Eight students from Paris District High School joined the Paris Optimist Club for a Youth Appreciation Day event on Monday, May 25, 2026.
Students spent the morning visiting the Brant OPP detachment, Paris Fire Station #1, and the County of Brant Council Chambers. Each participant was given a role for the day, including Mayor, Councillor, Paramedic Supervisor, Fire Chief, OPP Commander, Reporter, and Optimist Boy and Girl of the Year.
Optimist Club President Marilyn McCulloch said the event was designed to do two things: to teach the kids what it takes to run the community, and to have them feel appreciated by their community.
“I love it,” said McCulloch. “This is one of my favourite Optimist functions that we do because I’m always interested in hearing what young people are excited about and what they’re looking forward to. Hopefully today opens their eyes makes them think, ‘I think I could do that.’”
At the Brant OPP detachment, students were greeted by Inspector Jason McTaggart and Constable Enzo Coletta and were able to have an open discussion regarding the roles, responsibilities, and career opportunities of policing.
Coletta and McTaggart discussed their personal career paths, as well as several opportunities for the students, including the Youth Academy program and the option to volunteer as an auxiliary officer. Students were able to learn what a typical workday looks like for these officers and got a tour of a standard cop cruiser.
The group then moved on to meet with Fire Chief Darren Watson, Chief Paramedic Lyndsey Longeway, and Paramedic Superintendent Jennifer Horvatin.
Students learned of the different career paths that could land someone at such a job, (volunteer firefighting, schooling, and the like), what it takes to be a firefighter or paramedic, and how the two professions often work or train closely together. Students were taken to see inside an ambulance and fire truck, and witnessed a demonstration of several tools of the trades.
Mayor David Bailey and Ward 2 Councillor Steve Howes later hosted the group at the County of Brant Council Chambers. Howes and Bailey described to the students their workload and delved into their personal experience with their positions. Bailey spoke at length about his focus on the social aspects of being a mayor, why he took the position, and why he isn’t looking to run for re-election.
“Today was a great opportunity to learn more about education and what to expect from those different careers,” said participating Grade 11 student Alex Fancett. “All the people we talked to today seem to really be enjoying their work and I think that could totally have influenced someone’s future career choice.”
He added, “I was surprised to learn how much of our community is run by volunteers, and how many people are doing the work out of the goodness of their own heart. I’ve known about volunteer firefighters for quite some time, but I didn’t realize how many were, like truly out of the goodness of their own heart. I’ve known about volunteer firefighters for quite some time, but I didn’t realize how many there were in the station. I was also surprised to learn that councillor positions are not full-time, and that they do that while balancing a full-time job… I think that’s amazing. That was probably the biggest thing I learned today, that there are still people out there who don’t do things for a nice paycheck and who do it just to give themselves to their community.”
The day ended with the group getting together at the Paris Community Church. While there, Doug “the Great” Hunt spoke to the students and their parents about what it means to “fail forward” and to never give up on your goals.
