Boys State

Jackflerp

USNA
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
100
I will be attending Boys State in just under a week. The USNA application has a box for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor positions. I have a few friends that went previously (they were not in the same grade) and they said that 30+ people ran for both Governor and Lieutenant Governor positions and that nobody really voted for who would do a good job, but for who was funny or acted dumb during their speech. I was planning on running for one of these spots. Would it be worth running for Governor/Lt. Governor and risk losing and having no/minimal role, or should I set my sights on a position like Senator, Mayor or Police Chief? From my understanding elections for state level offices are the same day, but I could be wrong. Any insight from those experienced with this would be appreciated.
 
Go for it. Worse case you do not get either but you won’t if you do not try. My DS had a good governor, one that deserved it. Remember though, 2 are selected as senators to attend Boy’s Nation. Just stand out because the STAFF select those.
 
You’re thinking and planning too much. Be yourself, and immerse yourself in the program. Boys State is great, and winning a significant office is impressive. It still, though, is just a piece of a much larger resume.

Besides, usually the kids who come to Boys State with overt ambition lose elections.
 
DS (an Eagle Scout) attended Boys State and loved the overall experience. He had no prior plans of seeking any office, but he ran and was elected sheriff.
I think the friendships, cameraderie and being around fellow young patriotic leaders made his time there unforgettable. The program in VA is fantastic!
 
This may stray somewhat off OP's question, but IMHO it may be helpful to OP and lurkers as well.

When speaking with many of the parents at our DS's awards program for Boys State, we realized that there is an often overlooked aspect to Boys State (BS) and Girls State (GS). The American Legion administers a scholarship program endowed by Samsung for those attending. Typically there is ONE winner from BS and GS per state per year. Here is the link for the description and application:

www.legion.org/scholarships/Samsung

From the link "Winners are selected according to academic record, involvement in school and community service." So winning is based on your actual accomplishments. While being selected as a winner for this scholarship may not help your leadership record, it can certainly add to the list of unique accomplishments. Eligibility is restricted to the following (from the link):

Scholarship applications are restricted to high school juniors who attend the current session of either The American Legion Boys State or American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program and are a direct descendant - i.e. child, grandchild, great grandchild, etc. - or a legally adopted child of a wartime U.S. military veteran who served on active duty during at least one of the periods of war officially designated as eligibility dates for American Legion membership.

  • World War I - Apr. 6, 1917 - Nov. 11, 1918
  • World War II - Dec. 7, 1941 - Dec. 31, 1946
  • Korean War - June 25, 1950 - Jan. 31, 1955
  • Vietnam War - Feb. 28, 1961 - May 7, 1975
  • Lebanon/Grenada - Aug. 24, 1982 - Jul. 31, 1984
  • Panama - Dec. 20, 1989 - Jan. 31, 1990
  • Persian Gulf War - Aug. 2, 1990 - Until cessation of hostilities
    Includes Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, & War on Terrorism

In our state, it appeared that this scholarship was not well known. We heard many parents at the awards program state that they had no idea that this scholarship even existed - and their DS would have qualified.
 
"....Those who will not risk cannot win. " - John Paul Jones
If you want to be the Governor, go for it!

Besides, usually the kids who come to Boys State with overt ambition lose elections.
If you are just doing it to "check a box" on the USNA application, keep this in mind. I have no idea how Boy State works, but teenage boys and girls have a pretty good BS filter, and see through the person who is overtly ambitious very quickly.
 
"....Those who will not risk cannot win. " - John Paul Jones
If you want to be the Governor, go for it!

Besides, usually the kids who come to Boys State with overt ambition lose elections.
If you are just doing it to "check a box" on the USNA application, keep this in mind. I have no idea how Boy State works, but teenage boys and girls have a pretty good BS filter, and see through the person who is overtly ambitious very quickly.
I'd love to be in a position like the Governor. I'm doing it for the experience rather than to check the box, but if I can do both it can't hurt. Thanks for the advice.
 
One small piece of advise, from a guy who was elected Boy's State Governor a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...I worked my tail off around the debate, determination and authoring of our party's platform. I had 3 or 4 guys stop by my room the first day advocating themselves as the 'best' governor without doing squat. I won in the end without any premature campaigning because I worked very hard on the platform and thus earned the trust and confidence of enough attendees that it translated into an election win...had tons of fun then serving as my home state's 'Governor for a day' and it certainly contributed to my eventual appointment to USAFA and served me well down the road. Good luck!
 
We're executing a military move to Hawaii in a couple of months, and Hawaii happens to be the only state that doesn't participate in Boys State. Here in Maryland, my oldest DS (and P2B) absolutely loved his time at Boys State, and I'd like to give my rising junior DS a chance to do it next year. Anyone ever hear of a Boys State delegate from one state attending a Boys State in another state?
 
Very interesting question a yes answer would be news. However, I have always thought that the delegate must be a rising senior at an in-state school in order to be nominated by school and sponsored by a local American Legion post in that state.
My husband attended MD Boys State decades ago in 1984 at Ft Meade and it was run by Marines. He loved it!
 
Pardon any typo. I cannot edit any posting while using the SAF app on my phone.
 
Pardon any typo. I cannot edit any posting while using the SAF app on my phone.

If you are on iPhone, you should be able to press the screen of the post you wrote and an Edit or Quote menu pops up. It’s time-limited, so after a certain period of time, the Edit option disappears. I do almost 100% of my posts via the iPhone app, and often edit my typos or content.
 
If you are on iPhone, you should be able to press the screen of the post you wrote and an Edit or Quote menu pops up. It’s time-limited, so after a certain period of time, the Edit option disappears. I do almost 100% of my posts via the iPhone app, and often edit my typos or content.
Thank you, Capt MJ. have tried it before, but my Android app doesn't have that option. It's a different story when using my laptop or PC.[emoji19]
 
We're executing a military move to Hawaii in a couple of months, and Hawaii happens to be the only state that doesn't participate in Boys State. Here in Maryland, my oldest DS (and P2B) absolutely loved his time at Boys State, and I'd like to give my rising junior DS a chance to do it next year. Anyone ever hear of a Boys State delegate from one state attending a Boys State in another state?

My son did attend in a different State — he was only selected as an alternate in our State and also the dates conflicted with his sister’s wedding so we sent him to another State where his grandfather had once been heavily involved in Boys State. In that State (IL) it was possible because you could “self-sponsor” and didn’t need to be sponsored by a legion post if you were willing to pay for it yourself. He had a blast and IMO it was well worth the money.
 
I will be attending Boys State in just under a week. The USNA application has a box for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor positions. I have a few friends that went previously (they were not in the same grade) and they said that 30+ people ran for both Governor and Lieutenant Governor positions and that nobody really voted for who would do a good job, but for who was funny or acted dumb during their speech. I was planning on running for one of these spots. Would it be worth running for Governor/Lt. Governor and risk losing and having no/minimal role, or should I set my sights on a position like Senator, Mayor or Police Chief? From my understanding elections for state level offices are the same day, but I could be wrong. Any insight from those experienced with this would be appreciated.

My son attended in Illinois and he ran for and was elected as Mayor of his town and then Sheriff of his County. They held smaller, local elections first and then moved up to the larger ones so that it was possible to run for more than one office.
 
Just finished Boys' State today. That was an experience of a lifetime and no doubt a week I will remember for the rest of my life. I was selected by the Governor candidate for our party to be his Lieutenant Governor, but unfortunately we did not win the election. I was a Senator and a few other state-specific offices that I really enjoyed. I am also the alternate for Boys' Nation. I am disappointed I fell just short of getting a spot, but it is still an incredible honor to be selected out of almost 500 people. I got to speak in front of the entire Boys' State several times and that was definitely a memorable experience. I have made some lifelong friends here and I have no doubt many of the people I met will be incredibly successful.

If you have yet to go to Boys' State: run for everything you can. This is a perfect environment to learn about who you are and if you do it right you will be pushed out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to go for a state office. I didn't really study or do anything to prepare, but it wouldn't hurt to learn about some of the issues your state faces so that the learning curve isn't as steep. Highly recommend this program to everyone.
 
Just finished Boys' State today. That was an experience of a lifetime and no doubt a week I will remember for the rest of my life. I was selected by the Governor candidate for our party to be his Lieutenant Governor, but unfortunately we did not win the election. I was a Senator and a few other state-specific offices that I really enjoyed. I am also the alternate for Boys' Nation. I am disappointed I fell just short of getting a spot, but it is still an incredible honor to be selected out of almost 500 people. I got to speak in front of the entire Boys' State several times and that was definitely a memorable experience. I have made some lifelong friends here and I have no doubt many of the people I met will be incredibly successful.

If you have yet to go to Boys' State: run for everything you can. This is a perfect environment to learn about who you are and if you do it right you will be pushed out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to go for a state office. I didn't really study or do anything to prepare, but it wouldn't hurt to learn about some of the issues your state faces so that the learning curve isn't as steep. Highly recommend this program to everyone.
I'm starting to pack for my stint as a staff member at our Boy's State which starts next Saturday (staff) and Sunday (statesmen). Glad to hear that you got a lot out of it. We have one of the largest programs with close to a thousand delegates and well over a hundred staff, most of whom are former statesmen. I expect visits and meetings with both US Senators and a couple of Congressmen who are all former delegates as well as admissions people from the service academies and other elite institutions for the college fair.
Its a very busy week for everyone!
 
Just finished Boys' State today. That was an experience of a lifetime and no doubt a week I will remember for the rest of my life. I was selected by the Governor candidate for our party to be his Lieutenant Governor, but unfortunately we did not win the election. I was a Senator and a few other state-specific offices that I really enjoyed. I am also the alternate for Boys' Nation. I am disappointed I fell just short of getting a spot, but it is still an incredible honor to be selected out of almost 500 people. I got to speak in front of the entire Boys' State several times and that was definitely a memorable experience. I have made some lifelong friends here and I have no doubt many of the people I met will be incredibly successful.

If you have yet to go to Boys' State: run for everything you can. This is a perfect environment to learn about who you are and if you do it right you will be pushed out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to go for a state office. I didn't really study or do anything to prepare, but it wouldn't hurt to learn about some of the issues your state faces so that the learning curve isn't as steep. Highly recommend this program to everyone.
I'm starting to pack for my stint as a staff member at our Boy's State which starts next Saturday (staff) and Sunday (statesmen). Glad to hear that you got a lot out of it. We have one of the largest programs with close to a thousand delegates and well over a hundred staff, most of whom are former statesmen. I expect visits and meetings with both US Senators and a couple of Congressmen who are all former delegates as well as admissions people from the service academies and other elite institutions for the college fair.
Its a very busy week for everyone!
I was able to meet my BGO before our interview at the college fair. I was recommended to be on staff for the next session and I am excited to go back.
 
Back
Top