Student Government Day: Tomorrow’s Leaders, Today

SPEAKER_03 0:12

What if your first lesson in government didn't come from a textbook? What if it came from sitting in a commissioner's chair, casting your very first ballot, or standing at the podium to share your ideas about your community? Today on Haven 444, we revisit a very special day at Lynhaven City Hall, Student Government Day, sponsored by Commissioners and People. Students from 5 to 15 years old gathered to discover how local government works, not by simply hearing about it, but by experiencing it firsthand. From learning the responsibilities of city commissioners to participating in a mock commission meeting and casting ballots in a citywide style election, these students were given a glimpse into how communities are built one decision at a time. Today's program was the vision of Lenttainment Commissioner Sam Peoples, who believed that civic education should begin long before students are old enough to vote. We asked Commissioner Peoples what inspired him to create Student Government Day and why investing in young people mattered.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

I think it's important that children know how important it is because it affects their daily lives and how they can be a leader and why how they can be part of the community and be involved in local government themselves. And I just thought, hey, let's help them learn about it if they if they're interested. I hope that they walk away today learning at least a little bit about how important local government is and how it affects them and their family. It was really interesting because it kind of shows the children like how important it is to vote, and it just so happens today we had a tie. We had five options on the ballot, and we still had a tie between the top two choices. So the kids were able to see just how important every single vote matters because we were able to talk about how a runoff election works. They hopefully they learned that voting is fun. Voting is something that we taught them that, you know, in America it's the way that we can our voices heard, and in other countries, some other countries they're not allowed to do that, they don't get to make choices, but in America we do, all the way down to the city level. I don't think that people realize how much city government brings public safety and quality of life to them. If we didn't have a police department, there's no way police are getting to your house in two minutes like they do now. Without local government, they wouldn't have the parks that they have, they wouldn't have the sports and rec that they have, the quality of life that makes it so fun. Yes, they wouldn't have things like sewage, water, and if they did, and they didn't have a city, it's gonna be more expensive because they're gonna have to run the lines longer and things like that. There's a bunch of little small nuances like that that people might not really realize. You can be a leader in your own community, in your own schools, because if there's something you're passionate about, you can advocate for it, you can talk to your friends or co-workers if you're working, or schoolmates or whatever, classmates. And if you get a cause that's important to you, and you're able to talk to them and you get a cause going, you can bring it before the voting members of the commission, and we might be able to accommodate that. I mean, I'd love to make it an annual thing, and someone in the attendance even said maybe expand it to where they have it for adults too. I mean, of course, the parents were welcome today, but maybe we could expand it to be more focused on adults, have one focus for adults, one focus for children, you know, very high level or more in the nitty-gritty, because I do think that there is a lack of knowledge of what happens in local government, and it's not even the people's fault, it's just because no one really talks about it. And like I said earlier, I really didn't know about it until I actively dug into it. So if we have an opportunity maybe annually to raise awareness to everyone in the community of how important local government is, I think that'd be a great thing. Yeah, actually, a few things. One, when we had our uh I guess mock public commentary, because whenever you vote on something you have public commentary or public discussion rather, and two students came up and were advocating for sidewalks for safety reasons, which I thought was really cool because that's a legitimate thing. That that's a real conversation that adults would probably have with us if we talked about a sidewalk.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

I agree that having more sidewalks is a good idea because not having sidewalks is a safety assume.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

And in that same motion, it was really fun that we actually had a no vote on the sidewalks because one of the children that was a commissioner out there said that sidewalks are too expensive. And the person that was being the mayor then said, Well, what if we modified it to where we have less sidewalks in less areas? And I'm sitting there and I'm like, This is real conversations that we have in real commission meetings, and these are children, so I thought that was really cool. They were having real conversations about real city stuff that we actually have, and it was really cool to see. I just like knowing that I'm able to help people. I know that our role as a commissioner is to create policies and review policies, and I love policy work, it's what I do for a living, and I really enjoy it. But the most rewarding part for me is knowing that I can be a liaison between the community and the staff and really be there to help them with whatever issues or questions they may have. It's just always been within me that I like I like helping people. My family always has. Like we used to volunteer at the homeless shelters, and my wife and I, a pretty good team. We bounced ideas off of each other, and and you know, she kind of brought it up at first, and we started talking about it. And as soon as we talked about it, we were like, well, you know, we don't want to spend any tax dollars on this. It's just something that we want to bring before the community if we can. Once I bounced it off the city manager and realized it wasn't gonna be a real cost to the city, I was like, okay, there we go. If we can do this with no cost, little to no cost, let's do it. It's always a good idea, but we're in budget season, so I don't want to spend money that we're not budgeted for. Once we figured out it's not gonna be have an effect on the city budget, that was really the turning point.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

It didn't like it before in history, but it was different whenever it was accident in this building, and that was fun. The most fun part was probably like with the little kids. But yeah, but this is more sidewalks is very good because my area there's not many sidewalks, it's hard to get around at least safely.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

It truly does, just like when we talk about the federal level or the state level, it takes months for a law to go into effect for us at the city. We can vote on something on Tuesday at 7.05, and it goes into effect on Tuesday at 7.05. And so if there's something you're passionate about in your own city, I highly recommend getting involved with your local politics. That doesn't mean you have to run for election or anything like that, but get to know your commissioners, let them know what's important to you, and we'll advocate for you. And we're always here to answer questions if you have them, that's what we're here for. And hopefully we'll have another event like this in the future if anyone else wants to attend.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

I really enjoy when they do the concerts in the park, the community events, because it gives you a chance to go out with your family, but you can also run into your friends that you didn't even know were around. I've seen a lot of my friends around that I didn't even know lived near here. So it's very nice.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

Serve as mayor, open a small business, teach in our schools, or raise a family in the very neighborhoods they call home today. The future of a city isn't built in a single meeting or a single election. It's built every day in classrooms, around dinner tables, in neighborhood parks, and in moments like these, where young people begin to understand that a community isn't simply a place where we live, it's something we all help to create. If today's experience inspired the child to care a little more deeply about their hometown, then Student Government Day has already accomplished something extraordinary. Because the city of Lynnhaven, we hope to see 20 years from now, is being shaped by the young people we invest in today. This is the place. It's a city where neighbors know one another, where families put down routes, where parks, schools, businesses, churches, and neighborhoods continue to thrive because each generation chooses to leave the community a little better than they found it. Because the Lynn Haven we hope to enjoy 20 years from now is already taking shape in the hearts and minds of the young people we invest in today. Our sincere thanks to Commissioner Sam Peoples and his family for his vision in creating Student Government Day and to Mayor Dr. Dave Lowry and the entire Lynhaven City Commission for their continued encouragement and support of the Haven 444 podcast. Your commitment to connecting with our community and investing in the next generation is deeply appreciated. A heartfelt thank you to the parents who took time out of their day to bring their children to City Hall and give them this unique opportunity to learn about civic leadership firsthand. And to every student who participated with such enthusiasm, curiosity, and imagination. Thank you for reminding us that the future of Lynn Haven is filled with promise. We'd also like to extend a special thank you to Harold Brampton, IT support whose words of wisdom, creative concepts, and encouragement help make an already memorable day even brighter. This is Haven 444, where every story brings us a little closer to home. Our sitting, our story.