Legion offers experience to remember
By Carli Johnson
Posted March 31, 2015 Girls and Boys State is coming up fast and applications are due, but what is Girls and Boys State? Every year the local American Legion Post and Auxiliary look for eligible girls and boys to sponsor for this event. It is open to boys and girls who have finished their junior year. Students learn about the government, run for office, learn public speaking, create and enforce laws, and actively participate in all phases of creating and running a working government. Seth Weinand, Molly Moriarty, and Joseph Fontaine were all sponsored by the American Legion. “If you get the chance to go, do not pass it up," Weinand said. "It is definitely the opportunity of a lifetime and you learn tons of new things and meet plenty of great people that you will talk to forever. It also kind of gives you a bit of the college experience, being that you live in the dorms for a week and do everything in the main buildings of the college. I learned that even though it may be hard to step out of your comfort zone at times, it can all be worth it in the end.” Since 1937 Girls State has given nearly one million young people opportunities to learn first-hand how state and local government works. Two girls are selected from each Girls State program to attend Girls Nation, a national government training program, and they meet for a week in Washington D.C. where they run for political office, campaign for the passage of legislation, and possibly meet with state Representatives and Senators. In 1935 Boys State became a program of The American Legion. At Boys State students learn about rights and privileges along with the duties and the responsibilities of a franchised citizen. They participate in legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcement presentations, assemblies, bands, chorus, and recreational programs. |
Seth Weinand
Joseph Fontaine
Molly Moriary
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