By Betsy Finklea
Attendees of this year’s Palmetto Boys and Girls State were guests at the Dillon County Board of Education meeting recently.
Chairman Richard Schafer commended the students on their accomplishments.
Each student was introduced and gave a brief statement on how Boys and Girls State had impacted their lives.
Jacorie McCall, a 2017 Palmetto Boys State Citizen alumni, Boys Nation Nominee, and 2018 Junior Counselor for Palmetto Boys State, said in describing the experience, “‘For one week in your life this will be the most important thing you do.’ Palmetto Boys State and Girls State understands what this quote means. They understand that it’s about brotherhood, sisterhood, and love for each other. It’s about being part of something greater than yourself. It’s about understanding that when people don’t agree with you and have different ideas, it doesn’t mean that you can’t like them. It means that even though we are all different you can still get along, even if you aren’t the same race or have different religions. It’s about a community, a state moving forward for something greater than ourselves; that leadership isn’t about the person in the front it’s about the person in the back; it’s about being able to lead from the back. It’s about leaders moving the state of South Carolina and Dillon County forward, and that’s what these 16 students have done. Boys State and Girls State cannot be explained, it has to be experienced. You will see the change from these 16 leaders. God bless South Carolina and the United States.”
Recognized at the meeting were Dillon High School—Cole Carroll, Deonte Godfray (who was elected the 2018 Palmetto Boys State Lieutenant Governor), Isaiah Richards, Camryn McCoy, and Nancy L. Hodge; Lake View High School—Jordan King, Jett Lewis, Haley Miller, and Emily Grace Jones; Latta High School—Kendall Bryant, Fitzhugh Bethea, Allyson Ray, and Gracen Grainger (who was selected to attend Girls Nation); and Dillon Christian School—Ryan Stephens, Curry Stephens, and Jacqueline Reaves.
The Dillon County Board of Education voted to assist with funding to send future students to the program.

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PHOTOS BY BETSY FINKLEA/THE DILLON HERALD
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