Today I was PEYge Captain! Being Page Captain comes with special responsibilities. You're in charge of the team for the day and you are supposed to help everyone be the best they can be. Even better, you get to march with the Sargeant-At-Arms, the Clerks and the Speaker in the Speaker's Procession through the building and up into the Chamber. It's exciting!
Marching in the procession through the hallway
Marching into the Chamber
A picture with two of my Page buddies and the Sargeant-At-Arms, Dennis Clark
At the end of the day, you have to submit a report and make a presentation to your page teammates that highlights what everyone did well, what everyone needs to improve one and some strategies for improvement. It's a big job, but this PEYge is just the girl to do it!
It was kind of interesting because being the Captain gave me an opportunity to analyze what the team was doing and look at our work from a different perspective. It was hard because not only did I have to pay attention to my job and all of the things I was supposed to be doing, but I also had to watch my teammates and find places where we could improve our work.
So being PEYge Captain made for an exciting day. But it got even BETTER.....
My mum and daddy came to watch me and they got to sit in the Members' Gallery which is a special box with seats right down on the Chamber floor level of the House. AND today was daddy's birthday so when MPP Clark introduced mum and daddy to the Assembly, he also told everyone it was my dad's birthday and wished him a happy birthday. It was very special and pretty thoughtful of him.
But the day got even BETTER... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
Mr. Clark invited mummy and dad and me to lunch with him in the
PARLIAMENTARY DINING ROOM!
The Parliamentary dining room is a fancy shcmancy restaurant in the Legislative Building where the MPPs go to have their lunch. Think high class eatery!
We sat with MPP Clark at a nice table right near the fireplace.
He said I could have anything I wanted for lunch either from the menu or I could choose the buffet if I wanted.
Of course, I chose the buffet!
There was SO much food! There was fruit and salads and pastas and vegetables and meat! Everything was SO gooooood!
It was so neat having lunch with MPP Clark because I was able to ask him questions and talk to him like a regular person. He is so kind and so honest and pretty funny too.
I learned all about his past as the YOUNGEST MAYOR IN CANADA (he was 22 when he was elected) and how he was one of the people who started RIPNET (an internet company) and how he worked for a newspaper for a long time and then how he worked for MPP Runciman before he finally was elected as MPP.
The funny part is I learned that he plays for a hockey team called the Legiskaters. Hello!!!!??? I mean, how cool is that? The name? Perfect!!!!!
He encouraged me to keep working hard for the things I believe in.
What I really respect about him is how much of a volunteer he is. He has been volunteering in the Brockville area for a long time for a lot of different organizations. Volunteering when you're someone like an MPP is important because not only does it help whatever cause you're volunteering for, but you're also being a role model and showing other people how important volunteering is. I think it says a lot about someone when they give their time up to help other people and someone like MPP Clark who is really busy and does a lot of work and travels still finds time to help.
We talked about so many things like recycling and some of the debates that were going on in the House. We talked about the importance of "clearing the decks" so that the government could focus on big issues.
I asked him if it was hard having people take him seriously when he was the mayor when he was only 22. He said he thought it would be harder than it actually was and once people saw that he was committed to doing a good job, it got easier.
Then at the end it was super special because he had asked them to bring out a piece of birthday cake with a candle for my daddy. HOW SUPER NICE IS THAT!!!????
Then he sort of pressured me into having dessert with him (because, you know, who really likes dessert ;) ) and we had dessert and then said goodbye.
I wish I had longer to talk to him because it was so easy to ask him questions and talk to him. He is a good speaker and he made me feel really comfortable.
I think the tradition of Pages being able to have lunch with their MPPs is really special. It helps make the pages less intimidated, it makes them feel extra special because even though the MPP is so busy and important, they're taking time to have lunch with you and it shows how real and down to earth they are. It even shows that it's not all about them... that they are interested in us (the younger generation) and what we think and feel and they're not just trying to impress people or get votes from us.
SO THANK YOU MPP CLARK FOR SUCH AN AWESOME LUNCH AND A SUPER EXCELLENT DAY!!!!! :D
---PeyThePEYge
The only disappointment from today is that we didn't have a camera so I don't have a picture of having lunch with Mr. Clark :(
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