LEWISTON – The Lewiston Youth Advisory Council will have a special guest at the Thursday, Aug. 11, annual orientation. Scott Simonds, state director of Service for Peace, will lead the group in a teamwork/leadership interactive motivational exercise.

Service for Peace is an international organization that bridges barriers of race, nationality, religion and generation through service. Simonds has also developed the annual Summer of Service leadership program for youth leaders in central and southern Maine. He was a co-leader for a multi-cultural youth exchange program with the city of Jerusalem earlier this year.

Assistant City Administrator Phil Nadeau, who recently met with Simonds along with Community Relations Coordinator/LYAC Co-Adviser Dottie Perham-Whittier, said, “As the youth council commences its fourth year of existence, it is exciting that they have this opportunity to learn from Mr. Simonds. As he has extensively interacted with youth both in the states and abroad, the youth council will no doubt find time spent with him to be a very informative and educational experience.”

Simonds said, “The city of Lewiston is a model city for reinventing itself in a climate of economic and social change. Its youth leaders play a crucial role in pointing the way toward a bright future for the city and for the state of Maine. I’m excited to have the opportunity to meet with the LYAC and look forward to coming up with some great ideas together.”

Simonds has studied “People and Organizations” at the University of South Alabama, focusing on coastal communities. He also has a business background in the fishing, ship-building and insurance industries and served as a delegate from Maine at the White House Conference for Small Business in 1995.

Simonds is also an active Rotarian and is the Rotary liaison for the Interact Club at Thornton Academy High School in Saco. He lives in Saco with his wife, Jackie, and two of his three children, who are students at Thornton Academy.

This year’s youth council was officially appointed by Mayor Lionel C. Guay Jr. at the July 19 City Council meeting, representing seven returning members and four new members.