Bonner County duo take part in Girls State

Girls State participants Cheyenne Nicholson and Laney Search recently returned to Sandpoint, having spent a week immersed in learning the ins and outs of the life of a state legislator, holding political conventions, and listening to speakers from various levels of local, county, and state government.

During this Girls State session, Nicholson was elected mayor and received the Susan E. Buxton Good Citizen Award and Search was elected city councilwoman and county coroner.

Girls State is a government education program for outstanding teenage girls that introduces them to the structure and functions of the state government. These youthful lawmakers caucus at the beginning of the session, organize into two political parties and conduct legislative sessions, campaigning, party rallies, debating, and voting. The citizens also receive special instruction in parliamentary procedure.

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 15 was responsible for sending Nicholson and Search to the 2016 Girls State session held at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa.

The American Legion Auxiliary believes in the importance of education and training young women in the ideals and objectives of American government; preparing them for their responsibility as American citizens by instilling a sense of loyalty to America and its institutions and appreciation for its veterans and current defenders. The future leaders of Girls State represent the voice of teenagers from across the county, bringing with them the ideas and concerns of today’s youth, as they look ahead to the world they will shape.