Five Sumter County residents are the first to graduate from the Sumter County Citizens Academy, receiving their certificates of graduation at the Sumter County Board of Commissioners meeting on March 22.
The five graduates are Karen Estep, Craig A. Estep, John Mark Fitzgerald, Debra Valiquette and Heather Walworth. Their journey in the Citizens Academy began in January 2020 and was to conclude at the end of March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted those plans. The Academy was able to resume this month with half of the class able to complete the program.
The Citizens Academy consisted of over 20 educational presentations and tours regarding Sumter County’s General Government operations and partnerships. The services highlighted in the tours included Public Works, Animal Services, Solid Waste, Mosquito Control, Libraries, Fire & EMS, Tax Collector, and the Supervisor of Elections.
“I enjoyed the entire Citizens Academy process as presented,” said John Mark Fitzgerald. “It was especially interesting to hear from and meet people who do the real work: The firefighters, the librarians, the road technicians, the road sign maker and others.”
Chairman Estep, who was not a commissioner when the Citizens Academy commenced, said of the program, “I feel this training was a total win.”
The Citizens Academy will resume with new programs in a few months. To be notified when registration is available, please visit www.sumtercountyfl.gov/notify.
Picture Caption: March 2022 Citizens Academy graduates are (from left to right) Chairman Craig A. Estep, Heather Walworth, Debra Valiquette, Karen Estep and John Mark Fitzgerald.
Original source can be found here.
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