Newsletter — January 2023

Happy New Year! It’s probably a bit belated to say that a month into 2023, but I do hope your January has started out swimmingly. Within the City’s operations, we swore in the 2022–2024 City Council and recognized a few stellar City servants over the past month. Here are a few highlights below.

• Swearing In — Pictured above is your 2022–24 City Council. We swore in new City Councilmember Stacy Kern-Scheerer (far left) on January 6th and welcomed back Mayor Doug Pons (middle) to another four-year term! Compared to the last swearing in two and a half years ago, we were glad to bid social distancing adieu and welcome people back to this ceremony in the Historic Courthouse of 1771.
• Winter Blues Jazz Festival — Our good friends at CultureFix ran another successful Winter Blues Jazz Fest this past month. They welcomed fantastic musicians from around VA for a fun weekend at the W&M Alumni House. I got to attend and especially loved the Harris Simons and guests group.
• Thank you, Max Smith — Here’s a fun one! Our Fire Department recently thanked Max Smith (pictured center below) for his heroism in helping stop a fire. Max “was looking outside through a window that faced the wooded area behind his home. A limb fell on to a power line causing smoke and a spark. He told his parents about what he saw and 911 was called. When [WFD] arrived on scene, we were able to extinguish the fire quickly. His actions prevented potential catastrophic damage to the immediate area and nearby residential structures.”

• Excellence in Service Award — Lastly, Council recognized Williamsburg Police Officer Jonathan Gonce at our January Meeting. Officer Gonce is not only the Department’s first certified Drug Recognition Expert, but he helped keep our streets safe in 2022 by leading in DUI arrests. Thank you for your vigilance, Officer Gonce!

With that, I hope you will have a relaxing rest of the weekend. This new year is well underway, with students returning in just the past week and spring on the horizon, we have a bright Spring season ahead of us.

With gratitude,

Caleb

*This newsletter is mine alone and does not represent the full input of Council