Pizza was served, questions were answered and raindrops fell as students navigated crowds at the corner of Welch and Chamberlain on Friday.

The fourth annual “Welcome Back” event was targeted toward ISU students, offering them the opportunity to talk to government officials from Ames.

Mayor Ann Campbell and various city council members mingled with students throughout the evening.

“Well, because of the rain it’s been a bummer but the other years I’ve come its been really busy,” said Juliann Balistreri, junior in animal science.

 Council member, and college of liberal arts and sciences academic advisor Dan Rice, said this year’s attendance was good, considering the weather. Susan Gwiasda, city of Ames public relations officer, said there were about 500 people present.

Although the gloomy evening may have dampened the event, growth of the event continued to progress.

“We have grown in the number of attendees each year,” Gwiasda said. “We are getting really good feedback — we made it a Facebook event this year.”

According to Gwiasda, the former mayor, Ted Tedesco, was the idealist behind the event. He witnessed one community where a disconnect between students and permanent residents had formed. Thus, the primary goal was to make sure the students of Iowa State feel appreciated.

“All the segments of the population make the community what it is,” Gwiasda said.

In an effort to make students feel welcome, they were given free pizza from Pizza Pit. The majority of the $3,000 budget went toward pizza, Gwiasda said. The rest was spent on trinkets and knick-knacks such as water bottles, footballs and drunk driving awareness bracelets. She said they served 144 pizzas and gave out 400 water bottles.

The secondary goal of the event was information. City Hall wants to ensure that students have an understanding of Ames. This included information on bus routes and bike paths, among others.