Where do tax dollars actually go once we’ve paid them? How does such a small island handle its wastewater and storm water? Who paints the street signs? What does the Public Works Department do?
These are just a few of questions answered in the Key West Ambassador Academy, a program that has initiated and educated some of Key West’s most prominent and diverse residents.
Class 32 of the academy is in the middle of the curriculum, having kicked off class July 11 (they’ll wrap up on Oct. 23).
The Ambassadors program first convened in 2003. Public Information Officer Alyson Crean and a team of volunteer facilitators now help coordinate the 13-week program. During the weekly sessions, representatives of various city departments meet with the group to give an in-depth understanding of the workings of city government.
“We’ve had a number of people that have been elected to office that have been through it,” said Crean.
A bit of history: In 2003, Julio Aveal was city manager, and he contracted with an outside company to run the program. Dave Oatway was the primary volunteer running and coordinating it. Several years later, it was moved in-house.
“Back then, the Eco-Discovery Center was kind enough to provide a location, and now that we have City Hall, we have a place to coordinate it internally,” said Crean, who started working for the city in 2008, after working in journalism as bureau chief of the Keynoter and editor of Solaris Hill. “At first, I supported Dave and then took it over in 2010.”
“Over 600 people have participated in the program over the years,” Crean said. The current class is an all-star crew of Key West citizens. “We currently have someone from the school administration, several business owners, service industry people, journalists, folks with different and very impressive backgrounds. In our last class, we had a professional juggler who had worked at Mallory Square for 35 years.”
The list of graduates of the program looks like a “who’s who” of Key West that includes city and county commissioners, CEOs and directors of several not-for-profit organizations.
“The Ambassadors program works under the concept that an educated citizenry is the bedrock of a well-functioning democracy,” said Crean.
Several notable alumni from recent years stand out. “One person is Sue Harrison, who retired as senior deputy city clerk, and she wanted an outside view of other departments.” The volunteer facilitators are also former Ambassadors themselves who boast impressive resumes — and continue to serve Key West in various capacities.
“Stuart Strickland just got a commendation from the city for repainting street signs,” said Crean. “John Teets is one of the facilitators, and he was an editor for The Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Lois Songer is an artist and owned Impossible Things bead shop. She is affiliated with the Art Center, the Frangipani Gallery and the arts and crafts fairs on Whitehead Street.”
The program sounds like the coolest interactive school imaginable. It kicks off with a personal session with local historian — ahem, legend — Tom Hambright.
“It’s fun to have history right at the beginning, because some people have been here their whole life, and we also even have had people who just moved here the week before.” This is unusual, but the person in question was very persuasive, Crean said.
They have field trips to places like KOTs, the transit center on Stock Island, The Truman Waterfront and Cozumel Park. They even get to have a roundtable discussion with the commissioners, asking questions and voicing concerns.
“That’s a fabulous opportunity, and I think the commissioners enjoy it too, because they get to answer questions instead of just address agenda items,” said Crean.
“I get so much joy out of the interactions with each class, and it’s such a positive experience,” said Crean. “There’s nothing as rewarding as people after the program saying, ‘We had no idea how hard city staff work, and all that they do.”
“There is nothing like this program for the city government to show what we do,” she said. “We want them to know: you can call the parking guy, you can call the public works department. We are civil servants.”
The most recent Thursday, the Ambassadors visited the Naval Air Station and met with new Commander Capt. Mark Sohaney. We can only assume they were learning how to fly — metaphorically or otherwise.
