Letter to the Editor: Legion Auxiliary ramps up for Girls' State, March fundraiser
If you know a girl who is a junior in high school, please share this information:
Imagine spending a whole week at the University of South Dakota at no cost to you. Imagine meeting girls from across the state, some of whom may become life-long friends. Not only will you learn how city, county, and state government functions, you will be encouraged to step out of your comfort zone and run for office.
Do you like getting dressed up? There’s a Governors Ball where you can get all gussied up to celebrate the election of the new ALA SD Girls State Governor. Do you like writing stories, conducting interviews, or taking pictures? Then perhaps Journalism City is for you. Four newspapers are published by the Girls State Delegates during the week.
Do you have a talent you would like to share? You can participate in the talent show. Do you like to sing? Join the chorus and be instructed by a college professor. You will learn so much about yourself and have fun while doing it.
There will be plenty of counselors and auxiliary members there to help guide you. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain. There are also scholarships available, and participation will be looked at very favorably on a resume. Applications and a letter of interest are due to Mrs. Willman by Feb. 22. A huge thank you to Mrs. Hannah Willman, BVHS Counselor, for allowing us to have a presentation at the PAC last Friday, and for assisting with this great opportunity for girls to attend the summer before their senior year in high school. Dates for the 2024 session are June 3-8 at USD in Vermillion.
Also, two girls from each state are chosen to attend Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. Reach out to Mrs. Willman to apply. Last year’s delegates from BVHS were Allison Schwarz, Hannah Hageman, Jarynn Schelhaas, Kamryn Hunt, Kristyn Kranz, Kyla Schaunaman, Quinn Hewitt and Sydney Reimers.
Sydney is a Brandon Junior ALA member, her grandmother, (Luke’s mom), Rhonda Evans, is a dual member of the Brandon ALA and Brandon VFW Auxiliary, and Sydney’s mother, Crystal, is both the Brandon VFW Auxiliary President and the State VFW Auxiliary Secretary. With the sudden and tragic death of Luke, we all lost a family member. We are grieving. Luke and my husband, Ron, had a special bond; they were “brothers”. They both had in common the God-given gift of service. Luke was the Commander of the Brandon VFW Post 4726 prior to Ron. Luke, among many other things, (please see his beautifully written obituary), was the main bingo caller at the Post. In honor of Luke, we will be having a Bingo Fundraiser for the Reimers family beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the VFW on Main Street in Brandon. If you are unable to attend but wish to donate financially to the Reimers family, you may do so either at the VFW or the First National Bank in Brandon. To reach out to either Ron or myself, call the Brandon VFW (from noon to 6) at (605)582-3411, leave your name and number with Jon Bedford, manager, and we will get back to you.
Semper Fi good buddy.
Gail Harris
President, Brandon ALA Unit 318
