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'Future leaders' recount their time in Tallahassee

Teenagers spent a week learning how government works.

By MARLON A. WALKER
Published August 27, 2006

PINELLAS PARK - It's a chance to talk with tomorrow's leaders. That's how organizers describe a reception at the American Legion Post 104 today that will honor teen participants of the Boys and Girls State programs.

The seven guests of honor spent a week in June in Tallahassee to learn how government works.

"You seem to only hear in the media about kids who've gone wrong," said Donna Haggett, 49. "These are the kids that are going to be our future leaders."

The teens, three girls and four boys, were selected by the American Legion Post 104 and Unit 104 to attend the yearly retreat.

Thomas Stoner said he almost learned the hard way that overestimating himself could lead to failure.

A member of the Summer 2005 Boys State group, he spent a week in Tallahassee with hundreds of other teens who were at the top of their game, learning the ropes of the state's legislative system. Had he not been warned by friends who'd already made the trip, he would have been in for a rude awakening.

"You go up there thinking you're the best of the best, and you get there and every kid up there has the same resume or skills that you have," said Thomas, 17, a senior at Pinellas Park High School who plans on going into politics.

Students are split into groups, where parties, along with government officials, are formed and elected. Each group represents a county, which is made up of two cities. The teens elect city and county officials and, when they get to the state offices, elect a governor, along with his Cabinet, and House and Senate members.

Thomas was the mayor of his city, the supervisor of elections and his party's nominee for attorney general.

Cara Calabrese said she became close with many Girls Staters who were in circles she wouldn't normally associate with.

"There were a couple of cheerleaders, and I don't hang out with that crowd, said Cara, 17, a senior at St. Petersburg Catholic High School. "My roommate was one, and she's one of the nicest girls ever. There were a bunch of different personalities.

"We all just kind of clicked when we got there."

Christopher Cox has thought about a life in the political arena before, but until he visited Tallahassee, he never realized how much went into the legislative process.

"To be honest, I didn't think it was as complicated as it was," said Christopher, 17, who went to Boys State as a delegate from St. Petersburg High, but is spending his senior year at Northside Christian High School. "What you have to go through to get a bill passed is crazy."

The experience may have cemented his decision in the opposite direction. "If that's how government works," he said, he's not interested.

Marlon A. Walker can be reached at mwalker@sptimes.com or 727 893-8737.

[Last modified August 26, 2006, 20:58:23]