Six local students chosen to attend 2024 Georgia Girls State
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From staff reports
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ALBANY — Local girls from Albany, Leesburg, Bainbridge and Americus attended the Girls State orientation meeting held April 28 at American Legion Post 30 on Gillionville Road. Six young ladies were selected to attend Georgia Girls State to be held at Valdosta State University in Valdosta on June 9-14.
Selected to attend were Madison Deese — Grace Christian Academy in Bainbridge; Adler Rae Owens — Southland Academy in Americus; Kyndall Terry — Lee County High School; Zoey Jenkins — Dougherty High School; and Makinnah Ricks and Jurdyn Johnson — both from Monroe High School. These individuals will represent American Legion Post 30 and Auxiliary Unit 30 in Albany.
Girls State is a national program of the American Legion Auxiliary and is a course of instruction in, as well as a practical application of, the fundamental principles and procedures of city, county and state government.
A five-day event is conducted by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the top-ranking upcoming senior high school girls selected as citizens. Upon arrival in Valdosta, the girls will be assigned to cities and counties to form the mythical 51st state of Girls State. They also will be assigned to one of the mythical parties, Nationalist or Federalist. Under the guidance of counselors and other staff members, the girls will learn and then practice, through self-government, the duties, responsibilities and privileges of American citizenship. Prior to Girls State, each citizen is encouraged to write a bill for debate in the mythical House and Senate. A state General Election will take place during which the Girls State governor and other state officials will be elected.
Georgia Girls State is sponsored, as it has been since 1940, by the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Georgia, with local auxiliary units and interested civic, fraternal and patriotic organizations cooperating.
“We are very proud of the girls selected, and we look for them to do well at Georgia Girls State this year,” said Marilyn Fowler, the local auxiliary’s Girls State chairperson. “We still have one more spot open, and we are working to fill that as soon as possible.”
Two outstanding citizens of the Georgia Girls State session will be selected by delegates and staff, and they will attend Girls Nation as Georgia Senators. The Senators learn how government and democracy work at the national level. The Senators tour the Washington, D.C., area, including trips to the White House and Capitol Hill. Girls Nation will be held in July at the National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
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