OPENING CEREMONIES EDITION • 24 FEB 2011

Welcome to the 54th Annual State Assembly

Welcome, delegates,

to our 54th Florida YMCA

Youth In Government

State Assembly. Whether

a first or fourth year

delegate, it is an honor

to serve you along with

my fellow Presiding Offi-

cers.

The hard work you’ve

put in over the past year

comes to fruition starting

tonight. Your legislation,

cases, articles, and re-

search all provide you

with a strong foundation

to make the most of the

next few days. The State

Assembly experience

goes beyond debate and

procedure, though, and

tonight I challenge you

to start considering your

next step.

Attending the Youth

Governor's Conference

this past summer, I had

an opportunity to under-

stand how unique Florida

Youth In Government is.

We are truly a Youth

Run, Youth Led Program.

As a delegate, take ad-

vantage of that fact and

make a difference in this

program. Whether you

go out of your way to

thank a page for her

hard work in chambers

or take a second to talk

to a GA about how to

start a JYIG chapter back

in your delegation, know

that by taking a small

step you are making a

huge difference for

someone at this Assem-

bly.

This program has a

long history for a reason,

and, with our program

having grown to level it

hasn’t been at in nearly

five years, its future

looks bright. I have no

doubt that your experi-

ence here will not only

help you grow as a dele-

gate but also as a per-

son.

The choices you make

this weekend go beyond

yourself. As Emily Dick-

inson said, "Forever is

composed of nows.”

Make right now worth it,

because, if you do, you’ll

cherish these next few

days for the rest of your

life and add to a legacy

that’s 54 years in the

making.

By the conclusion of

this year’s State Assem-

bly, the Florida Delega-

tion to the 2011 Confer-

ence on National Affairs

will have been announced

and 25 of Florida’s best

will be looking forward to

the experience of a life-

time — the first week of

July in the Blue Ridge

Mountains alongside over

650 others from around

the country.

CONA is really an in-

explicable experience,

but I will do my best to

give you some idea of

what it means to me.

CONA was life changing

for me. I left the moun-

tain as a better version of

myself and I am still

amazed by how large of

an impact that one short

week has had on my life.

I grew so much not only

as a person, but also as a

leader.

At CONA, debate was

only the beginning of the

experience. It was amaz-

ing to be able to discuss

important issues with

people who were just as

passionate about them as

I was, but my most

memorable experiences

from CONA happened

outside of chambers.

Whether it was the hard

climb up the mountain,

being encouraged by my

fellow delegates every

step of the way or sitting

on the porch of Lee Hall

drinking Cheerwine and

enjoying the view, I

(Continued on page 3)

BY ALEX FAHNLANDER

Governor

Photo by Joseph Sohm.

It’s Not Too Late to Strive for Blue Ridge BY CHRISTINA WILEY

CONA 2010

Changes made to

the cabinet 2

Legislative Agenda

expanded 3

Letter from the

editor, Dining des-

tinations 4

inthisissue

2 Opening Ceremonies Edition 24 February 2011

All delegates must pass

through Capitol Police screen-

ing on Friday and Saturday.

You must have your name tag

on to be admitted to the

Capitol. No weapons allowed.

security

If you lose your…

• Name tag- $5

• Placard- $5

• Bill Book- $15 Replacements

available on the

4th floor of the

Capitol at the Information Desk

don’tloseit

THURS

High: 69° Low: 44°

FRI High: 68° Low: 44°

SAT High: 70° Low: 44°

weatheravgs

Stock up on YIG Swag,

limited quantities available

on the 4th floor of the

Capitol at the Info Desk.

yigstore

Supporting Officers Step Up

The Executive Cabinet holds

great responsibility every year in

State Assembly, and every legis-

lative delegate hopes that his or

her bill will reach the members of

the Cabinet to be written into

law. The members of the cabinet

make up delegates from all over

the state of Florida representing

members from all branches of

Youth In Government.

I, myself, was a press dele-

gate for three years and now hold

the position of Chief of Staff, one

of the two new positions added to

the Cabinet. The executive

branch has seen many changes

this past year. Two past positions

were modified and changes were

made to the positions of Chief of

Staff and Surgeon General.

In the past, there were the

supporting officer positions of Di-

rector of Insurance and Press

Secretary, but the Presiding Offi-

cers and Graduate Advisors no-

ticed a need for reform. Director

of Insurance came to be too spe-

cific of an area of government,

thus the need for an insurance

director seemed unnecessary. In

modification, the director position

became Surgeon General, thus

allowing Melissa Jones, our cur-

rent Surgeon General, to focus on

all a vast range of medical topics,

including insurance.

Press Secretary was modified

into my position, Chief of Staff,

allowing any member from any

branch to apply for this role and

to manage the Cabinet in terms

of efficiency and scheduling. All in

all, the Cabinet has seen great

changes in terms of structure,

but overall the positions have

been modified to provide the ex-

ecutive branch with a new out-

look and ways to make the whole

process of State Assembly as

great as possible.

BY AMANDA AL-BAHOU

Chief of Staff

Presiding Officers and Supporting Officers team up to play never end-

ing dodge ball at during the Annual PO/SO Retreat… Working hard

and playing harder. Photo courtesy of Samantha Lane.

Interested in becoming part of

the Executive Cabinet or a Sup-

porting Officer? Find

more information on

floridayig.net

Opening Ceremonies Edition 3 24 February 2011

Throughout the weekend,

change can be donated to

support the YIG Scholar-

ship Fund. Held donate

to the future of Florida!

dimesfordemocracy

Photo of the 2010 Florida Delegation to the annual

Conference on National Affairs in the Blue Ridge

Mountains of North Carolina, courtesy of Eric Pait.

made memories that will

last a lifetime.

Most importantly,

I left the mountain with

a new family, my Florida

CONA family. The Blue

Ridge Spirit truly brought

everyone together and I

would not trade that

week, on that mountain,

with those people, for

the world.

The deadline for

applications to attend the

Conference on National

Affairs have come and

gone, but if you missed

it, that doesn’t mean

that you have lost your

chance. Every Youth In

Government delegate

still has the opportunity

to be considered for a

spot as an alternate

based upon his or her

performance at State

Assembly. If CONA

sounds like something

that you might be inter-

ested in, I strongly en-

courage you to do your

absolute best at State

Assembly. Do the things

that you think you can-

not do and most of all,

have no regrets.

(Continued from page 1)

Want to fly your bill straight to the

Governor’s desk? Enlist the help of

a lobbyist firm to help rally sup-

port for your legislation. You can

find a lobbyist at the Capitol on

the 4th floor between chambers.

lobbyistfirms

As all legislative

delegates are aware,

each year the governor

and lieutenant governor

publishes a legislative

agenda suggesting topics

that they would be

pleased to see high on

the docket. At the begin-

ning of every YIG year,

the governor and lieu-

tenant governor create a

list of topics for bills by

brainstorming topics that

they support and wish to

reach the cabinet. The

resulting legislative

agenda is just as useful

to the members of the

cabinet as it is to legisla-

tive delegates.

This year, Gover-

nor Alex Fahnlander and

Lt. Governor Chelsea

Jordan have proposed a

list of issues that they

feel strongly about, is-

sues that they believe

are important and should

be debated, and issues

that they knew anticipate

delegates to have written

on. The agenda’s topics

fall under five catego-

ries: Energy and Envi-

ronment, Social Services,

Public Education, Health-

care, and Law Enforce-

ment. The bills that fall

under these categories,

whether the argument is

for or against the issue,

are looked favorably

upon in the executive

cabinet because of its

support from the gover-

nor and lt. governor.

For the 2011

State Assembly, Gover-

nor Fahnlander and Lt.

Governor Jordan have

decided to expand the

agenda which can be

found in the cabinet sec-

tion of the bill book. This

is provided in the inter-

est of every delegate, as

it gives those who found

importance in topics not

listed in the earlier

agenda a better chance

of gaining support in the

cabinet.

Extended Legislative Agenda BY ALEXIA M’BARK

Assistant Editor

Reflections from the Conference on National Affairs

- Coverage of bill passage in the

House, Senate, and Cabinet

- Interviews with candidates

- News from the judicial branch

Check out The Page Note for

exclusive online articles!

staytunedformore

4 Opening Ceremonies Edition 24 February 2011

The 2011 Press Corps and Beyond

As we come together

from every corner of the

state to share in the ex-

perience of State Assem-

bly, we use our experi-

ences from throughout

the year to guide us for

this weekend. While each

of us will be focused on

his or her own program

area, the Press Corps will

strive to connect all of

you.

As editor-in-chief, I

made it my goal to in-

crease contact among

every facet of Florida

Youth In Government

and to incorporate new

media forms into the

Press Corps. We pub-

lished an issue of The

Page Note each month,

which was then made

available on our blog.

The blog was a

source that provided

delegates with every is-

sue of The Page Note,

each issue of The Fall

District Chronicle, and

publications from past

years. It also contained

brief updates from the

state level and video con-

tent.

This weekend, the

blog will continue to be

active. Updates will be

posted daily so that

those at home can stay

informed and upon re-

turning home, delegates

may remember important

moments from the week-

end and examine hap-

penings they may have

missed.

You can expect five

issues of Capitol Brief-

ings, including the one

you are holding now. The

outstanding delegates

who made our publica-

tions so wonderful thus

far have convened to

bring you all the informa-

tion you will need this

weekend. By all means, if

you want to see some-

thing covered this week-

end, contact any member

of the Press Corps per-

sonally or by page note.

We are here to serve the

state as a whole, and ap-

preciate any input you

may have.

The Press Corps pro-

gram has continued to

grow this year as we

have expanded our hori-

zons in numerous ways.

We hope to improve your

weekend and provide a

vital resource to every

delegate. As you go

through your weekend,

think of the Press Corps

as your resource.

Finally, I encourage

every one of you to apply

to be in the Press Corps

next year. I wish you all

the best of luck, and wel-

come to the 2011 State

Assembly.

BY EMMA JOSLYN

Editor-in-Chief

staff Emma Joslyn Editor-in-Chief • Alexia M’Bark Asst. Editor

Gabriella Cesarano • Noelle Fennessy • Hallie Hahn • Mumtu Lalla • Victor Lam Haley Oberhofer • Lisa Oster • Michael Pappas • Catherine Smith • Kaley Witeck

Erika Amaya Program Coord.

Capitol dining destinations 1. Harry's Seafood

Bar & Grill

301 S Bronough St.

Good food, ample (or more than ample) portions. Service can be hit or miss. 2 Andrew’s Capital

Grill & Bar

228 S Adams St

A generally lively place with a good atmosphere that serves traditional American food. 3 Paradigm

115 W College Ave

Known for its friendly wait staff and deli-

cious wraps. 4 Jasmine Cafe &

Lounge

109 E College Ave

Delicious sushi and great lunch specials. 5 Goodies Eatery 116 E College Ave

Offers sandwiches, soup, and salad. A great, slightly less expensive option. 6 Metro Deli

104 1/2 S Monroe

St.

Classic deli-style lunches and tasty sandwiches.