December 26, 2014

Lynn and I were again invited to the American Legion Christmas Dinner, honoring the Students from Oroville High School and Las Plumas High School who were selected to attend Boy State and Girl State. There were five delegates at the dinner. Each spoke about their personal experience. David Birt wrote “ Boy’s State was an experience that I will never forget. The life lessons and connections I made will last me a lifetime. The American Legion gives us an amazing honor to be able to take part in Boys State. I hope to be able to be involved and help support the program further.” Mary Horn of Oroville High School wrote “ Girls “State was an incredible experience for me. It helped me realize that there are other girls in California who like what I like and do what I do. Thanks to the American Legion Auxiliary for all your hard work. You all are incredible.”

John – Ross Floyd a Delegate from Las Plumas, wrote “ I loved going down to Boy’s State. I learned so much in such a short amount of time. Thank you, American Legion for all your hard work and support.”

Surr Vang wrote, “ At first I was nervous, but I knew how great this opportunity was and didn’t take it for granted. I encourage the American Legion and it’s supporters to keep up the great work and to make it possible again for future Oroville, CA delegates.”

Aubrianna Queen gave us a copy of her whole speech; she was a delegate from Las Plumas, “When I first stepped onto McKenna college campus, I was immediately overwhelmed. I was surrounded by hundreds of girls I didn’t know, in a area I had never been to, and many miles away from home. I had no idea what I had gotten into. As I made my way through the long lines, through, I immediately realized that this was going to be a great week. I found that every girl I stood next to, even through we were complete strangers, was friendly and easy to talk to. This was a common thing at girls state. Through out the week I found that while just standing in line for lunch you could have an interesting conversation with a complete stranger, whether it was about the food, guest speaker, or events that happened in the house or senate that day. We all shared our political views and argued on platforms and bills, but at the end of the day we were all sisters. My true sisters that week, though, were my Serra Sisters. Serra was my girls state dorm family, and together we felt like we could accomplish anything. We completely decorated our dorm area, quickly elected our officials, assembly women, and congresswomen, and we all worked together to get the necessary girls state projects done, whether that was making hats or coming up with rules for the upstairs intruders. We all supported each other, whether we participated in the primaries and state elections, or we showed off our talents in the talent show.
(Continued next week)

Boys/Girls State, from Wikipedia:
Boys State and Girls State are summer leadership and citizenship programs sponsored by the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary for high school juniors. Boys and Girls are usually nominated by their high school during their junior year. Boys and Girls State programs both began in 1937 and are held in each of the United States (excluding Hawaii), usually on a college campus, within that state. In general, male and female programs are held separately. Boys/Girls State is typically staffed by Legion members, past participants, and/or community leaders who volunteer their time and effort. Administrative costs are defrayed by the state Legion organizations and local businesses. In most states only one or two students are sent to Boys/Girls State from each high school. Therefore selection is highly competitive and the population of students attending represents the top talent from across the state. “Although recruitment procedures vary, Boys/Girls State participants are often selected with the help of high school principals or guidance counselors. During Boys and Girls State the Students typically engage in a number of political activities such as running for office, electing officials, drafting and debating bills, and making motions. Some programs offer City and County mock courts, and a state Supreme Court, with the participants acting as lawyers, judges, plaintiffs, defendants, and jury members. Additionally, there are lectures and workshops for students to fully immerse themselves in government and politics. Some famous alumni include Neil Armstrong, Tom Brokaw, Garth Brooks, Bill Clinton, Mark Wahlberg, George Pataki, Rush Limbaugh, Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Christie, Trent Lott, Scott Bakula, Dick Cheney, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, Nancy Redd, and Tom Daschle.

Stu’s Notes:
Well I am anxiously waiting for January 15th, 2015 when we should know if we got selected for a share of the money from the Supplemental Benefit Fund. Money set aside by the Department of Water Resources to be spent on projects along our beautiful Feather River through town. I urge my readers to support the American Legions and Men’s and Ladies’ Auxiliaries of America, they do so much for the kids of America, they come from all branches of our Military, Oroville’s Legion Post 95’s commander is Ron Scharbor, Happy Boxing Day!