Waking with Exams
It’s the final full day of Missouri Boys State. The citizens have established a full-functioning state government and have a full day to let the state government run on its own. With the early rise and clean-up of everyday at Boys State, the citizens, head to breakfast and make preparation for their final exams that will after lunch. Citizens have a brief time to study before the exams, which for many may be stressful, as the exams will determine if the boys earn the dual credit offered during the week.
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Let the Government Run
Governmental Activities followed the final exams for the morning. Unlike the Governmental activities previously in the week, the final day allows the boys to live and interact with a complete state government at their fingertips. Court Cases throughout the state grow and escalate to larger cases than they once were, while cities present larger activities, businesses, and attractions.
The boys immerse into the program completely on the last day, taking every chance they can to do what they had hoped to do. Friday, for boys’ state is the last chance for the citizens to shape the government how they imagined it to be. For counselors this last day is quite hectic, as the citizens take roles of being productive, select few will also take role of the rowdy citizen, which gives the established police forces plenty to do.
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Model City and Model County
During governmental activities, preparation for Model City and Model County were underway. At lunch, City Reports and County Reports were due to the staff. For Model City and Model County, the Senior Counselor Jim Whitfield, and Robert Claridge who is on the Commission on Excellence and Cleanliness. These awards will be announced Saturday morning to recognize the cities and counties that are productive and successful throughout the week. Many citizens continue to thrive through the week in their race for these awards.
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Citizen of the Week and Boys Nation
Throughout the morning the boys who were nominated by their cities interviewed for the Citizen of the Week. This reward is accompanied with scholarships and recognitions for each citizen’s hard work and achievements. To simply be nominated is an honor, as the students are not only recognized by staff, but the citizens themselves for what they have done.
A select few boys are also chosen to interview for a position to be sent to Boys’ Nation. The students selected for Boy’s Nation are often the citizens that demonstrated leadership in nearly every aspect of their lives at not only Boys’ State, but outside of the program as well. To be sent to Boys’ Nation is an honor in the sense that the student will represent all of Missouri Boys’ State in a larger program that demonstrate building a National Government with leaders from every state.
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Governor’s Cup
Every year there is a special athletic session for the entire Boys’ State that matches the citizens again the staff members in a three sport competition. The sports that are competed in are volleyball, basketball, and softball. The Governor’s Cup is the award to which side wins the competition, and as the citizens very well know, the staff is undefeated in all 72 years the program has been completed. For the 73rd session of Boys State, unfortunately for the citizens they did not win any of the sports competed in against the staff. This solidified the staff’s undefeated reign for the 73rd year in a row.
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Citizen Community Service Project
During the Governor’s Cup, citizens not competing and choose to do so, take part in a Community Service Project. For 2012 73rd Session of Missouri Boys State, the citizens will be the local Veterans’ Home to give the Veterans company with an ice cream social, as well as have a wheelchair wash during the social. Every year Missouri Boys State puts on a service project for the communities in Missouri in order to show support and the emphasis that is shown here at Boys State that helping in your community is of the utmost importance.
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Athletics
For the final day of athletics, Alcorn City came in leading the city athletic competition by five points. The citizens will be pushing their limits as the last day of athletics comes to an end. All of the boys will wonder who will arise victorious. Multiple years the leader into the last day will not come out triumph, due to citizens only being allowed to compete in the same sport three times in the week. However, this year that would change, as Alcorn City held on their four day lead to win the Missouri Boys State Athletics. Trailing Alcorn City and placing second was a tie between Clark City and Richardson City by ten points.
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Greitens Inspires as Always
Eric Greitens visited Boys State to speak for another year. Greitens is known for his books Strength and Compassion, and The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL. Not only being a former Missouri Boys State participant is also a Navy Seal and the Chief Executive of the non-profit organization called The Mission Continues.
In his address to the citizens, Eric would tell his stories of times he should have given up and that when he thought of giving up, he had been thinking selfishly. While he was in BUDS Greitens said they began with a little over 200 people starting the program. At the end there were around 20 who would finish, for Greitens he admitted that he wanted to quit on the third day when they had their first chance to sleep. His group would fail at an arm dip contest, causing his group to be last into the tents, he said that once he was in tent, he came to a realization, he couldn’t sleep. He said that his foot was throbbing after his foot being wrapped too tightly earlier by the medics. Eric took off his boots and slowly began to feel sorry for himself sorry by saying how unfair it was that he was last in the tent, had the cot in the sun, had to go through all this with a wrapped foot, up to the point he left the tent. When he left the tent he would rinse his face at one of the faucets. As he walked back in, he told himself that this wasn’t about him; it’s about the men in the tent that are depending on him. The next day he would be woken early and hurried to the cool water, yet all remembers is the smile on his face while he realized life is meant to live serving others.
He told the citizens about men and soldiers he knew who had courage. Yet, he told us that courage is not always what we imagine it to be. Most view courage as the person who throws themselves out there beyond all odds and sometimes sacrifices themselves. Courage in Eric’s eyes is more than this, as it is the act of someone also giving themselves up to the service of others, transforming themselves till they can serve all those who are around them. His entire speech focused on the fact to be a great leader is one who serves those around him. That the greatest of men are not the ones who think selfishly in any way, the men who care for those around them to serve them in there every day lives. Dr. Greitens would end his address with an invitation to the boys to take the challenge of The Mission Continues, where they would be challenged to find a way to continue to serve others in their hometowns and for the rest of their lives. After his address, a citizen would ask Dr. Greitens what he felt the most important trait is for a leader. He would answer with a two part response, the first aspect was to have a sense of purpose larger than yourself, and second being that a leader must love and respect those he is leading. With these thoughts to think on, the citizens would head back to their cities for their final City meeting and a review of the week.
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Did you know...
Friday is the last day for citizens to work as a fully functioning state with city, county, and state level elected officials.
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