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In their January meetings, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen honored four students at Tullahoma High School as honorary aldermen.

In their first meeting, they hosted students Charlotte Ponder and Brady Welch. They were each given a chance to speak before Mayor Ray Knowis presented them with certificates.

“I’m a part of the high school band, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and I think that overall, our high school’s doing really well,” said Ponder. “I feel like we have a lot of things to improve like construction, leaks in the ceiling and employment too–we lost a math teacher. But, I mostly enjoy my high school career, I think our clubs are very well off.”

Ponder passed the mic to Welch, who said “I’m an 18-year-old senior at Tullahoma High School (THS) this year, I’m a member of the THS band as well, but I also run track and cross country, track season’s starting up soon, I’m really looking forward to that. I’m a member of a few clubs, Mu Alpha Theta, National English Honor Society and I’m the president of National Honor Society and our school’s FBLA chapter. I’m the Mayor of the Mayor’s Youth Council, and I’m very excited to get to be at this meeting. It’s very interesting to get to see one in person like this.”

He added that he was looking forward to finishing out the school year. Alderman Daniel Berry said “Hey, do you recall who the first mayor of the Mayor’s Youth Council was?”

Welch smiled and said “My dad, Daryll Welch out there was the first mayor of the Mayor’s Youth Council, so it’s really interesting that I get to Mayor this year as well.”

Following the first meeting, two more members of the Mayor’s Youth Council were honored as honorary aldermen–Lindsay Eavey and Edward Henry.

Eavey spoke first. “I’m in student council, I’m in Distinguished Young Women (formerly Junior Miss), I am an active member of First Presbyterian Church, but I go to the Church of Christ in Winchester Sundays. I am an AP student, so I don’t have a lot of time on my schedule.”

She said she also hopes to attend Belmont University and major in Social Work or Education.

Henry said he is involved in FBLA and is working on a project that the group will be presenting in a state conference, and “I am also involved in the jazz band, and I auditioned for the All-Mid State Bands, and I received fourth chair for saxophone. I’m excited about that, because I know that I worked hard on that.”

Knowis thanked all the individuals in both meetings for participating in the town meeting and sharing about themselves.