Have you heard?

President Bill Clinton is scheduled to be the keynote speaker as more than 300 students from around Florida gather August 8-9 in Orlando to form the inaugural class of the Lawton Chiles Leadership Corps. The new student leadership program will launch in August to inspire and train the next generation of Florida’s leaders.

This exciting initiative, which is being organized by The Lawton Chiles Foundation and co-chaired by Sen. Mel Martinez, Sen. Bill Nelson, and former Sen. Bob Graham, will mobilize Florida’s high school and college students, harnessing their passion to improve the way Florida educates and cares for its children. After the conference, a highly motivated group of students will lead a yearlong effort to gather the signatures of one million Floridians on the “Pledge for Florida’s Children.”

“This generation of young people has more power to change the world than any other in history,” President Clinton said. “As President, I was proud to create AmeriCorps, which has given more than 500,000 young people the opportunity to serve, and I applaud the Lawton Chiles Leadership Corps for empowering future leaders committed to making a difference in their communities, their state of Florida, and their country.”

“The people in Florida need to take action. Our state has become a national embarrassment on children’s issues, and today we’re at or near the bottom in most indicators of performance,” said Bud Chiles, president of The Lawton Chiles Foundation. “We’re energizing our youth to go out there and fight for a change in the status quo. If we have any hope of becoming a national leader, our students need to be inspired and mobilized.”