Fulton County Ohio Media

Inaugural Civic Engagement Academy a Success

Recently, seven individuals completed the inaugural Civic Engagement Academy through the Village of Swanton.  This community initiative was a way for community members to learn more about Village operations.  It was a tool to provide accurate and transparent information in an interactive form.

For seven weeks, the seven participants learned about general government structure to governmental accounting to how water and waste water is treated to tours of various facilities.  The participants heard from all Division Heads regarding their respective services.  Overall, the feedback from the participants was positive and they indicated they learned something they didn’t know before enrolling in this program.  On October 12, the participants were welcomed to the Village Council Meeting and presented with a certificate of completion.

Village Officials believe the inaugural year of the program was a success and look forward to conducting more sessions in the future.

Editor’s Notes:  After the presentation of certificates, some of the participants commented positively on their experience, including John Schmidt.  “I would like to say, of all the people that we met, from the core Village Administration office to all the services including the police chief, the fire chief, water reclamation and so on, what a dedicated core of individuals that really have a strong work ethic and really work hard for the citizens of the Village of Swanton,” he said.  “I am impressed.  I was very impressed.”

Out of the seven participants that completed the course, three, Sam Disbrow, Mickey Disbrow and Patrick Messenger are listed on this November’s election ballot, running for the office of Swanton Village Council member.

Pictured: (L to R) Emily Barr, Alan Barr, Mayor Neil Toeppe, Olivia Pasternak, John Schmidt.  Not pictured:  Sam Disbrow, Mickey Disbrow, Patrick Messenger