Attending my first Broward League of Cities General Meeting on February 17 was an interesting and enlightening experience. I was very excited upon being selected as a Student Ambassador to the Broward League of Cities. To me, this was an exceptional opportunity to learn firsthand from elected officials about governmental procedures. At the General Meeting, I was able to learn about the Broward League of Cities organization itself, and I was surprised to know that there are 31 municipal governments in Broward County with an organization where they all met.

Prior to the meeting was the FLC Legislative Workshop. The Legislative Workshop exposed me to things that I had never experienced or thought much about before. I learned about the various bills that are circulating in Florida, and ideas the PowerPoint that was presented at the workshop was helpful for me to see specifics for how the bills would go about being passed. Also, I learned about some controversial topics that different people in the government have varying views on. It allowed me to form opinions on bills that are being considered and policies that are transpiring.

After the workshop was the social service agency fair. This allowed me learn about various agencies that deal with services for individuals. This was also a key time to meet many of the mayors and commissioners from several cities. Meeting these members and listening to them speak was very informative. The elected officials who were at the meeting were able to speak to me individually, which was a fantastic experience, and I was able to hear advice from various individuals. I was even able to meet Mayor Roy Gold who is the President of the Broward League of Cities and also the Mayor of my city, Coral Springs. The general meeting was enlightening and the updates they announced helped me learn more about the organization. They also recognized the four ambassadors who were chosen, which was an extremely exciting moment.

Overall the general meeting, workshop, and agency fair were great ways for me to be introduced to the Broward League of Cities. I would like to thank Mayor Debby Eisinger for guiding me and the other ambassadors through the program. I am thrilled to have been selected and I definitely look forward to attending more meetings and events and interacting with the other ambassadors and the elected officials.

By: Feyaad Allie