Garland Youth Council elects officers, assigns committees and outlines volunteer, speaker plans

The Garland Youth Council elected its 2025-26 officers and set committee assignments at a meeting at Bradfield Recreation Center, where students also discussed upcoming volunteer events, guest speakers and communications plans.

The council chose Tasi as president by acclamation after she was the sole candidate who raised her hand. Amzie Orozco was elected vice president and Catherine Lee was elected historian after members cast ballots; the council also named Tamara as secretary. Ballots were collected and tallied during the meeting; vote counts were not specified during the session.

The results drew congratulatory remarks from council facilitators and staff. “We want y’all to have service opportunities and to learn the workings of city government,” said Rhonda McTire, a facilitator for the council, urging members to use the council to build connections across schools.

Why this matters: the Garland Youth Council serves as a city-appointed board and commission for students to learn about municipal government, plan youth events and volunteer in the community. Officers lead meetings and committees that coordinate socials, teen events and community-service projects.

How the election proceeded: nominations for president were taken first; because only one student offered, the presidency was resolved by acclamation. For vice president and historian the group heard short speeches from candidates, marked ballots, and staff tallied results while members took a short break. Nancy Williams, one of the vice-presidential candidates, outlined priorities if elected: “My main goals are to increase representation, impact youth engagement, and leadership development within our city,” she told the council during her remarks.

Committee assignments and activities: the council divided into three standing committees — teen events, social/promotions, and community service/volunteering — and members signed up for their preferred committees. Leaders previewed a social event planned for October and discussed types of teen events from pop-up movies to mural and beautification projects. The council also reviewed a list of volunteer opportunities that had been offered to the group; facilitators said they would follow up with sign-ups and logistics.

Speakers and outreach: members suggested a range of future speakers and visits, including hospital or medical speakers and tours, representatives from the city’s recreation centers, police-academy youth programs, military recruiters, college-admissions staff or current college students to discuss applications and financial literacy. Facilitators said they would collect suggestions and schedule speakers according to availability. Staff also said the city is exploring more social-media presence for the council but must reconcile archival and records requirements before adding official accounts.

Communications and next steps: facilitators encouraged members to keep in touch with the city council members who appointed them and to use a template the staff will provide to report activities. The executive committee will meet earlier, at 5 p.m., to review agendas before full meetings. Members were asked to circle volunteer interests on a sheet before leaving; facilitators said they would also distribute opportunity lists via the GroupMe messaging app.

The meeting closed with staff-led reminders about upcoming meetings and an encouragement that the council’s primary goals include both civic learning and peer networking. “Number one, we want y’all to have more acquaintances, more people that you know within your school, within other schools,” Rhonda McTire said, framing the council’s mix of service, learning and social activities.