Ottawa City Hall had a few fresh faces in the council’s seats on Tuesday night as members of the Kiwanis Kids Club took over the roles of city officials during the Ottawa City Council’s regular meeting.

Students from Shepherd Middle School and Marquette Academy participated in the long-running Kiwanis program that gives young people a hands-on look at how local government operates.

Each student assumed the role of a city leader – from mayor and clerk to engineer and department heads – by reading reports, making motions and taking roll call.

“At first, I thought it was going to be terrifying, but it turned out to be fine,” Joslyn Hallam of Shepherd Middle School said, who filled in as public health commissioner.

Kiwanis Club President Lloyd Chapman said the group has been organizing the project for about 60 years and it remains one of the club’s most rewarding annual efforts.

“It’s so rewarding to see these kids go through this and get an idea of how the city actually works,” Chapman said. “There are a lot of adults who don’t know how the city works, and this gets them truly involved and engaged in the system. Hopefully, someday they might become a city official.”

Chapman made sure to give credit to Shepherd Middle School teacher Ed Newberry, who helped prepare the students last week by walking them through the meeting step by step.

He also thanked City Clerk Shelly Roalson for helping organize name tags and materials for the participants.

Ottawa Mayor Robb Hasty said the program teaches an important lesson about civic involvement.

“What this demonstrates is showing a little bit of civic pride and teaching young kids what it takes to just keep the doors open and keep city government operating,” Hasty said. “They’re enthusiastic about it. They learned a lot, and it’s just a fun night for all of us.”

“It was fun going on the tour and getting to see different places I haven’t been before,” Clara Blood of Marquette Academy said, who filled in as city clerk.