FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION:
June 8, 2001

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Contact Missouri Boys State

WILLIAM COHEN TO ADDRESS 62nd SESSION OF MISSOURI BOYS STATE

(Jefferson City, MO) -- Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen will accept the Thirteenth Annual George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair and deliver the keynote address at the general assembly of the 62nd session of The American Legion Boys State of Missouri, Inc. on Friday evening, June 22nd at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.

Mr. Cohen will address nearly 1,000 of Missouri's finest high school juniors who are participating in a week-long citizenship and leadership training program sponsored by the Missouri American Legion.

Mr. Cohen, who served as Secretary of Defense under President Clinton from 1997 - 2001, previously served 24 years as U.S. Representative and Senator from Maine. Secretary Cohen is the first elected official in modern American history from one political party to serve in the Cabinet of a President of another party.

Mr. Cohen's address entitled "The Perils and Promise of The New World" will provide his perspective on our Nation's foreign policy. Following his keynote address, participants will be able to take part in a question and answer session.

The George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair was established in 1988 as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Missouri Boys State program. The Lehr Chair was created to honor the late Missouri State Auditor George W. Lehr, who was a Boys State participant in his youth and a tireless supporter of Missouri Boys State during his public life. The Lehr Chair was designed to assist the Boys State program in bringing the finest names in public service to the yearly Boys State session to interact with its participants.

The American Legion Boys State of Missouri will be held on the campus of Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, MO beginning on Saturday, June 16 and concluding on June 23, 2001. The participants must have completed their junior year in high school and must have distinguished themselves as leaders in their high school and community.

George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair

1998
William Proxmire
Former U. S. Senator from Wisconsin

1998
Robert F. Hyland
Corporate Vice-President CBS Radio, St. Louis

1998
Thomas DeFrank
Author and White House Correspondent for Newsweek Magazine

1998
Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond
Former MO Attorney General, Governor and
current senior U.S. Senator

1998
Edward D. "Chip" Robertson
Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice

1998
Paul E. Tsongas
Former Presidential Candidate and Senator from Massachusetts

1998
Dr. Robert M. Gates
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

1998
Lamar Alexander
Former Presidential Candidate and
Former U.S. Secretary of Education

1998
Dr. William J. Perry
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense

1998
David R. Gergen
Former U.S. Presidential Advisor

1999
Rev. Emmanuel Cleaver
Minister and Former Mayor of Kansas City

2000
Lisa Myers
National Correspondent for NBC News - Washington

2001
William S. Cohen
Former Secretary of Defense

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