The Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council (DMYC) held its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 6pm virtually and recognized outstanding youth and citizens in the community. The youth council also heard updates from Douglas City Manager, information about Blood Donation importance, accountability and self-motivation, and proclaimed February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness month in Douglas and Coffee County.
For the month of February 2021, Meia Batten was chosen as the Outstanding Youth Council member to spotlight. Meia is a 9th grader at the George Washington Carver Freshman Campus. She has been a participant in the Teen Court for approximately three years, and this is her first year serving on the Mayor’s Youth Council. Meia is active in the Church, where she attends Greater Destiny International Ministry under Pastor Rueben and Allyson Speight’s leadership. She is also part of the Media Team, Dance Team, and the Youth Choir. Meia plans to attend Mercer University, where she would like to major in Criminal Justice.
January’s Outstanding Youth Council member was Jenna Williams. Jenna has maintained perfect attendance since Pre-K and is in the 11th grade at Citizens Christian Academy. She is dually enrolled at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and has held the highest academic average in her class since 6th grade. She holds leadership positions at her school in FFA, Key Club, Leo Club, and 4-H. She is the President of her class, President of CCA’s FFA chapter and is Lead role in One Act Play. Jenna has received many acknowledgements and awards with Satilla REMC, Envision Washington Youth Tour, Hugh O’Brien Leadership, Leo Club, VFW Essay Contest, Why I Love Douglas Essay Contest, National Honor Society, and many more organizations. She is very active in the community as a volunteer in areas such as elections, local food bank, breast cancer awareness, childhood cancer awareness, patriotism, health care, arts, language, and many other services.
Each month, the youth council members that are spotlighted for the month, also choose community members to spotlight. For the month of January, Mr. Danny Bartlett was chosen by Jenna Williams as her outstanding community leader and mentor. Mr. Bartlett is the Ag Education and FFA instructor at Citizens Christian Academy and has fostered many leadership skills in the youth at CCA. Mr. Bartlett is married to Janet Marie and they have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. For the month of February, Meia chose to recognize a fellow student who is doing great things in the community, Miss Anyssa Speight. Anyssa is the daughter of Pastor Reuben and Allison Speight. She was selected for her work in the community as a volunteer, singer/musician, and her entrepreneurship spirit for starting the Protect Your Mental clothing brand.
Mike Bazell (Ambitious Young Men) invited the Youth Council to attend their Keep Douglas Beautiful cleanup that is scheduled for March 13, 2021. Anyone wishing to participate should meet at Central Square Gym on March 13, at 1pm.
Guest presenters for the meeting were Charles Davis (City Manager), Lisa Morrison (CRMC Bloodbank), Teia Clements (Author and CHS Math Teacher), and Valerie Williams (Founder of Lovesmart, Inc.). City Manager Charles Davis gave the youth council a brief update on the City’s building projects and Douglas Square. Lisa Morrison, the blood bank Supervisor at Coffee Regional Medical Center spoke about the importance of blood donation in our community. Teia Clements, Motivational Author and CHS Math Teacher, spoke to the group about the need to be accountable every day for their actions and love for motivating teens. Valerie Williams, founder of LoveSmart, Inc., spoke to the council about Teen Dating Violence Awareness. Williams urged the youth council to help bring awareness to teen dating violence by becoming an advocate for the cause. After hearing from Ms. Williams, the youth council voted to proclaim February as “Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month” in Douglas and Coffee County. Special guests present who called in to the meeting included Terrell Jacobs (Georgia Municipal Association), Janice Eidson (Georgia Municipal Association, and Kesla Holder (Dublin Youth Council).
The Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council fosters leadership skills and allows students to be an advisory council to the Mayor and Commission. Members of the council have monthly meetings which include discussion of city issues and brainstorming for new ideas for the Mayor and government leaders; volunteerism, participation in retreats, training, and travel experiences.
The next DMYC meeting will be held on March 18, 2021 at 6pm. Youth applications are now being accepted for the 2021-2022 school year. To submit a youth for Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council or Douglas-Coffee County Teen Court, please contact Dinitra Williams, Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council & Teen Court Coordinator, at (912)331-9398 or call the City Clerk’s office at (912)389-3405.