“The Bluebonnet” - The Official Journal of Texas Bluebonnet Girls State - Volume 22 - Saturday, June 23, 2018

Okay ladies, now let’s get information By plane, bus, and automobile, 600 young women from all over Texas traveled to Texas Lutheran University campus in Seguin to take part in the 74th session of Bluebonnet Girls State. Participants were organized into twelve “cities” divided be-tween 36 and 52 “citizens” each. They met their roommates and neighbors and were welcomed by their counselors. Each new community quickly organized to write and adopt their own city charter and then hit the ground running by electing the follow-ing city officials:

City A Avocados Mayor: Caitlin Doyle, Council Plc. 1: Kyleigh Harrell, Council Plc. 2: Tess Gosselink, Council Plc. 3: Rosie Cramblitt, Council Plc. 4: Marissa Lange, Council Plc. 5: Mandy Billiter, Council Plc. 6: Jessica Ahner, Treasurer: Yoshi Guerre-ro, Police Chief: Lauren Elliott, Fire Chief: Nona Brisboy, Health Officer: Jordan Cochran, Attorney: Elizabeth Nix , Municipal Judge: Emma Martindale, Tax Assessor/Collector: Leslie Contreras (Senior Counse-lor: Mauri King; Junior Counselor: Taylor Wright) City B Boats Mayor: Roxanne Odiorne, Council Plc. 1: Emily Bubela , Council Plc. 2: Paulie Moralez, Council Plc. 3: Payton Luzader, Council Plc. 4: Alyssa Ramirez, Council Plc. 5: Sara Melton, Council Plc. 6: Natalie Philipello, Treasurer: Kaitlyn Lueb, Police Chief: Payton Magee, Fire Chief: Paulina Padilla, Health Officer: Margaret Gagnon, Attorney: Rossy Cipriano, Munici-pal Judge: Catherina Chowdhury, Tax As-sessor/Collector: Hannah Villadelgado (Senior Counselor: Megan Rose; Junior Counselors: Paige Brann and Erin Swearingen) City C Chameleons Mayor: Lauryn Wright, Council Plc. 1: Tess McGee, Council Plc. 2: Par Hniang, Council Plc. 3: Alyssa Hurta, Council Plc. 4: Shelby Smith, Treas-urer: Elizabeth Guzman, Police Chief: Bella

Girl State citizens arrive and are welcomed by junior counselors.

Ruggeroli, Fire Chief: Alyssa Horrell, Health Officer: Bethany Lopez, Attorney: Veronica Tait, Municipal Judge: Terra Newsom, Tax Assessor/Collector: Nikayla Johnson (Senior Counselor: Allison Thornton; Junior Counse-lors: Lauren Bannister and Sophia Paolo) City D Donuts Mayor: Hannah Pickens, Council Plc. 1: Dez J'nae Hodge, Council Plc. 2: Jodee Sorrell, Council Plc. 3: Elizabeth New-port, Council Plc. 4: Alyssa Moore, Treasurer: Hannah Bruce, Police Chief: Parinaz Aga, Fire Chief: Mary Grace Gilbert, Health Officer: Ro-sie Garza, Attorney: Leelee Odom, Municipal Judge: Maegan Pelletier, Tax Assessor/Collector: Faith Stork (Senior Counselor: Lilliebeth Halling; Junior Counselors: Kendra Hess and Sara Regian) City E Elephants Mayor: Therese Caminade, Council Plc. 1: Halle Woodard , Council Plc. 2: Jaden Dupree, Council Plc. 3: Sofia Trevino, Council Plc. 4: Madi Mayfield, Treasurer: Clacey Core, Police Chief: Haven Primm, Fire Chief: Kameryn Arispe, Health Officer: Jacquelyne Howell, Attorney: Emma Rhyne, Municipal Judge: Jana Hendricks, Tax Assessor/Collector: Kylie Sawyer (Senior

Counselor: Kate Katzer; Junior Counselors: Sydney Rubey and Mia Hernandez) City F Fireflies Mayor: Briana Pedraza, Council Plc. 1: Mia Noyola, Council Plc. 2: Celeste Garza, Council Plc. 3: Sarah Gra-ham, Council Plc. 4: Erika Closson, Treasur-er: Raegan Glentz, Police Chief: Gillian Dos-sey, Fire Chief: Emily Green, Health Officer: Talynn Perry, Attorney: Maya Goodlow, Mu-nicipal Judge: Lily Martinez, Tax Assessor/Collector: Josie Arsenio, Clerk: Brooke White (Senior Counselor: Priyanka Patel; Junior Counselors: Mari Miller and Ingrid Piña) City G Garden Gnomes Mayor: Michelle Raybourn, Council Plc. 1: Anna Slater, Coun-cil Plc. 2: Abigail Grimaldo, Council Plc. 3: Danielle Fleming, Council Plc. 4: Chloe Prahl, Council Plc. 5: Sunny Underhill, Council Plc. 6: Eos Sison, Treasurer: Shaelyn Schendel, Police Chief: Rona Chou, Fire Chief: Presley Jones, Health Officer: Jazsmin Lucious, Attor-ney: Priscila Garcia, Municipal Judge: Cristi-na Harvey, Tax Assessor/Collector: Madi Breazeale (Senior Counselor: Hillary Everts;

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National, Federal Party Leaders Elected Junior Counselors: Avery Allen and Mac-kenzie Bush) City H Househunters Mayor: Kaitlyn Carter, Council Plc. 1: Anjali Senthilna-than, Council Plc. 2: Smith Boles, Council Plc. 3: Bo Morris, Council Plc. 4: Mia Brewer, Treasurer: Sarah Anthraper, Police Chief: Ashley Wilson, Fire Chief: Meg Grizzaffi, Health Officer: Madison McGaugh, Attorney: Abbigail Joy, Munici-pal Judge: Andrea German, Tax Asses-sor/Collector: Jilian Gates (Senior Coun-selor: Kirsten Wolfford; Junior Counse-lors: Lauren Moses and Nafisa Ahmed) City I Investigators Mayor: Emory Fields, Council Plc. 1: Claire Lamantia, Council Plc. 2: Jenna Wenske, Council Plc. 3: Juliana Rodriguez , Council Plc. 4: Olivia Lambert, Council Plc. 5: Avery Big-gers, Council Plc. 6: Chanel Tatsch, Treasurer: Alexandra Yeager, Police Chief: Ari Mata , Fire Chief: Elise Hogelin, Health Officer: Victoria Pena , Attorney: Kailey Chaney, Municipal Judge: Miah Muniz, Tax Assessor/Collector: Chloe Teaff (Senior Counselor: Aspen Real; Junior Counselors: Sarah Prichard and Addison Walker) City J Jetsons Mayor: Katie Turner, Council Plc. 1: Addi White, Council Plc. 2: Abigail Burns, Council Plc. 3: Alexia John-son, Council Plc. 4: Anna Giesler, Council Plc. 5: Brei Ruelas, Council Plc. 6: Emi Rinkliff, Council Plc. 7: Elisabeth Haw-kins, Council Plc. 8: Victoria Castillo, Treasurer: Chancey Penrod, Police Chief: Avery Holmes, Fire Chief: Ashlyne Hea-ley, Health Officer: Eden Coon, Attorney: Daja Burch, Municipal Judge: Emma Wilson, Tax Assessor/Collector: Saman-tha Wiesepape (Senior Counselor: Polly-anna Halling; Junior Counselors: AP Ve-lasco and Chloe Thomas) City K Kisses Mayor: Madison Apple-white, Council Plc. 1: Lindsey Hard, Council Plc. 2: Zoe Kincaid, Council Plc. 3: Chiara Serna, Council Plc. 4: Yasmeen Moussaoui, Council Plc. 5: Sara Mora, Council Plc. 6: Sydney Shinkle, Treasur-er: Madysen Stastny, Police Chief: Sarah Beason, Fire Chief: Emerald Houston, Health Officer: Avery Johnson, Attorney: Sara Sadri, Municipal Judge: Susanna Harpold (Senior Counselor: Alli Bittner; Junior Counselors: Breely Peterson and

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Floor Leaders are distinguished positions in the legislature at Girls State. They are chosen by their respective presiding officers to serve as mentors for their fellow legislators. In the real world they are also spokespersons for their party and organize party strategy. The Senate Floor Leaders are Jayme Mowery, Nat, and Emma Okruhlik, Fed. In the House, Cassidy Lee, Nat, and Shruthi Subramanium, Fed, are the Floor Leaders. Legislative staff members are Coordina-

tor Dhruti Gopaluni, Speaker of the House Sarah Lanford and President of the Senate Neethi Nayak. Emi Hobart and Isabella Randle are the Legislative Assistants for the House, while Devin Powell and Kerry Mackenzie are the Legislative Assistants for the Senate. Citi-zens also approved multiple constitutional amendments in the House and Senate Cham-

bers on Capitol day, including: Prop 1: SJR 1/HJR 2- An Act proposing a con-

stitutional amendment relating to the State of Texas to provide for annual sessions of the Legislation. Prop 2: SJR 2/HJR 1– An Act pro-posing a constitutional amendment relating to the unlimited number of terms the Governor can earn, in which she is limited to two terms total, being four years each. Prop 3: SJR 4/HJR 7– An Act proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the gender specifics in legalized marriages. Prop 4: SJR 6/HJR 6– An Act proposing a constitutional amendment relating to requirements for members of the State Board of Education. Prop 5: SJR 7/HJR 5– An Act proposing a constitutional amend-ment relating to the equality of all citizens.

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Because the Girls State program is entirely non-partisan, citizens operate with mock political par-ties. They elect local and state party officials, and write their own party platforms. The program was led by Party Coordinator Kailey Peck and Party Sponsors Becky Rigas (Fed) and Rhett Parr (Nat). National Party State Chair: Rin Chiang, Vice-Chair: Zoe Barnes, House Whip: Grace Mathis, Senate Whip: Tracy Hsia. Federal Party State Chair: Rachel Casey, Vice-Chair: Nancy Lemus, House Whip: Sarah Rider, Senate Whip: Evelyn McGowan.

National Party leaders: (l to r) Hsia, Chiang, Barnes and Mathis

Federal Party leaders: (L to R) McGowan, Casey, Lemus and Rider

Legislative Staff Selects Floor Leaders

Floor leaders: (L to R) Subramanium, Okruhlik, Mowery and Lee

Feds’ Martinez Elected Governor

On June 21st, Federal Party candidate Maisey Martinez was elected 2018 Bluebon-net Girls State Governor. Hannah Chavez was elected Lieutenant Governor. Other winners were Serenity De Leon, Attorney General; Helena MacCrossan, Comptroller of Public Accounts; Autumn Nicholas, Commissioner of General Land; Riley M. Johnson, Agricultural Commissioner; Jorie Fleming, Railroad Com-missioner; Giovanna Cruz, Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals; Emily Mahmalji, Chief Justice, Supreme Court. On Friday, June 22nd, citizens traveled to Austin where Girls State senators and rep-resentatives convened their annual mock legislature in the State Capitol. Later, a joint session gathered in the Texas Senate cham- bers to inaugurate newly elected state offi-cials. Judge Michael Keasler addressed the citizens and administered the oath of office.

State officials were escorted by: Honorable James Blacklock, Justice, Texas Supreme Court; Honorable Michael Keasler, Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Lauren Spreen, Public Relations Dir., representing Chairman Christi Craddock, Railroad Com-mission; Sid Miller, Commissioner of Agricul-ture; Mark Havens, Chief Clerk, representing George P. Bush, Commissioner of General Land Office; Donna Medlock, Dir. of Enforce-ment, representing Comptroller Glen Hegar; Missy Cary, Chief of Staff, representing Attor-ney General Ken Paxton; Marian Wallace, Senior Advisor, representing Lt. Governor Dan Patrick; and Lori Swann, Director, Amer-ican Legion Auxiliary Texas Bluebonnet Girls State.

After a picnic lunch on the Capitol grounds, citizens returned to TLU for county activities and a talent show.

Citizens who performed throughout the session include: Jessica Ahner, Paige An-drews, Frankie Barraza, Mattie Brau, Dan-ielle Chagnot, Hannah Christensen, Anisa Cornett, Mar Doria, Louisa Mariella Estrella, Margaret Gagnon, Anushka Gupta, Jacque-lyne Howell, Riley Johnson, Grace Kiser, Camille Krieger, Emily Mahmalji, Michelle Raybourn, Grace Rocha, Grace Smith, Niara Pelton, Sarah Plaxco, Lauren Tran, Kaysen Turk, Katie Turner, Christa Westheimer and Lydia Whaley.

Groups who performed included Jackie Azua, Leslie Contreras, Denise Gonzalez, Emily Gonzalez, & Rachel Lopez; Hannah Bruce, Kellie Krohn, & Michelle Zugasti; Brynn Bentley, Victoria Mata & Lily Thor-nock; Harley Byrne & Haley Crow; Jada Cooperwood & Rose Trotter; and Natalie Salazar & Avery Vickers. Clacey Core played horn at flag lowering. This year the Talent staff was Chair Phyllis Janke, Sarah Altieri, Gabi Rodriguez, Sarah Lawry and Megan Thibodeaux.

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Officials: (l to r) Cruz, Fleming, MacCrossan, Chavez, Martinez, De Leon, Nicholas, Johnson and Mahmalji

Meara Patterson) City L Llamas Mayor: Jada Cooper-wood, Council Plc. 1: Regina Cabrieles, Council Plc. 2: Ria Bhasin, Council Plc. 3: Skylar White, Council Plc. 4: Gabrielle Za-mora, Council Plc. 5: Elena Regalado, Treasurer: Juliana Estrada-Arias, Police Chief: Rose Trotter, Fire Chief: Sarah Tipoff, Health Officer: Mikaela Wagers, Attorney: Victoria Mata, Municipal Judge: Sarah Grace Singleton, Tax Assessor/Collector: Maria Solorzano (Senior Counse-lor: Danielle Throneberry; Junior Counse-lors: Claire Noel and Tara Wunderlich) City M Martians Mayor: Leah Adams, Council Plc. 1: Madeline Hart, Council Plc. 2: Allie Dyer, Council Plc. 3: Chloe McWilliams, Council Plc. 4: Erin Wood, Council Plc. 5: Grace Goodwin, Council Plc. 6: Ofelia Rivera, Treasurer: Presley McFalls, Police Chief: Sampada Gokhale, Fire Chief: Jacie Quinney, Health Officer: Ava Dinunzio, Attorney: Emma Connor, Municipal Judge: Katie Nell, Tax Assessor/Collector: Iiam Hammock (Senior Counse-lor: Kallie Kram; Junior Counselors: Yaiika Fernandez and Perry Hector) City N Noble Women Mayor: Rebecca Green, Council Plc. 1: Madeleine Rook, Council Plc. 2: Sarah Plaxco, Council Plc. 3: Kat Clukey, Council Plc. 4: Sarah Steen, Treasurer: Kayla McCarthy, Police Chief: Ryann Booth, Fire Chief: Cadie Buchanan, Health Officer: Ruby Sapp, Attorney: Ciara Quinn, Municipal Judge: Joy Cheshire, Tax Assessor/Collector: Amber Teague (Senior Counselor: Emalee Harmon; Junior Coun-selors: Haley Hefner and Jennah Janek)

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Citizens’ Talent Shines Brighter than the Texas Stars at Night

Girls Nation delegates, Outstanding Citizens picked

County Election Results: Feds Best Nats 18 to 14 Citizens elected eight county officers in each of the four counties of Girls State:. This year each county put on a county fair, which included activities like a pie toss, pecan counting and other fun games. Chili Commissioners Place 1: Nathalie Marquez, Commissioners Place 2: Sofi Uda-wala, County Judge: Phoenix Brune, County Attorney: Juli Colurciello, Tax Assessor/Collector: Marissa Rodriguez, County Clerk: Alyssa Curry, Sheriff: Maddie Johnson, Jus-

tice of the Peace: Harley Byrne Goff Commissioners Place 1: Faith Bullard, Commissioners Place 2: Daniella Conner, County Judge: Lea Cantu, County Attorney: Linsey Jensen, Tax Assessor/Collector: Allison Clark, County Clerk: Olivia Baldauf, Sheriff: Sidney Smith, Justice of the Peace: Ralyn Green Pecan Commissioners Place 1: Braelynn Barborka, Commissioners Place 2: Avery Vick-ers, County Judge: Renée Dusseau, County

Two girls are selected from each Girls State program to attend Girls Nation, a na-tional government training program. Court-ney Batiste of Bryan (Bryan ALA Unit 159) and Christa Westheimer of Friendswood (League City ALA Unit 554) will represent Texas at Girls Nation in July. First alternate is Helena MacCrossan of New Braunfels (New Braunfels ALA Unit 35) and second alternate is Abby Shelenhamer of Cypress (Tomball ALA Unit 127). Girls Nation “senators” meet for a week in Washington, D.C., where they run for of-fice, draft and enact legislation and meet with U.S. Representatives and Senators.

Capping off the week is a meeting with the President of the United States. In addition, fourteen citizens were cho-sen “Outstanding Citizens of 2018” by the fellow Girls State citizens in their cities. They are Jayme Mowery (City A), Maisey Mar-tinez (City B), Kimberly Burns (City C), Sereni-ty deLeon (City D), Clacey Core (City E), Emily Cole (City F), Sarah Reihm (City G), Helena MacCrossan (City H), Julia O’Connell (City I), Katie Turner (City J), Autumn Nicholas (City K), Macey Pace (City L). Leah Adams (City M) and Hannah Chavez (City N). In addition to announcing GN delegates and Outstanding Citizens, during closing as-

sembly, Director Lori Swann recognized the contributions of Bluebonnet Girls Stateʼs over eighty staff members. They are unpaid volunteers, either former citizens or members of the American Legion Auxiliary. Those not mentioned previously include: Co-Director Connie Bridges; Associate Directors: Ann Doan, Karen Rodriguez and Katie Foehrkolb Stewart; Education Coordinator: Audrey Huffman; County Coordinators: Marisela Castro, Paige Cheatham, Lexie Ferguson, Cate Ghormley, Kirsten Handler, Kathe-rine Seibert, Ileyah Tovias and Anna Zim-merman; Bank: Martha Collis, Jenna Brown, Myra Hester, Dixie Jones and Christine Trahan; Office: Donna Dillard, Charlotte Toulouse and Allie Watters; Nurses: Lynda Redix and Carolyn Whiten-er; Store: Bridget Trahan, Elizabeth An-derson, Aime Gallardo, Cheryl Huguley and Candy Zavala; Transportation: Bar-bara Kundert; Media Relations: Hillary Plocheck, Cristina Pop and Jessica Scott.

For more information about the Texas Bluebonnet Girls State program, contact:

The American Legion Auxiliary Department of Texas

P.O. Box 140407 Austin, TX 78714-0407

Phone: 512-476-7278 Fax: 512-482-8391

Email: alatexas@txlegion.org

Web: http://www.girls-state.org

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Girls Nation delegates (from left): Shelenhamer, MacCrossan, Westheimer and Batiste

Attorney: Tise Ogunmesa, Tax Assessor/Collector: Grace Smith, County Clerk: Ash Schilling, Sheriff: Amanda Sendejo, Justice of the Peace: Julia O’Connell Tejas Commissioners Place 1: Lacy Matocha, Commissioners Place 2: Marissa Amar, County Judge: Elaine Leslie, County Attorney: Grace Kiser, Tax Assessor/Collector: Yasmeen Said, County Clerk: Me-gan Tamplen, Sheriff: Grace Wilson, Justice of the Peace: Lindsay Ross