On Monday, March 25, 2024 Laurel Mayor Johnny Magee met with Miss Jones County’s Teen Kyla Pohlmann to discuss her platform to the physical and mental health of the area’s youth and young adults.
The 15-year-old, who has been in dance and tumbling classes since she was three years old, uses dance and movement as a way to deal with her own stress and would like to use her platform to encourage others to do the same. She developed the acronyms TALK and DANCE to help people develop a plan for dealing with stressful situations and overwhelming emotions.
TALK stands for: Tune in for success, Acknowledge the situation, Let someone help, Kindness is key
DANCE stands for: Determine the problem, Accept thoughts, emotions and feelings as valid, Notice the warning signs, Choose healthy food options, Exercise and Eliminate toxic thoughts
Pohlmann, who is a student at Poplarville High School, plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi where she intends to major in Dance Education, Performance & Choreography.
The proclamation read as follows:
WHEREAS, Miss Kyla Pohlmann has been named Miss Jones County’s Teen 2024 and wishes to promote mental health awareness through her platform TALK It Out/ DANCE It Out; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States affecting 38 percent of teen girls and over forty million adults; and
WHEREAS, Miss Pohlmann believes staying fit is essential not only for physical health but also for mental health and has used her passion for dance and gymnastics to keep herself physically and mentally healthy and fit; and
WHEREAS, through her TALK It Out; DANCE It Out program, Miss Pohlmann plans to promote movement and dance as a way to help her peers and all generations cope with anxiety, stress, depression, and overwhelming emotions; and
WHEREAS, as a way to talk to students, Miss Pohlmann has developed two acronyms; TALK which stands for Tune in for Success, Acknowledge the situation, Let someone help, Kindness is key, and DANCE which stands for Determine the problem, Accept thoughts, emotions and feelings as valid, Notice the warning signs, Choose healthy food options, Exercise and Eliminate toxic thoughts; and
WHEREAS, Miss Pohlmann’s goal is to help people realize that they are seen, loved, and worth helping and that they can overcome the issues they face
Now, therefore, I, Johnny Magee, Mayor of the City of Laurel, do hereby declare, March 25, 2024 as TALK It Out/ DANCE It Out Day and encourage all citizens to join me in supporting Miss Pohlmann’s mission to promote mental health awareness and spread positivity through her reign as Miss Jones County’s Teen, in witness thereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the City of Laurel, Mississippi, to be affixed this the 25th day of March, A.D. 2024.
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