Missouri Boys State Continues Longstanding Tradition at UCM June 12-19

Photo by Andrew Mather Photography

WARRENSBURG, MO – An outstanding citizenship program that will bring hundreds of high school students from across the state to Warrensburg, the University of Central Missouri will host the 2021 American Legion Boys State of Missouri June 12-19.

 

After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, Boys State is returning to campus to continue an annual tradition that has taken place at UCM since 1953. Boys State utilizes many resources at the university to include various classrooms for the programs schools of instruction, the sport complexes for athletic events, Hendricks Hall and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center for general assemblies and major events, and residence hall rooms to house Boys State citizens. The participants must have completed their junior year in high school and must have distinguished themselves as leaders in their high school and community.

 

Throughout the week, students will engage in hands-on experiences in the operation of the democratic form of government, and will establish their own government with their own elected officials. One of the highlights of the annual event is the opportunity to hear from an array of guest speakers who range from government and military leaders to a wealth of other special guests that will provide insight into the governance and citizenship process. Most of these speakers will address the group as a whole during evening sessions in Hendricks Hall. While these events have been open to the public in previous years, due to COVID-19, they will be limited this summer to Boys State attendees.

 

The Boys State speakers and special events lineup is as follows:

• Saturday, June 12: Jack Danforth, former U.S. Senator and U.N. Ambassador
• Sunday, June 13: Tishaura Jones, newly elected Mayor of St. Louis
• Monday, June 14: Howard Richards, former National Football League (NFL) player, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent
• Tuesday, June 15: Julian Castro (Lehr Chair), former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and presidential candidate
• Wednesday, June 16: Joint Party Rally
• Thursday, June 17: Jay Ashcroft, Missouri Secretary of State and Mike Parson, Missouri Governor
• Friday, June 18: Herb Kohn, prominent Kansas City attorney, and MBS stalwart

Boys State annually provides special recognition to one guest as the George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair, which this year will be Julian Castro. The program was established in 1988 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Boys State. It honors the late Missouri State Auditor George W. Lehr, who was a Boys State participant as a youth and a strong supporter of the program during his public life. The Lehr Chair is designed to bring some of the finest names in public service to Boys State to interact with participants. Among the most recent honorees was Margaret Brennan, (2019), journalist and current host of the CBS program “Face the Nation”; Juan Williams (2018), political analyst; John Brennan, (2017), former CIA director; and Jay Nixon, (2016) former Missouri state governor.

 

Learn more about Missouri Boys State at moboystate.org.