- April 25, 2024
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Cindy Rutigliano, Elizabeth Mason, Christian Gazzoli, Simon Krassner, Brendan DiCerbo, and George Stockley at American Legion Flagler Post 115 meeting on Sept. 12. Photo by Jacque Estes
Cindy Rutigliano and Elizabeth Mason. Photo by Jacque Estes
Michael Goodyear was surprised with an American Flag birthday cake for his 95th birthday, during the American Legion Flagler Post 115 meeting on Sept. 12. Photo by Jacque Estes
During his summer vacation, Simon Krassner sat in Sen. Marco Rubio’s chair, or at least the chair that was Rubio’s when he was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
“It was just for a few minutes, but I sat in Marco Rubio’s chair,” Simon, a senior at Matanzas High School said.
Simon was one of four students from Flagler County who spent time in the Tallahassee this summer learning about State and local government. The rising seniors from Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas high schools participated in the 2016 American Legion Boys and Girls State.
There wasn’t a lot of “sitting time” in senator chairs or otherwise, as the students attended lectures, took exams, and campaigned for offices.
“I ran for 14 offices and lost,” Simon told Legion Post 115 members at the VFW on Monday, Sept. 12. “Like Simon, I also ran and lost, seven times,” Brendan DiCerbo, also a senior at MHS said.
Simon became a vote counter and was appointed as an attaché, while Brendan received an appointment from the Boys State Governor to sit on his cabinet as head of the Department of Health, a perfect fit for the young man interested in a career in medicine.
“I ran for justice for the Supreme Court and my county commissioners chose me as one of the representative, but I wasn’t appointed by the governor,” Brendan said. “When the governor was looking for cabinet members the Department of Health was one of the open positions.”
The third student to attend Boys State this year was FPC senior Christian Gazzoli.
“My future plans are to go into business,” Gazzoli said. “But I see myself having to work with or around the government and it’s important to have knowledge about politics in general.”
None of the students expressed an interest in pursuing a political career, but all said they came away with a better sense of how politics works and how it will interface with their future career plans.
Cindy Rutigliano, American Legion Flagler Post 115 auxiliary introduced Elizabeth Mason, a senior at FPC, to the Post. Elizabeth was the only girl to go to Girls State from Flagler this year. Some confusion at the State level, which has been corrected for next year, resulted in Mason going solo. She’s not the first one in her family to be selected for the program.
“I knew about the program from my brother (Forrest) who attended three years ago,” Elizabeth said. “My main focus is science so it may seem odd for me to want to go to a political camp, but I wanted to learn more about it and understand more about the government.”
Elizabeth was impressed, and motivated, by what some of her peers were doing.
“There was a girl who wrote for a political magazine and another who was interning for a lawyer,” she said. “It really opened my eyes to what opportunities are out there. I came home trying to figure out how to get involved in my city’s teen court.”
“This is what I love about the American Legion,” Boys State Coordinator George Stockley said.
The teens weren’t the only ones in the spotlight at the evening dinner meeting. The first thing on the agenda was dessert as American Legion member Michael Goodyear was presented with an American Flag decorated cake in honor of his 95th birthday.
A comprehensive one-week leadership course in state and local government development to offer youth a better perspective to the practical operation of government and to show that the individual is responsible for the character and success of government. Delegates who are selected to attend this program will “learn by doing” as they progress through the various phases of government.
American Legion
