The Cazenovia School District has seven junior high school boys participating in this year’s annual New York State Boys’ State, sponsored by the American Legion, which will take place June 24 through 29.

The 2018 Boys’ State participants are Noah DeRochie, Zach Wendel, Kevin Ammann, Joe McLaughlin, Teddy Williams, Ben Knutsen and Liam Flannery.

At no cost to their families, the young men, called delegates, who attend Boys’ State have been nominated, interviewed and selected based on their outstanding qualifications in academic achievement, leadership, character and citizenship by a committee comprised of Cazenovia and New Woodstock American Legion (Post 88 and Post 1572) members.  The weeklong event, held at SUNY Morrisville State College, teaches nearly 1,000 young men from across New York State the mechanics of city, county and state government in a participatory, fast-paced environment designed to develop a working knowledge of the structure of government to impress upon them that their government is just what they make it.

The delegates will have the chance to choose what elective offices to run for and perform those duties, which include an elected governor, county and city officials, similar to that as reflected in New York State government.  Extracurricular activities include presentations by keynote speakers, music and sports.  Some Marines are also there to teach the delegates drill and household chores such as making that perfect bed each morning.

At the end of Boys’ State, only two delegates from each of the 49 Boys’ State events across the nation will be selected to participate in Boys’ Nation later in July.