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Posted: June 24, 2005
Plano’s City Council Chamber rang with applause as one by one the 28-members of the City’s 2005 Plano Citizens Academy accepted graduation diplomas from Mayor Pro tem Ken Lambert and Deputy Mayor Pro tem Scott Johnson, June 8.
The fourth class of the City’s unique “academy” completed a ten-session course focusing on the mechanics and services of Plano’s municipal government operations, uniformly met with applause by the graduates for its openness and wealth of information sharing.
“As attendees in the Academy, you’ve had the opportunity to meet the Mayor and City Council, the City Manager and various Department Heads to find out what our City is all about and to gain an understanding of how each Department meets the needs of our citizenry,” said Mayor Pro Tem Lambert.
Class Coordinator Frank McElligott advised the graduates he was proud to be part of the Academy and how his work with the Citizens Police Academy led to his participation in helping to develop the broader Citizens Academy. “If you’ve learned anything, it’s that Plano opens its doors. It has nothing to hide. In Plano we say why we do things and why we don’t do things. There are things we simply can’t do, but if we can’t do it, we tell you why,” he told the graduates.
He lauded the caliber of the information provided over the sessions and the quality of the information presented in the sessions. “The people who came in to talk to you were the people who could answer you on the spot or get the answers for you. This has been a great class and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did in presenting it for you.”
Class spokesperson, Bill Sith, gave an overview of the class, reminding the graduates of the many areas they had the opportunity to explore. Among them were Police, Fire, Public Safety, Public Works, Public Information, Building Inspections, Library operations, Finance, Budget, Economic Development and many more.
“I can see why Plano has grown the way it has,” said Mr. Sith. “The organization attracts and retains top notch people. The employee longevity in the City is impressive. We have the ability to attract and retain business. We have one of the safest cities in the nation – criminals just don’t want to come to Plano. We toured the 9-1-1 facility and learned the difficulty in tracing cell phone calls. While many cities are not addressing this problem, we are. We learned about mosquito control, Parks and Recreation services, how the libraries are laid out, studied our fuel efficient vehicle fleet and learned why we never see any meter readers – because we use an automated reader system.”
“Plano, Texas is the place to be,” he continued. “It’s the place to live. It encourages the public to learn about what is being done and to offer suggestions for improvement. I very much appreciate this class – it’s outstanding.”
In conclusion, Mayor Pro Tem Lambert invited the graduates to become active partners in municipal government. “We appreciate your service and we want you to come forward and offer your service. We need good qualified people who understand how city government works. You now have a very good background on what this city is all about and we invite you to look into the Boards and Commission process.”
For photos of the ceremony, click here.
The 2005 graduating class included two members who were awarded the title of “Plano Diplomat” due to their completion of all three City-offered Academies: Police, Fire and Citizens Academies. They were Brian Plotkin and Paula Myers.
Members of the 2005 Plano Citizens Academy Class are: Maynard Beckman, Theresa Beckman, Deborah Cohen, Ann Cool, Craig Cool, Mike Fabbri, Nuray Fuller, Rob Furman, Sonja Hammar, Debbie Le Ferney, Susan Lavigne, Paula Myers, James Off, Lametra Off, Dinesh Pai, Robert Patrick, Peter V. Pennesi, Kristen Pillans, Brian Plotkin, Betsey Reed, Nigel Reed, Rene Rodriquez, Don Rogers, Rick Rude, Jackie Schnittker, Joshua Shelton, Thomas J. Stephens and Bill Stith.
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