Annapolis Mayor’s Son Follows in His Dad’s Footsteps at JA BizTown

Author: DeJonna Farrar
Work Readiness
Published: Monday, 06 May 2019

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JA BizTown’s City Hall was abuzz when Mayor Miles Buckley was sworn into office. Citizens cheering, media interviews to schedule and votes to capture, but he knew the big shoes he had to fill taking on this role.

The fifth grader at Annapolis Elementary is also the son of Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.

“He’s called ‘mini mayor’ at home, so I was thrilled to hear that he was going to be the mayor of JA BizTown,” added Mayor Buckley. “He wanted to wear a black tie and jacket like his dad.”

“I wanted to become the mayor of JA BizTown to see what it would be like to do my dad’s job for a day,” said Miles.

While Miles was eager to be JA BizTown Mayor, he was even more excited to have his dad by his side for his busy schedule, which included speaking at town hall meetings, media interviews, assigning job responsibilities, properly budgeting money for JA BizTown and more.

“The process to become mayor was so realistic, that his inauguration reminded me of my inauguration about a year ago,” said Mayor Buckley, who mentored his son through the JA BizTown experience.

“I love that he is campaigning, balancing a budget, and being held responsible for what makes you sometimes unpopular to others. It is exciting for him to have such an experience handling real-world dilemmas that most adults take for granted. I hope that Miles will leave JA BizTown understanding how to budget money, and the importance of spending only what you make,” said Mayor Buckley.

For now, Miles will head back to the classroom and let his father get back to work.

“Being mayor is more difficult than I thought. I thought that my dad just completed paperwork all day. I did not think that I would have to create budgets, attend interviews and juggle meetings the entire day. I don’t think this job is for me, I will leave it to my dad,” said Miles.

DeJonna Farrar is a marketing intern at Junior Achievement. She is a Business Communication major at Stevenson University who graduates with her Bachelor of Science in May 2019. Her primary focus within her major is marketing.