The sixty-fourth annual session of the NH American Legion Boys State program was held June 26 through July 1 at Rivier College in Nashua, NH. Jonathan Vinnenberg, an incoming senior at Bow High School, was elected Governor.
Sixty-two high school juniors from 35 New Hampshire high schools convened at Rivier College in Nashua to establish the mythical fifty-first state - Boys State. The students came from all parts of the state to become more educated in the American way of government, to apply what they learned and to establish friendships that will last well beyond the week of Boys State. The students were assigned to a city or a town, to an Executive Council District and to one of two political parties (Nationalist or Whig). The towns were smaller than the city to simulate actual differences in the respective populations of cities and towns. One-third of the students were assigned as members of the Senate and two-thirds as members of the House of Representatives to simulate the difference in size of those two legislative bodies.
Following instructions by staff and guest speakers, the students established their city and town governments, worked within their political parties, and ultimately established their state government. The delegates established party platforms, campaigned for office through primary and general elections, and exercised the duties of the offices they held. Many opportunities to serve in an office were provided to the students and every student served in an elected or appointed office.
On Friday, July 1st, Boys State visited the state capitol building in Concord, where the students were given a tour by a State House Tour Guide and had the opportunity to debate a bill in the House Chamber. Governor John Lynch joined the students for a discussion on current legislation being discussed or recently passed by the NH State Legislature. The visit to the State Capitol was preceded by a much appreciated lunch at Post #28 in Suncook.
Once again, Rivier College awarded three college credits to this year's Boys State graduates who successfully completed the program, applied for the credits and paid Rivier College the credit fees.
Students who held state leadership positions and their general election opponents for the 2011Boys State session were (N = Nationalist and W = Whig):
Governor - Jonathan Vinnenberg (N) - Bow High School
Executive Councilors:
- District One - Tyler Gendron (N) - Fall Mountain Regional High School
- District Two - Erik Falkengren (W) - Bedford High School
- District Three - Henry MacGibbon (W) - Goffstown High School
- At-Large - Timothy Maurer (N) - Lebanon High School
Secretary of State - Ian Greene (N) - Concord High School
State Treasurer - Avery Klein (W) - Nashua High School South
President of the Senate - Anthony Anzivino (W) - Pinkerton Academy
Speaker of the House - John Cialek (N) - Campbell High School
The major award recipients for the 2011 Boys State session were:
American Legion Boys State Scholarships -
- Timothy Stackhouse - Exeter High School ($1,000)
- Anthony Anzivino - Pinkerton Academy ($500)
- John Bonifant - Hopkinton High School ($500)
- Ian Greene - Concord High School ($500)
- Brian Taetzsch - Exeter High School ($500)
Sons of the American Legion Boys State Scholarships -
- Keith Guay - Nashua High School South ($500)
- Brandon Latham - Bishop Guertin High School ($500)
Eli Marcoux Award - Tyler Sweeney - John Stark Regional High School. Presented to the student who best exemplified the overall good citizenship goals of Boys State.
Boys Nation Selections - Selected by students and staff to attend Boys Nation, the national American Legion program on the Federal Government held at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia from July 22rd to July 30th.
- Senator Timothy Stackhouse - Exeter High School
- Senator James Harvard - Hanover High School
- First Alternate to Boys Nation, Tyler Sweeney - John Stark Regional High School
- Second Alternate to Boys Nation, Ian Greene - Concord High School
The major award recipients for the 2011 Boys State session were:
The Samsung scholarship is administered by the American Legion and awarded from an endowment scholarship program funded by the Samsung Group of South Korea in recognition and gratitude for servicemen and women who served during the Korean War. Descendants of veterans who served our country in time of any armed conflict are eligible to apply. The recipient, who is eligible for one of twelve national scholarships of up to $20,000 each, will receive at least a $1,000 scholarship for being a National Finalist from NH Boys State.
Samsung Scholarship Finalist - Ryan M. Guest - Pinkerton Academy
Many fine guest speakers from throughout the state addressed the students and we continue to be grateful for their participation. The speakers for this year's program, with their topics in parentheses, were: National Executive Committeeman Jack Neylon (The American Legion); Chairman Joe Caouette (National Americanism Commission); Russ Marcoux, Bedford Town Manager (City & Town Government); Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley and Republican Party Chair Jack Kimball (Two-Party System); Chris Williams, President of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce and Andy Leach, Sen. Ayotte's staff (How to Organize a Political Campaign); Executive Councilor Daniel St. Hilaire, Boys State graduate (Executive Council).
Also, State Representatives John Graham and David Campbell (NH General Court); Attorneys Michael Craig, Arthur Gatzoulis and Associates of Manchester (Mock Trial); Detective Lt. Jeff Bukunt, Nashua Police Department (Juvenile Justice); and Chief Justice of the NH Superior Court Tina Nadeau (NH Court System). Alderman-At-Large Mark Cookson of Nashua was the graduation speaker. During the graduation ceremony, Chairman Guerrette read a letter from U.S. Congressman Frank Guinta congratulating all the graduates of the 2011 Boys State program. David Fredette, City of Nashua Treasurer/Tax Collector, served as Budget Committee advisor to all three Boys State municipalities.
The Concord Coalition's federal deficit reduction spending exercise was once again included in the Boys State curriculum and was facilitated by Assistant Director Keith Luter. The Concord Coalition is a national nonpartisan grass roots effort, initially founded by Senators Warren Rudman (R-NH) and Paul Tsongas (D-MA), to reduce the growth of federal deficit spending. Students were broken down into committees and were provided with the real numbers of the federal budget and were faced with the real challenges federal government legislators have to deal with in trying to control future spending and reducing the federal budget deficit going forward. The lessons learned are applicable to all levels of government.
The staff, comprised of educators and alumni of NH's Boys State program, did another terrific job providing guidance and direction to this Boys State session. The staff included Director Joseph Nee and Assistant Director Keith Luter; Sr. Staff Counselors Jason Cipriano and Attorney Alexander Henlin; Sr. Counselors Aaron Weinstein, Alex Rouleau, Joseph Plunkett and David Stewart; Jr. Staff Counselors Welcome Frye, Joshua Berk, Connor Humber and Spenser Nozell. Many on the staff were Boys State Governors and/or Boys Nation Senators when they attended the program.
With gratitude, Boys State acknowledges the generous donation of William McGee, a 1954 graduate of Boys State and 1955 graduate of Milford High School. Mr. McGee is a Vietnam Veteran who flew over 400 combat missions in Vietnam once again donated copies of his book Men of Granite: True Stories of New Hampshire's Fighting Men to be distributed at Boys State. He is currently a free-lance writer living in New York.
The Boys State Committee would like to express its appreciation for the continued support of legion posts and participating high schools who recruit and sponsor students to the program. We wish the best to all of our participating students who are among the finest young people in our state!
The Boys State committee would like to thank all Legionnaires, legion posts and districts who provided the following to make Boys State successful: donations of time, money, food and materials. Special thanks to Lisa Covey, Department Secretary, who did an excellent job providing administrative support to the Boys State program. Special thanks also to PDC and Boys State Vice Chairman Tony Rabbia for coordinating all donations and getting the food, soda and Color Guard equipment to Rivier College and to Representative and Boys State Vice Chairman. John Graham who coordinated the field trip to Concord and the meeting with Governor John Lynch.
Thanks also to our gracious host, Rivier College and Sodexo cafeteria services, for another great year of service to the program, and to Massbay Community College for printing the Boys State Citizen training manuals. Apologies are extended to anyone we may have missed.
The committee would like to encourage all Posts to work with their local high schools to increase participation in the Boys State program. We had 62 students this year, but would like to get the program to 100 students within the next three years. There are over 100 high schools in the state that do not participate in this program. This is such an incredible experience for those students who are involved, and there is clearly room for more students. This goal can only be reached with the help of local posts following up with their local schools on the mailings sent from the state committee.
The Class of 2011 is on Facebook.