Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Two From Gurdon Elected To Office At Boys State

American Legion Boys State delegates attending the 59th annual encampment May 30 through June 4 at the University of Central Arkansas completed their study of self-government by electing state officers, visiting the state Capitol in Little Rock and choosing their representatives to Boys Nation.

Boys State participants from Gurdon who were elected to offices in the mythical governments were Bryan Edward Anderson, elected to city council of Conway in Rogers County; and Brandon Dwight Gattis, elected to city council of Scranton in Rogers County and to the Court of Appeals of Scranton in Rogers County.

The Boys Staters formed mythical political parties, counties and cities and conducted their own elections as part of their hands-on experience in government.

They also heard from several of the state's elected officials, including Senators Blanche Lincoln and Tim Hutchinson, Congressmen Marion Berry, Vic Snyder and Asa Hutchinson, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Lt. Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, Attorney General Mark Pryor and Secretary of State Sharon Priest, as well as members of the state legislature serving on the Boys State legislative program.

The delegates capped their studies by spending part of a day at the state Capitol.

Boys State is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of the American Legion.

The first Boys State was held in 1940 and has been held continuously since except for a one-year suspension in 1945 because of World War II.