The members of the first Clearwater Citizen’s Academy graduated on Thursday, November 21, during a ceremony at the 6:00 p.m. Council meeting in City Hall. The Academy, dubbed Clearwater 101, began September 14 and met once a week for eight weeks.

“Clearwater citizens are the city’s most important asset,” stated Jackii Molsick, former Public Communications Director and program coordinator. “So we designed a program to tap that resource by educating them about what we do, and eventually helping them become more actively involved in their local government."

A highlight of the brief ceremony was the presentation of a gift from the graduates to the city. The gift, a statue called Joie de Vivre, by artist/Pinellas County Property Appraiser Jim Smith, was unveiled at the Council meeting and will eventually be displayed in the new Clearwater Main Library. The library is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in December of 2003.