Boys State and Girls State are summer leadership and citizenship programs sponsored by The American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary for high school juniors. Delegates are nominated by their high school faculty during their junior year. Macon East students, Katie Jo Dickey and Tyler Watson attended this summer’s programs at the University of Alabama. Katie Jo was elected to the State Board of Education at Girls State and enjoyed lunch with Kaye Ivey and celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Girls State program. She serves as Macon East’s SGA President and plans to attend the University of Alabama in the fall. At Boys State, Tyler was elected to the State Senate and also ran for Mayor of his city. His favorite speaker of the week was Alabama head coach, Nick Saban. Tyler is an academic leader at MEA and Vice-President of the SGA. He is still undecided on where he will attend college in the fall of 2018. Delegates to Boys and Girls State must have an interest in government and current events, high moral character, strong leadership ability, and above average scholastic standing. The week-long immersive program helps students understand and respect our governmental process by participating in mock government, running for elected office, developing leadership skills, and hearing from many state officials. Macon East students, Katie Jo Dickey and Tyler Watson, were honored to be selected as delegates to the 2017 Girls and Boys State.
