On October 17, 2023, the Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council (DMYC) met in the Commission Chambers at City Hall for its regular meeting. Jr. Commissioner Zipporiah Wilcox was recognized as the Outstanding Jr. Commissioner and Ms. Trina Goolsby was recognized as the Outstanding Community Leader for the month of October. Ms. Terry Cook and Mayor Paulk were the special speakers for the meeting.
Zipporiah Wilcox, a first-year member of the Youth Council, was selected for the Youth Council Spotlight. Zipporiah is the the daughter to Maurice and Marie Wilcox. She is a Coffee High School student in the 10th grade. She attends Hightower Memorial Temple where she is an active member in the Youth Choir, Youth Praise Dance Team, and Media Ministry. She serves as a member in many club organizations such as FBLA, FLY Girls, Student Council, HOSA, and GEMS. She also serves as a Know Your Worth Ambassador and the Vice President of the upcoming Knowledge Empowers Expo. She plans to continue her education after high school by attending Howard University and transferring to Mercer Medical School to earn her P.h.D in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Zipporiah chose Trina Goolsby for the Youth Council’s Outstanding Community Member for the month of October. Trina is the daughter of the late George H. Goolsby and Mrs. Alene V. Goolsby. She is a life-long resident of Douglas and a member of Hightower Memorial Temple Church. Goolsby is a Read 180 and Employability Teacher at Coffee High School and was recently named Teacher of the Month. Ms. Goolsby obtained a BA degree in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Education and Secondary English from Georgia College and State University. An advocate for making our community safe, she has made many contributions to public outreach for many years. She is trained and certified to use the most effective style of advocacy that allows her to build relationships with our youth. Ms. Goolsby’s ultimate goal is to develop supportive, respectful, and collaborative strategies with county and city officials, the Coffee Board of Education, and student population that is appropriate and effective to make our community better.
The special speaker for the month of October was Ms.Terry Batten Cook. Ms. Cook spoke to the council about Beta Sigma Phi and their campaign “Douglas is Passionately Pink”. She explained what the organization for education awareness of breast cancer as well as what their group provides for people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, before, during, and after treatments. The Youth Council voted to support Beta Sigma Phi and their endeavors with Douglas Is Passionately Pink Month.
Mayor Paulk provided and educational opportunity for the Youth Council when he spoke to them about the process of becoming an elected official. He explained how important it is to listen to citizens to become an effective leader as an official. He also expressed how much a person needs to have a servant’s heart and how they need to be involved in public service if they are interested in becoming an elected official.
Ms. Dinitra Williams, Youth Council Coordinator, gave updates from the Keep Douglas Beautiful Committee and provided the Youth Council on upcoming volunteer events for service hours.
During the meeting, mentoring program updates were provided by group representatives. Mr. Mike Bazell, founder of the Ambitious Young Men mentoring program, provided an update of their upcoming events.
The next Mayor’s Youth Council will be held on November 14, 2023, at 6 pm at City Hall in the Commission Chambers. The public is invited to attend Youth Council meetings. For more details on the Youth Council or Teen Court program, please contact Dinitra Williams, Douglas Mayor’s Youth Council and Teen Court Coordinator, at (912) 331-9398 or call the City Clerk’s office at (912) 389-3405.