Time to Represent

Several hundred hot dogs, a few cell phones and even an iPod Nano were just a few of the things given away to over 500 teenagers who packed the Woodland High School gym on Wednesday night.

The event was called “Represent” and organizer Donny Burleson, an evangelist and motivational speaker, made no bones about who and what he was there to represent, and it was not to give away prizes.

“It my desire that not one young person would set foot outside these doors without knowing the life you have for them, God,” said Burleson in his opening prayer.

In the week leading up to Represent, Burleson put on assemblies at each of the high schools and middle schools in Woodland where he gave kids a non-religious speech on making the correct choices in life. He gave first hand examples of how a life of drugs and alcohol leads to nowhere.

The timing of the event couldn’t have been more perfect for the youth of Woodland. During the week of Burleson’s assemblies at the schools, a 16-year-old student was shot in a drive by shooting and a gun was brought onto the campus of Woodland High School that forced a 4-hour lock-down of the school.

Needless to say, tensions around town were running high, but Represent quickly helped to alleviate them by turning the gym into a huge game room with bounce houses, obstacle courses and even sumo wrestling.