June 9, 2006

Two senators chosen to represent Alabama at Girls Nation

TROY – Girl State delegates at Troy University have elected two senators to represent Alabama at Girls Nation, the American Legion Auxiliary-sponsored assembly.

Anna Carroll, a junior at Carroll High School in Ozark, and Shannon McNeal, a junior at Loveless Academic Motivational Program (LAMP) Magnet High School in Montgomery, will serve as the state’s two senators.

Girls Nation, begun by the Auxiliary in 1947, is a hands-on election simulation, focusing on the federal government. Girls Nation senators are divided into two political parties in order to allow the delegates to see first-hand how the political process works in the United States.

“We’re proud to send our two ‘U.S. Senators’ to Washington,” said Lee Sellers, executive director of Alabama’s Girl State. “These young women will have an opportunity to participate in debate, and they typically get to meet the President of the United States.”

“I know Anna and Shannon will represent Alabama well,” she said.

Sellers also said that the cost for the two students to attend Girls Nation would be covered by the state’s American Legion Auxiliary.

Over the years, three Alabama senators have been elected Girls Nation president: Dr. Cathy Johnson Randall (1967), of Tuscaloosa, her daughter Kate Randall (1996) and Anna Manasco of Montgomery (1997).

Girls State, conducted this week at Troy University, has focused about 350 delegates in local, county and state elections, and have split the delegates into house and senate chambers to debate and pass bills in the legislative process.

Passing both chambers of the Girls State legislature were bills on the following issues:

The Interstate Timber Revenue Act, sponsored by Theresa Johnson
The Mandatory Drug Testing for Citizens on Welfare, sponsored by Baley Debardeleben
The Healthy Diet Act, sponsored by Jordan Lee Spencer
The Constitution Rewrite Act, sponsored by Lindsay Baker
The Funeral Protest Bill, sponsored by Jennifer Clegg
The Child Support Reform Act, sponsored by Kaitline Vickers
The Truck and Highway Safety Act, sponsored by Kristen Stovall
The Historic Preservation and Business Construction Initiative, sponsored by Gracie Smith
The Unmarked Police Car Act, sponsored by Callie Ventress

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