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• Legislation Signed by Governor
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• Special Awards
• Elections Results
• Represented High Schools for 2011
• OMK Full Circle (8/11)
• Operation Military Kids
• 4-H Military Programs

• California Girls State Blog

Girls Nation Senator - Nicole Clark (18 - 755)
Girls Nation Senator - Mackenzie Austin (19 - 184)
1st Alternate - Katherin Sitter (19 - 184)
2nd Alternate - Kaitlyn Sims (14 - 147)

Samsung Scholarship Recipient - Melissa Hazelwood (19 - 496)

Outstanding Citizen - Mackenzie Austin (19 - 184)

Girls State Alumnae Foundation Scholarship - Mackenzie Austin (19 - 184)

Girls State Alumnae Foundation Blue Star Scholarship - Natalie Ceja (22 - 146)

Governor's Cup for Outstanding City - Muir

OMK Full Circle

Some of us didn't get much sleep last night. It is just too hard to think about leaving our new friends and want to get in every minute possible before leaving Girls State.

Most are already packed and ready. After breakfast, the luggage goes to the assigned areas depending on the method of transportation home. Being picked up? Bags at the front of Bauer Center. Catching a plane? Bags by the long white building across from Bauer. Using metro transportation? Take your bags to the mailbox. The staff keeps an eye on things while we finish the session.

The cities meet for the tenth and final time to hear the Senate and Assembly reports, turn in evaluations, and make sure all the supplies are back in the tubs. We give up our room keys. This idea of leaving becomes more and more real.

The entire Girls State moves to the county meeting rooms to hear the Mock Superior Court trial of the People vs. Heather Chandler. There, attorneys for the defense and prosecution make their cases.

Now it's just after 10:00 AM and the final general assembly begins. The legislature gives a report. We learn about the verdicts of the Superior Court Mock Trial. The Chief Justice gives her Supreme Court decision followed by the Education Plan from the State Superintendent of Schools. All hear the State of the State address from the Governor. There's a special candlelight ceremony and the flags are retired in all their glory.

The 2011 Girls State session is adjourned.

May we all have a safe journey home. The staff hopes we will take the lessons learned at California Girls State to make the world, our world, a better place. Remember to pass it on.

This is the last full day at Girls State and busy, busy, busy.

The Whistle Stop Tour begins at 8:15 AM. For one hour, the candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction rotate through all four Girls State counties to answer the questions of the citizens.

During the ninth city meeting, the citizens vote in the general election for the state offices. They learn about how to write letters of interest in state appointments to the state agencies. Those letters are due to the Governor's office by dinner today.

The eighth and final county meeting follows the general election. Those not attending other special meetings complete the county business and hear reports from the officials.

Following lunch, the general election results are announced. The excitement level is high for the winners and their supporters.

When rest is over, the citizens attend one of the following: State Supreme Court, Senate, Assembly, or County Planning Commission Hearing. All the newly elected State officials and the Governor's staff meet with State counselor to prepare for the last hours of Girls State. Meetings continue until it's time to dress for dinner and the inauguration.

All dressed-up, the citizens and staff spend the next couple hours enjoying the last dinner at Girls State and taking pictures. The State Appointment Requests are sent to the Governor's Office.

The Inaugural is filled with pomp and circumstance. Justices of the Supreme Court arrive in their robes. The State Officials are presented to the audience. The Girls State orchestra and choir perform. The citizen hear the announcements of Outstanding Citizen, Samsung Scholarship winner, The Governor's Cup winning city, and the two Girls Nation Senators. There is a slide show of the events and special moments during the past week.

City Friendship Time is scheduled for a half-hour, but lasts longer. It's hard to realize that we've been together for just seven days; it feels like a lifetime.

We're all still talking about the guest speaker from last night. Los Angeles Police Detective Shannon Geaney WOWed the audience with her casual-style conversation about her professional career and shared insights with the citizens. A recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Commendation Medal, Shannon stayed to sign autographs and take pictures with as many citizens as wanted to.

It's a new day filled with possibilities for the qualifying candidates for state offices. Those who did not qualify are still able to become write-ins, without the benefit of making speeches. (There's always hope! More than once in the history of California Girls State a write-in candidate has won.)

The speeches begin during the fifth party meeting just after breakfast. The Governor candidates will make 2 minute speeches, the Lt. Governor, 1 minute, and all others, 30 seconds. Each candidate also answers a spontaneous question.

The non-partisan candidates speak during the first general assembly of the day. (There are three.) Their speeches are 30 seconds in length and they also have a spontaneous question.

The primary election follows. All citizens return to their cities to cast their votes electronically. More city work is accomplished including the final touches for the Governor's Cup competition. Each city will be reviewed for spirit, cleanliness, decorations, and more. Then it's off to lunch and rest.

Each city posts the plan of the city and the qualifying state candidates are announced. A special general assembly includes United States of America Flag protocol.

Recreation is packed with meetings, rehearsals, Girls State Store shopping, and practicing speeches for the evening general assembly following dinner.

The candidates winning the primary election earlier in the day give speeches - Governor candidates have 5 minutes, Lt. Governor candidates have 2 minutes, and the other non-partisan candidates have 1 minute each.

It's a long program tonight. Following the speeches is the talent show and it is amazing how much talent there is at Girls State . . . dancers, singers, comedians, musicians, actors, and more. We watch cultural dancing, listen to poetry readings, enjoy opera, and are entertained by comics. It's so much fun!

City friendship time is scheduled for 10:00 PM, but the talent show gets the citizens back to their cities a bit late tonight.

Yesterday was a long one! The weather is great, not too hot. We're off to another packed day.

The City of DeAnza is giving the thought for the day during breakfast. Each city gets a chance to share something with all of the citizens at one meal during the session. The food is plentiful and we're getting used to how to manage busing for about 600 people in a short amount of time.

After breakfast, we get the results of yesterday's county elections and the new officials are sworn in. They begin their responsibilities right away.

The cities meet for the seventh time to receive reports from the commissioners and make more appointments. By mid-morning the counties meet for the sixth time to make county appointments and start the work of establishing county ordinances. During this time the Senate, Assembly, School Board, Tory and Whig platform committees, and City Editors meet.

Each city appoints a city editor who reports on what's going on. She meets several times during each day with the other fifteen editors. They write the four editions of the Official Girls State Newspaper. Daily, beginning today, each Girls State citizen receives an four- to eight-page paper filled with the activities of Girls State.

Before lunch, we finalize the Tory and Whig party platforms. After lunch we get to rest, and do we need it.

Today is a big day for those running for state offices. The city clerks meet to go over how the filing is managed. All citizens gather in one area between the dorms at the quad. They sit in party groups to finalize the party planks. At the same time, those running for state offices are circulating to gather signatures on their nomination papers. This election they need 20 signatures.

The state elected positions are governor, lieutenant governor, attorney, secretary of state, treasurer, controller, superintendent of public education, and seven justices of the supreme court. Remember, the senators and assemblywomen were elected on Monday so they could get started on their work.

The counselors act as notary publics who notarize the Verification Deputy's Affidavit on each of the nomination papers. They usually ask for a fee to give their signature - sing a song, give a city mom a hug, dance a jig, turn around twice. It is lively during the circulate and file hour.

It's dinner time!

The counties meet for the seventh time to hear a presentation from the school board. Then off to the general assembly to hear each city's Code of Conduct.

Just before the sing-a-long, the qualified candidates for state offices are announced. It's bitter-sweet. Some of those circulating and filing earlier in the day were disqualified because the paperwork was not correctly filled out or there were bad signatures collected. Following sing-a-long the qualified candidates purchase campaign materials. (Remember those pieces of white butcher paper?) It will be hard to get to sleep tonight, especially if you are a candidate or campaign manager . . . speeches to write and posters to create.

It seems like we've been working for a week, but it's only been about 42 hours since arriving on Sunday.

Today is Picture Day! After breakfast all the Girls State citizens attend the third county meeting to select the County Party Leader candidates, assemble the OMK backpacks, and have pictures taken in front of Bauer Center. The light is just perfect in front of headquarters!

Then off to the first party meeting. This is the first time the Whigs and Tories meet as groups. They choose the party leaders, introduce the platforms and steering committees. Now, the Whigs and Tories are told what color they will adopt - will it be red or blue?

Just before lunch, the counties meet for the fourth time so the candidates can circulate and file for the 19 county offices: Supervisor, clerk, recorder/auditor, treasurer/tax collector, assessor, superior court judge, district attorney, sheriff/coroner, superintendent of schools, public administrator/defender, and the board of education.

Time for lunch and rest. We need both! The 16 counselors turn in the Samsung applications to headquarters indicating their selection. There is one more round in the process for these 16 semi-finalists. It's still a secret!

The entire state meets on the lawn to break into discussion groups on varies timely topics ranging from education to infrastructure. Those citizens with duties as party leaders, city judges, county planning commissioners, Senators and Assemblywomen attend meetings throughout campus.

Using the outcomes from the discussion time, parties caucus for party platform issues. This is the time for discussion about platform issues not policy. They decide on the party's stance on the issues.

Recreation and dinner before the fifth county meeting. The qualified candidates are announced and the speeches begin. Each candidate has 30 seconds to introduce herself and tell citizens why they should consider voting for her. The candidates and their managers use their Girls State dollars to purchase campaign materials (butcher paper) to use for signs.

During the first city meeting of the day and the sixth of the session, the citizens vote to fill the county offices. They also finalize, approve and sign the city Code of Conduct.

It's getting late, but there's still the third party meeting to read through the planks of the platform with the opportunity for pro and con arguments to amend.

After a brief city friendship time, all citizens are off to quite time and some well-deserved sleep.

Some of us were up at 5 AM to be ready for the morning jog . . . not an easy thing to do considering we were up until after 11:30 PM last night.

This morning, during the third city meeting, those who are interested in running for city council, clerk or treasurer, or the Senate of Assembly began the circulate and file process for the first general/primary election. The announcement of these elected positions are posted at the established city precincts. Citizens review the postings, decide if they are interested in running for the office, circulate and complete to appropriate petition form, have the form reviewed for accuracy, then file with the city clerk. The completed forms are sent to headquarters. There, the qualified candidate names are added to the ballots. Voting will happen using computers during the fourth city meeting after rest.

During the first general assembly, an Auxiliary member shared the POW/MIA Missing Man ceremony. Then we heard from the California 4-H about the Operation Military Kids program. It's a program that puts a backpack filled with our donated items into the hands of the children of deployed service members. Later, all the Blue Star girls stood to be recognized and there are quite a few of them attending Girls State this year. We acknowledged their families service to our country.

Recreation gives the citizens opportunities to participate in the various extracurricular activities offered at Girls State. They join the choir or orchestra, audition for the talent show, work as city editors or city planning commissioners, meet with the OMK reps, or shop at the Girls State Store.

This afternoon all citizens will meet for the first time with the county counselors. There are four counties at Girls State and each is comprised of four cities. Today, they will begin the election process for the county positions and discuss the Senate and Assembly appointed positions, get an explanation of party leadership, and the steering and platform committees. This will be the first opportunity for citizens to lobby the Senators and Assemblywomen on their proposed legislation.

Tonight at dinner each of the 16 cities will wear their City Hats which reflect the cities' themes. A special hat is presented to each of the 16 city moms (ALA Member assigned to the city).

Following dinner, all citizens will return to the city rooms to witness the oath of office given to the newly-elected city officials and hear the general election speeches for Senate and Assembly. The vote follows.

Sing-a-long, city friendship time, and then lights out!

The staff has been at Claremont-McKenna since Friday afternoon preparing for this year's session.

The citizens start arriving today from all over California at 1:00 PM.

They find their city, meet the counselor, unpack and welcome others as they arrive.

Door tags, brainstorming and chart ideas for the city's theme, sharing legislation and just getting acquainted are the first orders of business.

All citizens must take the medical-arrival report to the nurse.

The first city meeting is at 2:30 PM and the cities are already being decorated. The first General Assembly - Welcome to Girls State - is at 3:15 PM. Tonight we have an extraordinary speaker, motivator, and trainer - Michele Jackman. We're all looking forward to City Friendship Time later at 10:00 PM.

We're so happy to be here in beautiful Claremont . . . the weather is perfect, the Jacarandas are in bloom, splashing the tree-lined streets with a deep purple, and we're meeting for the first time life-long friends.