We thank Ralston resident Ryan Place for designing Ralston’s first official city seal in 2016 while he was a student at Champlain College in Burlington. Ralston’s first Municipal Designer Jane Adams refined Place’s image for wider circulation while she was a graduate student at Champlain. Ralston city leaders are grateful for strong connections with our college and university neighbors across the bridge.
Proposal for City Seal “Lewis” to be Named Ceremonial Mayor
While Lewis is our city seal, we can still do more to bring forth environmental awareness and bring attention to conservation efforts in Lake Champlain. By electing Lewis as the mayor in title only, it will achieve the following:
1) It will bring in more tourism, as people will come to see the seal mayor, much like “Stubbs” who was the cat mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. This will be a great thing for the local businesses, and can help us to spread awareness about environmental conservation, and how to protect the lake.
2) Having a marine animal as part of the face of the city will help to bring attention to the ongoing conservation efforts for Lake Champlain. It will show that we, as a community, take these efforts seriously.
Because of all the other duties a mayor needs to carry out, this seat for Lewis would only be a title, but we could hold important ceremonies near the water so he can attend. In terms of cost, it would only be the initial ceremony to give him the title. With such a minimal cost, and a lot of potential upside, there is no logical reason to reject appointed Lewis as Ceremonial Mayor.
Ralston, Vermont's "Green Island" City 