MEEKER | Two incoming Meeker High School seniors will head into their final year of high school equipped with new knowledge about local government and politics, thanks to Meeker’s American Legion post.
Montey Franklin and Landin Lopez attended the six-day American Legion Boys State conference in Sterling, Colorado.
Lopez said Franklin told him about the program and they signed up online.
“It opened my eyes a lot,” Lopez said. He learned that the election process is longer than he thought, and that having political parties work together instead of opposing each other is beneficial to government. He also learned the importance of proper flag etiquette, with flag raising and lowering ceremonies each morning and evening.
Franklin responded via email, saying, “Boys’ State was truly an amazing experience. I was granted the opportunity to attend Boys’ State by our local American Legion Post, who sponsored both me and Landin’s trips to attend!”
Franklin described the week as follows: “Upon arrival, we were assigned a political party (we determined the party platform) as well as a city we belonged to. Each day was 16 hours long, jam-packed with leadership activities and countless campaign speeches. We performed city, county, and state government operations as the week progressed. I was appointed as the county Lead Engineer and served on both the City Council and Defense Council. As Lead Engineer, I worked closely with the County Surveyor to create a map, which included zoning areas designated for state parks, wilderness preservation areas, landmarks, roads, highways, and other necessary infrastructure. The entire county was loosely modeled off of three different cities on the front range, each with their own budget, population, and problems specific to the respective city. Eventually, we also had to address the problems that came with a county and a state created by a bunch of 17-year-old boys. Later in the week, bills written by each delegate prior to attending Boys’ State were debated in committees of both the State Senate and the House of Representatives. They were then brought to the floors of both the House and the Senate and finally signed by the elected Governor if the bill was good enough (all proper state governmental procedures were practiced). I was elected into the State Senate and appointed Chairman of the Veteran and Military Affairs committee in the Senate. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government all worked together to run our 51st state efficiently.”
American Legion Post 0074 Commander John Moffitt said previous delegates have gone on to hold various levels of responsibility in the military, state and federal government, journalism and industry.
Registration opens in February and closes by mid-May.
Incoming MHS senior Montey Franklin, pictured here with a speaker at the American Legion Boys State Conference. Franklin and Landin Lopez attended the six-day conference this month.