American Legion Boys State was founded in 1935 and is “among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for US high school students. [It is] a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state government…” (legion.org). 

This program operates in all 50 states. Each year, high school students are selected by the American Legion to attend the week-long conference. Most commonly, schools compile a list of potential attendees to submit to the local Legion post, who then interviews and selects representatives for the program. 

Conference attendees run a mock government with city, county, and state offices throughout the week. Participants campaign and are elected by other attendees for various leadership roles. Previous Boys State attendees include Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, and Corey Booker. 

This year’s Colorado Boys State conference was held at Northeastern Junior College, and three Heritage High School students were selected to attend. Jonah Day was elected by his peers to the Elections Commission and to be Director of Human Services; Theodore Heffernan was elected Mayor of Greene County and was also a gubernatorial candidate; and Luke Riegel was elected Party Chair and President of the Senate.