Ambassador Program

I want to let those of you who read my blog, on the Citizen's Academy, called the Embassador Program, to know I just finished the 1 day a week, 12 week course.  We ended with a Mock City Council Meeting, where we acted out a proposal being put forward for a Nah Car raceway to come into our city. If I thought this exercise was going to be boring I was very wrong.  The presentation was given by members of the City Development Dept., who gave a professional and somewhat humorous proposal; but most of the fun was watching the board try and figure out Parliamentary Procedures and taking a vote; its not a easy as most of the public thinks, a yes can mean a no depending on how the question is phrased.  After the Moch session we tried to balance a small portion of the city budget, oh what fun that was - Example: lets take off 10% across the board, no- lets decide which department is more important and take less from them - well are street light as important as maintaining official vehicles? - why don't we just cut benefits to police and fire depts.. On and on it went.  What fun!  The benefits of taking this course are numerous; I have a better understanding of my city and how it works, the hard work that goes into runner it, the dedication of the people working in the different departments and how the departments meshed together. We are fortunate that our city provides a program like this so the public can better understand the how it works.  As an agent I took this course so I would be better informed when dealing with customers interested in moving to this area. What better way to sell your community than to have visited the parks and recreational facilities, the schools, the police & fire departments and have met with the heads of the city departments.  I am excited about putting my new awareness to work.