Building Tomorrow’s Leaders: Jonesboro’s Mayor’s Youth Advancement Council Is Redefining Youth Engagement
While many youth councils exist across Arkansas, Jonesboro’s model sets a new benchmark for municipal youth engagement. It operates as a fully integrated, city-supported board of young leaders with a direct voice in civic decision-making.
Last year, the City of Jonesboro earned statewide recognition as one of Engage Arkansas’s Volunteer Communities of the Year in the Most Youth Engagement category for the impact of its Mayor’s Youth Advancement Council (MYAC).
A Seat at the Table for Young Leaders
Established in 2021 under direct sponsorship of the Jonesboro Mayor’s Office, MYAC was created to provide a formal, sustainable avenue for high school students to engage directly with municipal government. The initiative was developed in response to a recognized gap in youth representation within city governance and a growing need to channel student enthusiasm into structured, long-lasting community service.
“All communities have youth that leave for education or employment opportunities, and Jonesboro is not immune to that, even with so much to offer,” Mayor Copenhaver remarked. “So, why is that? And is it one of those things that we can improve ourselves by educating them on the opportunities right in front of them here in our community?”
MYAC members volunteering with United Way of Northeast Arkansas
The council operates as an official civic board with governing documents created by youth members, including bylaws, a code of conduct, a conflict-of-interest policy, and a nondisclosure agreement.
High school students from public, private, and homeschool backgrounds apply through a competitive process that resembles a job interview and includes a letter of recommendation. The goal is not simply to recruit the most visible student leaders, but to build a council that better represents the Jonesboro community.
“When I went to school, you always saw the same [students] getting the same awards, getting the same scholarships, getting recognized,” Mayor Copenhaver reflected. “This isn’t the case. Our council’s a very diverse group, many of whom don’t know each other, but by the end, they’re working together.”
This intentional process has increased membership each year, growing to 99 students representing every major school district in the city. As participation increased, so did community impact: MYAC members logged 499 volunteer hours in 2022-2023, which grew by more than 140% to nearly 1,200 hours the following year.
Turning Student Voice into Community Solutions
City leadership supports MYAC to ensure its initiatives reflect real community priorities and achieve measurable results. Members are divided into five task forces mirroring core city departments: City Beautification, Communications & Outreach, Diversity & Inclusion, Health & Safety, and Planning & Engineering, allowing them to advise on municipal projects with real-world impact. Through this model, council members can explore areas of civic leadership that interest them and develop projects with direct support from city officials and directors.
MYAC members transporting daffodil bulbs with the “Keep Jonesboro Beautiful” commission
“When we started asking around other cities, very few had [a youth council]. Or if they had had one, it was, at times, a struggle to maintain interest”, Mayor Copenhaver admitted. “So the challenge was really, ‘What are the ways that we need to establish [MYAC] in order for it to grow and really gain some traction for many years to come and hopefully to infinity?’”
Youth-Led Solutions for a Stronger Jonesboro
MYAC members have continued to lead in developing solutions that improve how residents connect with local government resources. In partnership with the City of Jonesboro’s Engineering Department, members promoted and tested their new Pothole Portal, providing residents an option to report road issues while gaining valuable experience in data-driven problem-solving.
Major achievements came from MYAC’s creation and launch of “Jonesboro 411”, a mobile platform centralizing public information and city service support for locals. The project earned 2nd Place in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge hosted by Congressman Rick Crawford and now serves as a statewide model for youth-led innovation and municipal collaboration.
The youth council also partners with community organizations to broaden its reach and impact beyond City Hall. Members support United Way of Northeast Arkansas’s Stuff the Bus campaign each summer, collecting school supplies in the Arkansas heat, and assist with the Project CARE Career Fair, coordinating logistics and peer engagement to promote workforce readiness. In collaboration with the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, members have packed 36,568 meals since 2022, with another large-scale event planned for this fall.
MYAC with their Giving Tree at City Hall
Jonesboro’s MYAC members also take pride in improving their city by leading community events and stewardship projects, including the MYAC Giving Tree, created in partnership with FNBC Bank to provide seasonal “Leave What You Can, Take What You Need” items at City Hall year-round. MYAC members also lead the Earth Day Plant Swap, World Cultural Fair, and Free Summer Coding Camp, engaging hundreds of residents each year through different opportunities.
A New Standard for Youth Engagement
Jonesboro’s Mayor’s Youth Advancement Council stands as a defining example of how local government can cultivate the leaders of tomorrow while strengthening today’s community. Reflecting on being named a 2025 Volunteer Community of the Year, Mayor Copenhaver emphasized that the award belongs to the students and their commitment to service.
“Were we expecting to be a Community of the Year? Absolutely not. Did we set out to do that? No,” Mayor Copenhaver admitted. “That’s the humility of what this group does. They just do what is right, so this is a reflection of their hard work. Whether a requirement or not, they would have done this [work] anyway. They were very proud of the award, but they were not looking to get an award for what they were doing in our community. The reward to them was being able to feel like they were appreciated by their own community.”
MYAC members after packing 5,618 meals at the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas
Through this model of mentorship, innovation, and structured civic engagement, MYAC has created a sustainable framework where students don’t just learn about government; they help shape it, building a legacy of leadership and service that continues to strengthen the city’s future.
For local leaders interested in creating their own youth council, Mayor Copenhaver offers simple advice: “Ask, and listen. Don’t be afraid to take on some new challenges. We stepped outside the box when we did this by letting them set the standard. So don’t be afraid to step out of the box for the youth in your community, because they are the future.”
Learn more about Jonesboro’s Mayor’s Youth Advancement Council here.
The Volunteer Community of the Year Award recognizes Arkansas municipalities that address the community’s greatest needs through city-led citizen engagement initiatives. Applications for the 2026 Volunteer Community of the Year are now open! Click here to learn more and apply.
Larissa Agbor-Nkongho & Yuliana Murillo, 2026