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Naomi McGuirk of Monsignor Clair Catholic School commented that her term as Student Mayor was an eye opening and rewarding experience. She noted that her thoughts about the workings of City Hall and the reality were quite different as she started to understand the role of City Council. Naomi stated that City Councillors dealt with many building projects in the meetings and she believes that parks should not be closed down to build more houses. She commented that her family visited the annual Barrie Fair for many years and she feels that the Barrie Fair should be in Barrie. Naomi observed that her experience was an eye opener and she could not have asked for a better partner, Elizabeth to share the programme. She thanked her class and teacher for giving her the opportunity to be Student Mayor and expressed her appreciation to Mayor Lehman and Councillor A. Nuttall for guiding her through each meeting. Naomi concluded by extending her best regards to Councillors as they promote Barrie's Mission Statement - to build a prosperous, growing and sustainable community.
Elizabeth Giffen of Barrie Central Collegiate thanked the members of City Council and all the people in her civics class for the opportunity to serve as Student Mayor. She noted that her class did not take the election of a Student Mayor lightly, however, there was not enough time to hold a proper election so the decision to have a dance battle was the next best thing. Elizabeth commented that she was not aware that she was dancing her way to an amazing experience. She commented that she has learned a lot about government and her personal favourite aspects were the public meetings. Elizabeth stated that she was proud to live in a place where people could voice their opinions and concerns and where everybody could be heard and considered. She stated that she found the abolishment of grants for individual artists very interesting and upsetting. Elizabeth stated that she personally believes that there should be a grant or personal loan for individual artists as art is mostly non-collaborative. Elizabeth concluded by commenting that overall she is very confident in the City's government and she feels that Barrie and its residents are very well represented and that she is very fortunate to live in such a great City.
Mayor Lehman thanked Naomi and Elizabeth for their comments and commented that he was impressed that they voiced their opinions on matters that clearly mattered to them. Mayor Lehman presented them with certificates commemorating their term of office as Student Mayor and thanked them for their participation in the Student Mayor Program.