LINN COUNTY — At the age of 19, the youngest Missouri delegate to the Democratic National Convention says he feels a little overwhelmed by the magnitude of what just concluded on a Denver, Colo., stage that was larger than life.

“Being only one of 4,400 delegates made me feel like I was such a small part of that,” reflects Brookfield’s Brett Carmical. “And, although I was a little overwhelmed at times, I always believed that by being there, I could possibly do something big for the small place I call home.”

Rather than an indication of  egotism, Brett’s faith in his ability to step into a national arena and achieve something for his community is a reflection of his belief in doing his best for those who have helped make him the young man of character he has become.

Brett explains, “I try to live by the words of the Olympic distance runner, Steve Prefontaine: ‘To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.’”

And like Prefontaine, who liked to run in front of the field as if he were traversing 2,000 meters rather than 10,000, Brett isn’t afraid of going the distance alone if it means bringing back something to his “team” in Brookfield.

“It helps to get outside the community as well as work within it,” says the former president and founder of the Brookfield R-3 Young Democrats. “The further out you explore, the more you can bring back home.”

But the distance Brett has journeyed has been about a lot more than the 560 miles it took to get from Kansas City to Denver.

His has been the long inner pilgrimage required to develop a social and political consciousness.
According to the political activists with Just Associates, “political consciousness is a lifelong exploration of who we are, how we have been shaped, and how our values, world view, and actions can contribute to a better world for all.”

Another distance runner, who is also Brett’s mentor and a Brookfield High School teacher, Julee Reese, refers to Brett as “a once-in-a-teaching-career student,” and observes, “he is one of the most forward-thinking people of any age that I have ever met.”

And while Reese says Brett always has his eyes on the future, she adds, “He lives every day the best he can so he doesn’t have to regret how he lived the days that are now behind him.”

Recalling that Brett was a “shy but conscientious student who was determined to live his dream” from the first day he entered her American History class as a freshman, Reese was struck by the young man’s humility and susceptibility to being humbled........