TheReview_Jan_Feb_2022 Flipping Book

COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING

MIDLAND CITIZENS ACADEMY Who Wants to be a MIDLANDAIRE?

By Liz Foley

H ow do you provide citizens with more tools for making informed decisions about their community… help them appreciate the importance of government’s involvement in a successful, thriving city… and encourage them to volunteer within the municipality and the larger community? The Midland Citizens Academy was designed to do all that and more. In fact, it works so well that one of its first graduates became the city’s mayor. “It was so good that I decided to run for office,” said Midland Mayor Maureen Donker, who was part of the 2007 inaugural class

and subsequently ran for city council that same year. She was selected as mayor in 2009 and has served in both capacities ever since. But she’s not the only success story. “We also currently have nine Citizens Academy graduates serving on the city’s boards and commissions and have even had a few attendees like what they saw and heard so much that they joined the organization and are now City employees,” said Communications Coordinator Katie Guyer, who heads up the Academy. “It continues to be one of the most successful, longest-running programs the city offers.”

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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

THE REVIEW