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The Avon American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Arthur Wisman Unit #150 has selected their 2024 Girl’s State Representatives. They will be sending three to Girl’s State including Carmindy Ferwerda, Maesa Kuhlman, and Ella Small. Girl’s State will be held the week of June 3rd – June 8th at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. This is the 77th year for the annual event. Girl’s State is a part of the ALA’s summer leadership and citizenship programs. The event is open to junior girls going into their senior year. The goal of this event is to open young women’s minds and eyes to the mechanics of the American government, journalism, and politics for education and for potential future careers in those fields. The ALA South Dakota held its first annual Girl’s State in 1947 in Mitchell on the Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) campus. 117 girls from across South Dakota attended the first year. DWU held the annual event until 1985 when Girl’s State was moved to the South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus. Girl’s State changed locations a final time in 2002 when it was moved to its current location on the University of South Dakota (USD) campus at Vermillion. Currently over 400 young women attend the ALA South Dakota Girl’s State’s annual event. The first day of Girl’s State the attendees meet at the USD campus for registration. At registration they are assigned to a city and political party. Once sorted into their cities, the girls begin nominations and elections for different city positions. After city positions comes county positions, state official positions, legislators, and judicial branch positions. Girl’s craft party platforms, campaign for their nominees, hold a mock trial and the legislative body. Meets to organize, elect leaders and pass bills just as the state legislature does. A newer addition to Girl’s State is Journalism City, where participants spend their days covering and reporting each day’s events and create a daily newspaper. Carmindy Ferwerda Carmindy Ferwerda is the daughter of Angie and Randy Ferwerda. When asked why she applied for Girl’s State, Carmindy said that she thought it would be a great experience to learn about the government in South Dakota. Carmindy is very happy and excited to have the opportunity to attend Girl’s State. As of now, the only thing that Carmindy knows about Girl’s State is that they will learn about the South Dakota government and the system that is in place. Carmindy currently has no plans to go into a career that pertains to government or journalism. If she could hold any government position, Camindy would want to be a Representative in the House of Representatives because she feels that she could make some good points and arguments. Gaining connections with other girls from around the state is what Carmindy is looking forward to the most in attending Girl’s State. She is hoping that this experience will help her learn more about state government and that she will meet some great, new people. Carmindy feels that being level-headed, patient, honest and good at communicating are important characteristics and qualities that make a good leader. She feels that she possesses some leadership qualities that she has learned from her 4-H group leadership positions. When asked how she feels about the current state of the government, Carmindy feels that there is a lot that can be improved upon. One thing that she thinks would help to improve the government would be to appoint different leaders. Carmindy has been an active member of both the Avon school and the community. For school activities, she participates in 4-H, National Honor Society, Liveticket and A-Club. In the community, she volunteers to help with vacation Bible School, and various community projects through 4-H. When she is not busy with school or her activities, Carmindy enjoys spending time with friends and family and working with her 4-H animals. Maesa Kuhlman Maesa Kuhlman is the daughter of Dan and Teanna Kuhlman. When asked why she applied for Girl’s State, Maesa said that she thought it would be a great experience and opportunity that would help her learn more about the government. Maesa was excited when she found out that she was selected to attend Girl’s State and cannot want to learn more. The only things that Maesa knows about what she will experience during Girl’s State is that she will learn about the government, meet new people and that it will help prepare her for her future. As of now, Maesa is undecided as to whether or not she is interested in a future career in politics or journalism. She is hoping that this experience will give her a better idea and understanding about all the different parts of the government that she could be a part of. If she could hold any government position, Maesa would want to be a Representative in the House of Representatives. Even though the terms are shorter, she would enjoy getting to introduce new bills and ideas with resolutions. Meeting new people and learning more about the government are what Maesa is looking forward to most when attending Girl’s State. Maesa is hoping to gain connections and a better understanding of the government from her experience at Girl’ State. Maesa feels that clear communication and loyalty to the people they represent are the important qualities and characteristics that make a good leader. She feels that she is a good communicator and has good leadership skills. When asked how she felt about the current state of the government, Maesa feels that it needs to be improved upon and better changes need to be made. One way that she would achieve that would be to appoint different group leaders and have better programs for citizens. Maesa has been very active in both the Avon school and Avon community. At the Avon school, she is involved in volleyball stats, softball stats, basketball cheer, football cheer, HOSA, Avon Science Fair, choir, youth group and A-Club. In the community, she helps time at swim meets, and helps with Sunday School. When she is not busy with school or her activities, Maesa enjoys spending time with ther friends and family, being active outside and learning new things. Ella Small Ella Small is the daughter of Mark and Mandy Small. When asked why she applied to attend Girl’s State, Ella said that she knows it will be a great experience that will teach her a lot about the government and how it works. Ella is very happy to have the opportunity to attend Girl’s State. Ella knows that the Girl’s State experience focuses on a mock government that allows hands on learning about different government positions and how they work. As of now, Ella has no plans on going into a government or journalism career. Learning about the government and meeting new people are what Ella is looking forward to the most when attending Girl’s State. Ella is hoping to make connections with people at Girl’s State that have the same goals as her. Being open minded, kind, honest, level-headed, and patient are the qualities and characteristics that Ella feels make a good leader. Ella feels that she possesses some of these leadership qualities. When asked how she felt about the current state of the government, Ella said that she felt there was a lot of room for improvements to be made. One way that she would improve upon the government would be to appoint different leaders. Ella has been active in both the community and at the Avon school. At the school, she is a volleyball stat, softball stat, basketball cheerleader, football cheerleader, HOSA, A-Club, and Avon Science Fair participant. For community service, Ella helps with cheer camp and takes times at swim meets. When she is not busy with school or her activities, Ella enjoys working, spending time with her friends and family and being outside. Congratulations Carmindy, Maesa, and Ella for being selected for Girl’s State. We know that you will all be great representatives of Avon and will get the most out of your Girl’s State experience.