Commissioners and other attendees told Bradford they had made individual donations; the public audio records expressions of support and offers to donate but does not provide a complete, verifiable accounting of amounts to be recorded by county staff at the time of the meeting.
Commissioners asked a brief follow-up question about the current financial ask and thanked Bradford for the update. No formal motion or appropriation was recorded on the public agenda in response to the comment; commissioners who announced donations said those contributions would be processed at a subsequent meeting or through administrative channels.
Bridge Builders' program was compared by Bradford to other local leadership programs and he said the county's past support is appreciated. He described the program as providing participants an opportunity "to meet one another where they would not normally have that opportunity because of schooling or straight geography." The program's stated focus is leadership and financial-skills training for county high-school juniors and seniors.
County staff present said administrative follow-up on donations and any formal funding request would be handled outside the public-comment period and recorded in subsequent meeting minutes if the commission approves a disbursement.
