Boys Nation gives delegates '97 friends across the United States'

Editor’s note: This is the third of a series of profiles of the Boys Nation 2016 officers. Boys Nation 2017 takes place July 21-29 at Marymount University in Arlington, Va.

Choteau Kammel almost didn’t become the vice president of American Legion Boys Nation 2016.

“I was actually one hand-raise away from dropping out of the vice presidential race,” Kammel recalled. Kammel, of Omaha, Neb., credited North Carolina’s Michael McCray for convincing him to stay in the race.

Kammel ended up getting the Nationalist party nomination for vice president — ironic because his Federalist opponent would be North Carolina’s other Boys Nation representative, Rudy Ogburn.

At the end of the vice presidential debate, Ogburn announced he was withdrawing from the race, all but ensuring Kammel’s victory. It wasn’t one he took lightly, however.

“He gets up there and announces his intent to drop out, I’m sitting there thinking, did I hear him correctly? I’d like to think I was probably doing well in this debate, but I didn’t know. So when he said that, I remember being very surprised, but I wasn’t sure what was happening so I made sure to give my final answer,” Kammel said.

“I have a lot of respect for Rudy, because we’re all 17-year-old males who are stereotypically competitive and don’t like to admit even perceived faults in front of others. I talked to him later that night, I really don’t know what happened but let me give you a hug because it took a lot of guts.”

Kammel acknowledged it took some guts of his own to break out of his comfort zone and run for office.

“I decided I wanted more than just my plane ticket stub and a bunch of friends’ names from my national experience, I might as well throw my hat in the ring,” he said.

Kammel said his high school, Omaha Central, has a long history of sending delegates to Boys Nation, so he knew going into Cornhusker Boys State that he would face high expectations.

Previous Central students told Kammel “make sure you’re focused on the program,” he recalled. “Socializing is important but make sure you’re getting the most you can get out of the educational experience, and a big part of that is talking to the (American) Legion guys.”

Of course, with his experience at Boys State and Boys Nation, it’s been Kammel’s turn to share his experience with those coming after him.

Kammel advised to those selected to Cornhusker Boys State from his school to “embrace the fact that you do have a lot of freedom (at Boys State), but you also have a lot of responsibility, specifically coming from this school.”

As for those going to Boys Nation 2017, or considering trying to go in the future?

“How many guys can say that they have 97 friends across the United States?” Kammel said. “If you have stereotypes about anyone from any state, go to Boys Nation and see those stereotypes fall away.”

Kammel will attend Mississippi State University to study business economics.