New Hampshire Boys State

July 1-6, 2012
Rivier University, Nashua, NH

• Home
• Past Sessions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Links
• Contact Us

Fifty-seven high school juniors from 30 New Hampshire high schools convened at Rivier University 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 6th, 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. State Senator Lou D'Alessandro and House Speaker Bill O'Brien addressed the students. The visit to the State Capitol was preceded by a much appreciated lunch at Post #28 in Suncook.

Once again, Rivier University awarded three academic credits to this year's Boys State graduates who successfully completed the program, applied for the credits and paid Rivier University the credit fees.

On Wednesday, July 4th, Boys State celebrated the holiday by travelling to Warner, NH to participate in the annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast sponsored by American Legion Post #39 in Warner. A wonderful breakfast was had by all.

Governor - Dan Andrews (W) - Somersworth High School

Executive Councilors:

• District One - Connor Fitzgerald (N) - Trinity High School
• District Two - Chris Beauchemin (N) - Portsmouth High School
• District Three - Reid Cote (W) - Manchester West High School
• At-Large - David Ricard (W) - Goffstown High School

Secretary of State - Cooper Lecza (Write-In) - Bedford High School

State Treasurer - Luke Anneser (W) - Profile High School

President of the Senate - Ian Hill (N) - Tilton High School

Speaker of the House - Pranav Nanda (N) - Oyster River High School

The major award recipients for the 2012 Boys State session were:

American Legion Boys State Scholarships -

• Patrick Doolittle - Pinkerton Academy ($1,000)
• Travis Gendron - Manchester West High School ($1,000)
• Trevor Nozell - Merrimack High School ($1,000)
• Michael Courtney - Bedford High School ($500)
• Cole Freeman - Manchester West High School ($500)
• Cooper Lecza - Bedford High School ($500)
• James Lewis - Nashua North High School ($500)

Sons of the American Legion Boys State Scholarships -

• Samuel Lewis - Oyster River High School ($500)
• Matthew Stewart - Nashua North High School ($500)

Tyler Swe

Eli Marcoux Award - Michael Courtney - Bedford HighSchool. 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 20th to July 28th.

• Senator Patrick Doolittle - Pinkerton Academy
• Senator Ian Hill - Tilton High School
• First Alternate to Boys Nation, Matthew Stewart - Nashua North High School
• Second Alternate to Boys Nation, Trevor Nozell - Merrimack High School

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 - Joseph Dami - White Mountain Regional High School

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 Earlon Beale (The American Legion); Chairman Joe Caouette (National Americanism Commission); Dean Shankle, Hooksett Town Administrator (City & Town Government); Bud Fitch, NH Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (Sen. Ayottte's Committees and the Federal Budget); Democratic Party Chair Raymond Buckley and Republican Party Vice-Chair Cliff Hurst (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).

Also State Representative John Graham and Deputy House Clerk Paul Smith, a NH Boys State graduate (NH General Court); Hillsborough County Attorney Dennis Hogan (Criminal Justice System); Detective Lt. Francis Sullivan, Nashua Police Department (Juvenile Justice System); and LTC Patrick Testerman on Air Force ROTC. Nashua Telegraph Political Reporter Kevin Landrigan, a NH Boys State graduate, was the graduation speaker.

A presidential straw poll was held during the election of state-level Boys State officers, with Governor Mitt Romney outpolling President Barack Obama, 33% to 25%, with the remaining votes divided among a myriad of other "candidates".

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, Connor Humber; and Jr. Staff Counselors Tyler Sweeney and Tim Stackhouse. Most staff counselors were former Boys Nation Senators.

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. Thanks to Charlie and Patty Smith for office support and to the legionnaires of the "North Country" who helped out with the Friday night barbecue. Special thanks to Lisa Covey, Department Executive Assistant, 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, water and Color Guard equipment to Rivier University and to Representative and Boys State Vice Chairman John Graham who coordinated the field trip to Concord and the meeting with State Legislative Leaders, as well as coordinating a Boys State promotional video through Bedford Community TV.

Thanks also to our gracious host, Rivier University and Sodexo cafeteria services, for another great year of service to the program, and to Massbay Community College for printing many of the Boys State Citizen training manuals. Apologies to anyone 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 57 students this year. The thirty participating high schools, along with one home school student, were: