February 7, 2025
Villages Middle School Students Engage in Mock Town Hall in Lady Lake
By Kyle Coppola
Villages Middle School Students Engage in Mock Town Hall in Lady Lake
LADY LAKE, Fla. — A group of 30 Civics students from The Villages Buffalo Ridge and Middleton school campus visited Lady Lake Town Hall on Wednesday to gain firsthand experience in local government. Selected for their exceptional City Council proposals, these students represented The Villages Charter Middle School in a Mock Town Hall Meeting, where they had the opportunity to present and discuss their ideas.
(Students learned about local government and got the chance to engage in important discussions which they very much enjoyed. Photo Credit – Austin Downey.)
During the event, students collaborated with local government leaders, including the mayor, commissioners, and department heads from Parks & Recreation, IT, Public Works, the Library, Police, and Communications. This interactive session allowed them to understand municipal operations and policymaking in real time.
The annual field trip, now in its 10th year, is organized in partnership with the American Legion and Lady Lake Town Hall. Teachers Rob Trifu and Austin Downey played key roles in facilitating the experience.
(Students got first hand knowledge of what local government does. Photo Credit – Austin Downey.)
“These students are the future leaders of our community,” organizers said. “It was an invaluable opportunity for them to witness local government in action.”
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
