Hellertown Borough Council’s junior council representatives–Richard Weddigen and Nicole Payung–were recognized for their service at council’s April 6 meeting.
Deputy Executive Vice President for the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs Christopher Cap attended the meeting to present Payung and Weddigen with PSAB’s Distinguished Junior Council Person award, and to personally thank them for taking an interest in local government.
PSAB staff try to visit municipalities to personally present the honors “to give them a little pat on the back, if you will,” he said.
He also confirmed that “Hellertown is very special” because it has two junior council members, whereas most municipalities typically have just one.
Both Weddigen and Payung are Saucon Valley High School seniors who have been named to the school’s Highest Honor Roll in the past.
PSAB’s Junior Council Person Program was founded in 2000 to help encourage high school students from throughout Pennsylvania to become involved in local government.
“It is important that today’s youth be encouraged to take an active interest in local government decision-making,” a description of the program on the PSAB website states.
“The Junior Council Person Program (JCP) is an outstanding opportunity to get the youth of the boroughs to participate in the governing process of their own communities,” it further adds. “The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB) believes that the outreach of both the community to the youth and the youth to the community is the start of building our boroughs toward the future.”
From left, Hellertown Borough Council President Tom Rieger, Junior Councilor Richard Weddigen, Junior Councilor Nicole Payung and Deputy Executive Vice President for the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs Christopher Cap. Weddigen and Payung were presented with PSAB’s Distinguished Junior Council Person award at council’s April 6, 2015 meeting.
