Youth Council celebrates successful year

They came together from different schools to form one governing body and represent the youth in Dublin-Laurens County.

Last Saturday, they held their end-of-the-year banquet, meeting for the final time as members of the 2025-2026 city of Dublin Youth Council. Their yearlong service began with them being sworn in during the Dublin City Council meeting last June. The youth council, which is for students attending ninth through 12th grades) had representatives from Dublin High School, East Laurens High School, Trinity Christian School and West Laurens High School. 

Members from the 2025-2026 Dublin Youth Council were: Arryanna Lloyd (junior at WLHS, mayor);  Aiyanna Boston (sophomore at DHS, mayor pro temp); Morgan Moore (senior at WLHS, city manager);, Olivia Selman (senior at WLHS, city clerk); Harmoni Walker (sophomore at DHS, assistant city planner); Alyssa Lyles (senior at ELHS, city attorney); Ella Selman (sophomore at TCS, assistant city attorney); Melina Watson (junior at ELHS, historian); Kelis Lawrence (sophomore at DHS, historian); Alan Myers (freshman at DHS, IT); Sydney Wyatt (freshman at WLHS, Ward 1); Makaela Bridges (sophomore at DHS, Ward 2); Graham Forth (sophomore at TCS, Ward 3); Roland Manahan (senior at WLHS, Ward 4); John Brantley (sophomore at TCS, at-large); Ryanna Fountain (junior at WLHS, at-large); Taylor Turnley (junior at DHS, at-large); Chloe Rozier (sophomore at TCS, at-large); and Garrett Collier (sophomore at TCS, at-large).

“It has been good to meet others from different schools,” Bridges said. “You get to meet different personalities and see other schools and what their schedules are.” 

The new youth council members will meet in June for orientation. Regina McDaniel, who is in charge of leading the group, said youth council is open to anybody in Laurens County.

“We are going to work harder to get some kids who are in homeschool next year,” she said. “We want to get more people involved.”

Watson’s favorite event while with youth council was putting up decorations at Southland Nursing Home.

“I like going to nursing homes and visiting with the elderly who don’t get to see family much,” she said. “It really makes me happy when we go see them. I like helping people. That’s what I feel like I’m called to do by the Lord. This has given me great opportunities and I hope to help more in the future.” 

As historian, Watson was tasked with taking pictures and made sure each one had the dates and events documented on them correctly.

“Being on youth council was really impactful in my life,” she said. “It gave me new opportunities for when I become an adult and go into the real world. I have learned to network with others. That’s a really big thing I would like to work on because you never know what opportunities you will get when you network with other people.” 

Bridges liked getting the opportunity to meet Matt Hatchett, state representative for District 155, in Atlanta.

“It was awesome to meet a government representative of the state,” Bridges said. “I like the fact that I was able to build connections with many other kids my age. We bonded over political stuff.”

McDaniel said the youth council was in Atlanta during the legislative session. One never knows where former youth council students will end up once they graduate from their respective high school. Darrius Knight, who was a member of the youth council from 2021 to 2023, is working this summer in U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock’s Washington, D.C. office, McDaniel said. 

“He and others (from youth council) still message me and thank me for everything,” she said. “That’s an amazing experience for him, and it could happen to any one of our kids.” 

Bridges wanted to be more involved, so she went out for youth council.

“I thought it would be cool to join,” said Bridges, who represents Ward 2. “If there is anything that is going on in my area or ward, I try to make sure it is brought to the mayor, youth council or city council. It could be pot holes or excessive trash everywhere. I just want to make sure it is fixed.” 

As the mayor pro tem, Boston fills in when Lloyd is not at the meetings.

“I step in and make sure everything is running smoothly,” Boston said. “I make sure all of the topics that need to be talked about is brought up. I just make sure to be on time for events and make sure everybody else comes to events.” 

Her favorite event was a tree giveaway at Riverview Golf Course in October.

“We helped tote trees to people’s cars and helped them pick out trees,” Boston said. 

She called this a successful year and was happy to be able to work in the community, meet people and make connections.

“I would say this has been a very good year for us,” Boston said. “It has helped me grow as a person and I have learned how to take on more responsibilities and I’ve learned how to help other people. Coming in to this, I wanted to see if I could be more a natural leader. I wanted to see if I could lead people and help them get to where they need to be.”

The youth council has been at many of the same ribbon cuttings and events as members of the Dublin City Council. 

“We have done a lot,” McDaniel said. “We have fun. These kids are constantly busy. They can still play ball or cheer, but they have to keep up with what’s going on. We’ll work with them. We want them to do their life, but they have to be at our events too.” 

There are a lot of youth councils in Georgia, but no one close to Dublin. The city of Douglas plans to  visit the DYC and see how it is done here. 

“The closest ones to us is in Savannah or Atlanta,” McDaniel said. “Warner Robins doesn’t have one, but we are hoping that they will soon.” 

The youth meets on the second and fourth Saturday at 1 p.m. McDaniel said these are open to the public.

“We’d like for the public to know us more,” Bridges said. “They may see us at events, but we want to get our name out there.”