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FROM STAFF REPORTS

Thomas Cleckler, 17, incoming senior at Cornerstone Christian School in Columbiana, was selected in July to attend the American Legion Alabama Boys State.

Selection as a Boys State delegate is one of the highest honors conferred upon a high school student. Only outstanding young men who are rising seniors are eligible to attend Boys State. The program is intended to bring out the best qualities in each delegate; it will inspire all who attend to make personal contributions in time and energy to help make Alabama better.

Cleckler has a GPA of 4.045 and serves as vice president of Beta Club, SGA president, varsity basketball captain and varsity baseball captain.

Delegates who are descendants of wartime veterans are eligible and can apply for one of 10 National Samsung Scholarships worth $20,000 each. The University of Alabama awards five leadership scholarships and other universities award scholarships for those who attend Boys State.

Boys State seeks to educate youth in the duties and privileges of American citizenship. It is a program of training in the practical aspects of government. Boys State offers delegates instruction in the machinery of American politics by placing delegates in the same positions of decision making as their real-life counterparts. This instruction will give delegates a view of government from the municipal, county and state levels.