The Dillon American Legion Post 0032 held a dinner to honor the young men who were selected to attend the Palmetto Boys State program last June. These boys from Dillon High School, Dillon Christian School and Latta High School, along with their parents and school counselors, were invited to the dinner held Thursday, February 5, 2015.
Palmetto Boys State was held on the campus of Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina. This program is considered to be one of the best of its kind for helping young men become more aware of the function of our government while developing leadership skills and building self confidence. It also serves to educate the Citizen about the price of freedom and the sacrifice that the men and women of our armed forces have made. The emphasis of the program for the week was on Patriotism, Duty, Honor, God and Country.
The young men were selected by a committee from the Dillon American Legion Post 0032. The Chairperson for the committee was Lloyd Brown, the Post Adjutant. Post members, Paul Simerly and Ziena Loftus, were also on the committee. The committee judged the participants on how well they recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag and how accurately they answered ten questions each on our local, state and federal government.
During the week, these young men were able to meet new friends and learn about our governmental system. They had the opportunity to run for and be elected to offices in a mock government from local to state government levels. They soon found that running for any public office is a lot of hard work. Most of these young men stated they have no desire to run for any office.
After the dinner at the American Legion Post, these young men spoke of their experiences at Palmetto Boys State and answered questions from the audience which included members of the American Legion, members of the Ladies Auxiliary, parents and the Dillon Christian School College and Career Counselor, Carol Lewis, and her husband, Al, were in the audience.
Most of the Boys State delegates expressed concerns about being away from home for the first time and making friends with boys they had never met before. Out of those new meetings were forged new friendships that will last a long time. Most of the boys stated that they got very little sleep from working on their run for a public office and just staying up late talking with their new friends.
All of them consider this to be one of the best weeks they could remember and are really pleased that they made the decision to participate in the Palmetto Boys State program. At the conclusion of the program, Lloyd Brown, the Chairperson of the Dillon American Legion’s Boys State Committee, presented each of the boys with a Certificate of Appreciation for their participation.