Bowling Green Neighborhood and Community Services’ hosts annual Over 50 Citizen Academy

BOWLING GREEN, Ky – Bowling Green Neighborhood and Community Services is hosting its annual Over 50 Citizen Academy from Mar. 5 through Mar. 11. 

The academy is a four and a half day program that starts on Thursday, March 5th, and is scheduled to end the following Wednesday.

The program is designed for Bowling Green residents age 50 or older to get an inside look at how services function throughout the city.

The 32 participants will get to learn about departments such as public safety, city government, and stormwater management, along with several services provided by the city of Bowling Green.

“Each department gets to share either a new program that’s going on or to help educate and to help people become more comfortable with things that are going on in the city and understand why we do everything that we do.” said City of Bowling Green Community Engagement Coordinator Emily Brawner

Brawner added, “We give every opportunity for people to become comfortable with elected officials, become comfortable with management, become comfortable with all of our staff.” 

Brawner told News 40 what each participant should expect to get from the program.

“Afterwards, you know how to get a hold of somebody in the city. You may not know exactly who to contact, but you know there is someone that is out there to keep the streets clean. You make relationships with people within the different departments, and you make relationships with us, the community engagement team that we’re putting this on.” 

They also urge those who participated to help educate those in the community on how each department operates, so they know the challenges they may face on a daily basis.