Wednesday, May 27th 2015

What a great day at Oklahoma Girls State! It is the time of the week when the girls really begin to see all of their hard work pay off. From city reporter to the newly elected governor, each girl has found their place in our state. The next two days are the busy ones with a trip to the capitol, Girls State Olympics, and moot court all on the agenda.

The city of Clingenpeel kicked things off this morning with an excellent job of opening ceremony. We then moved directly into state conventions where each district heard candidates from both the Boomer and Sooner parties and voted on who they would like to represent them in the state elections. This convention led us all the way to lunch.

After lunch the delegates had the privilege of hearing from The Honorable George Nigh. This was Governor Nigh's 64th year speaking at Girls State! He told the ladies stories of fellow Oklahoman's who have been successful in their chosen careers. Many would say that his tales of small town gems turned famous artists, scientists, and CEO's were encouraging, and inspiring. He concluded his time with us by recounting the session in which he persuaded the state legislature to adopt the song "Oklahoma" as the state's anthem.

After singing a lovely farewell to Governor Nigh, the delegates running for lieutenant governor and governor were asked a series of questions in front of the entire Girls State. They all did a fabulous job of thinking on their toes and responding in a graceful manner. After these speeches, the girls returned to the dorm and spent the next two hours campaigning for the fast approaching elections.


At 5 o'clock all ballots were passed out and promptly returned. Our education staff immediately began tallying the points. Meanwhile the girls enjoyed a presentation by the National Sojourners, Tinker Chapter #43. These men spoke about the history of the American flag and showed the girls what it looked like throughout its various stages.

When the Sojourners were finished, the lovely Jennifer Shaw announced the results of the state elections and the ladies were quickly whisked away to a briefing on their state capitol trip tomorrow. The names of those who won will be published in the Wednesday edition of the Girls Stater. We finished the night with a talent show in which each of the sixteen cities were represented.

Tomorrow we look forward to hearing from Representative Lisa Billy and Ms. Autumn McMahan, as well as Girls State Olympics and  cookout.