American Legion celebrates Centennial, makes big push for Boys State program

Below, please find the full press release and a bullet point summary of information received from the American Legion about this year’s Boys State Program, which will be held at St. Anselm College in Manchester.  As the Legion is celebrating it’s Centennial, they’re pulling out all the stops!  ~Publius

Time for Boys State!

Press Release
For Immediate Dissemination

Applications for the 2019 session of American Legion New Hampshire Boys State are now available.  Copies of the instructions and application forms have been mailed to every New Hampshire high school and home school association, as well as local American Legion posts, today.  Additional copies are available online at www.nhboysstate.org.  The American Legion encourages young men who have finished their junior year of high school and who will be seniors in the fall to apply.

Boys State is a non-partisan program that is now in its eighth decade of providing classroom and practical instruction in civics to New Hampshire’s high school students.  Boys State presents a practical application of the duties, responsibilities and privileges of American citizenship.  Its purpose is to awaken within the youth of New Hampshire a sincere conviction that a well- informed, intelligent and participating citizenry is most vitally needed to protect and preserve the American tradition of democratic self-government.  Boys State is strictly non-partisan: representatives of all major political parties are invited and are represented throughout the week.  Students are encouraged to share their own views on issues of public importance.

Each year, over seventy young men from across the state who have just finished their junior year assemble to learn about New Hampshire’s system of self-government.  In the process, they interact with municipal officials, lawmakers, elected office-holders, law-enforcement personnel, veterans, and their high-performing peers.  Two of the students who attend the New Hampshire program will be among the 98 national-level finalists – selected from the more than 20,000 Boys State delegates nationwide – who will travel to Boys Nation in July and represent New Hampshire in Washington, DC, all at the expense of the American Legion.  Program attendees are also eligible to apply for more than $7,000 in scholarship funds.

Our 2019 program (our 72nd) will take place from Sunday, June 23 through Friday, June 28 on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester.  Much more information about the program, as well as the application materials, are available on our website at www.nhboysstate.org.  The only costs to a student accepted to American Legion Boys State are his $25 non-refundable application fee, his transportation to and from Saint Anselm College, and incidentals during the week.  Community sponsors and local American Legion posts pay the remaining costs of his room, board, instruction, and in-program transportation.

The American Legion Auxiliary runs the Girls State and Girls Nation programs for young women.  You can follow a link to that program from www.nhboysstate.org.