American Legion celebrates Boys and Girls state

Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 30, 2013

Recently American Legion Post 383 in LaPlace honored the young men and women from St. Charles Catholic High School for successfully attending Boys and Girls State this summer. Boys and Girls State, is a program that is sponsored by the American Legion and is their flagship Program supporting the youths in the communities. This coming year’s attendees will be part of the 75th continuous year of the program. 
The course teaches the future leaders all aspects of government in the state and how it operates. Each student is elected to an office and must run that office as if it were real. Each student expressed his
or her gratitude for having attended and thanked the contributors
and supporters for the opportunity to complete the course. The cost
to send each student is $400
dollars.
Regions Bank was one of the major contributors, and accepting a plaque, on behalf of the bank, was LaPlace Branch Manager Gilda Arcuri. The $2,400 needed to send this years students was entirely donated and supported by various businesses and individuals in the LaPlace area.
Gene Franques, chairman of Boys and Girls State at the LaPlace Post, said that his personal goal for this coming year is to send four boys and four girls. Franques said that investing in the future leaders now, is the right and smart thing to do, for the future of the parish and state.
Also attending the ceremony were the families of each of the students. A roasted chicken dinner was served before the ceremony began. Dave Gatt, commander of the LaPlace post, said that it was his honor
to command a post with this kind
of success, and he looks forward to supporting future programs like this.