By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The city of Montevallo welcomed the Leaders of Tomorrow to City Hall for a mock City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 23.

The meeting was a chance for the youth of Montevallo to engage in local government, with Montevallo Mayor Rusty Nix, Montevallo Police Chief Jeremy Littleton, Councilperson Lelia Mitchell and several City Hall employees in attendance.

Matthew Williams, the teacher supervisor of LOT and a teacher at Montevallo Middle School, explained the program and how it is implemented.

“We look at (students) in their sixth grade year and we try to find students who show different leadership skills and qualities,” Williams said. “The teachers come together and we pick a list of students who fit the description of good leaders.”

After being picked, students move on to the seventh grade and take a class provided by Williams that hones their leadership skills through field trips and interactive opportunities.

“We have guest speakers and a lot of different things to try to help them become leaders in the community and future leaders of America and Alabama, and of course more locally Montevallo,” Williams said.

The LOT previously attended a Montevallo City Council meeting in February so that students could get a better understanding of the workings of local government. After the meeting, students were assigned roles to play in the upcoming mock City Council meeting.

“We decided who was going to be mayor, who the City Council was going to be and ultimately all of the students play a role in the mock City Council meeting,” Williams said.

Williams spoke on the importance of giving the children in LOT hands-on experiences in local government, citing the rich educational opportunities within the mock City Council experience.

“It teaches them how the local government works at the most basic level and it also allows them to get out and speak in front of their peers and in front of community leaders,” Williams said. “It allows them to ask questions, and again it just teaches those leadership qualities that we’re looking for… Teamwork, working in the community, helping people and things like that.”

Williams now hopes that the students in LOT will take the next step and eventually become leaders in the communities they live in.

“They are the leaders of tomorrow,” Williams said. “They are the future, so hopefully some of those kids one day may be on the City Council or maybe become mayor.”

For more information on the Montevallo City Council, visit Cityofmontevallo.com/MayorAndCouncil.aspx.