Niceville Youth Advisory Council takes first place in statewide competition

The community service contest focused on a youth council project for a specific single citywide effort to successfully address a local need.

The Youth Advisory Council for the City of Niceville has been named as the First-Place winners in the inaugural Community Service Municipal Youth Council Competitions sponsored by the Florida League of Cities.

The Niceville Youth Advisory Council was honored for its community cleanup project.

“The League’s new youth council contests are a great way to showcase the benefits of engaging the next generation in local government activities,” said Susan Haynie, president of the Florida League of Cities and mayor of the City of Boca Raton. “I believe it is important to expose young people to civic education at an early age so they can understand the scope of municipal services and can become more engaged citizens in the future. It is wonderful to see our cities’ youth councils already working hard to better their communities.”

According to the City of Niceville website, Youth Advisory Council members include Christine Marocchini, Will Armstrong, Rebecca Corallo, Annie-James Walsh, and Jonathan Toledo. Niceville City Councilman Sal Nodjomian is the advisor to the youth council.

 

The community service contest focused on a youth council project for a specific single citywide effort to successfully address a local need. In 500 words or less, applicants described their project in detail and told how it was timely, innovative, effective, successful, cost-effective, and adaptable. The applicant could also include five pages of supportive materials, such as news articles, letters of support, and more.

Winners will receive a trophy, monetary award, and recognition at the League of Cities Annual Conference. They will also be featured in the League’s statewide publication, Quality Cities (QC) magazine, and will have their win presented on the League’s website and Facebook and Twitter accounts.

City of West Palm Beach’s Mayor’s Youth Council won second place in the competition for its Grassy Waters Everglades Preserve, and third place went to the City of St. Petersburg’s Mayor’s Youth Congress for its Scrubbin’ Da Burg project.

 

Youth councils are organizations composed of students, and may also serve as an advisory board to a city commission/council. Many times, these students are selected to serve based on their leadership potential or their desire to learn more about their community and give back through volunteer service.