Boys Nation delegates elect officers on 1st full day of work

Aaron Jaffe felt a sense of relief when the voting tally was shown on the big screens Saturday night at American Legion Boys Nation.

“My favorite moment for the day was seeing for the first time that I had a lead, because I had really not had a lead throughout my entire history at Boys State and Boys Nation," Jaffe said. "I had lost seven elections. And so seeing that lead really gave me hope. I had been nervous this entire day for this coming election, so seeing the fact that after three or four ballots I had a lot of support … I just had a deep release,” said the native of Old Greenwich, Conn.

Jaffe was elected as president pro tempore of the 71st Boys Nation senate on Saturday, outlasting 14 other candidates for the position.

The president pro tempore presides over the Senate in the absence of the vice president, a position that will be voted upon Tuesday at Boys Nation.

“This office, I think I have a unique perspective on,” Jaffe said. “I really want to be a servant of the Senate. I love debate, but for this, I think my voice is less important than the 97 other senators here. … I want to see what the entire United States has to offer, not just the state of Connecticut.”

Also elected Saturday was Pranoy Bahera of Bartlesville, Okla., who will serve as secretary of the Senate.

“This is surreal,” Bahera told his fellow Boys Nation delegates. “I hope to convince the 46 of you who didn’t vote for me.”

Earlier Saturday, Director Mike Buss welcomed the delegates to Boys Nation.

“This week, thanks to The American Legion, we are providing you with an opportunity to learn about our federal government from some of its highest-ranking officials,” Buss said. “And you will learn it by actually becoming part of it, working through the maze of bureaucratic entanglements that as you all know, exist in partisan politics.

“But you will also learn a little bit about yourselves. For it is as much a course about personal development, citizenship and character-building as it is a study of government. It is about loyalty — loyalty to your government, loyalty to your fellow senators, to The American Legion, most importantly, to yourselves.”

Matthew Shuman, assistant director of the Legion’s Legislative Division, administered the oath of office to the new senators and talked about his role as a lobbyist for the nation’s largest veterans organization.

“I get to impact policy on a national level,” Shuman said. “… For me to have the ability every day to impact our nation’s laws (and) help Congress do better for veterans is great.”

Also Saturday morning, American Legion National Adjutant Dan Wheeler presented a certificate of appreciation to Director of Activities Bob Turner, who’s in his 34th year on the Boys Nation staff and is an American Legion past national commander.

Quoting Franklin D. Roosevelt—“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future”—the certificate signed by National Commander Dale Barnett noted Turner’s “selfless and dedicated service as a staff member of The American Legion Boys Nation and The American Legion Boys State programs.”

“Your tireless devotion and caring commitment to teach, encourage and inspire thousands of young men to build themselves for the future leaves an indelible imprint and bequeaths an enduring legacy for the countless others who will follow,” the pronouncement read.

Wheeler also praised the Boys Nation delegates.

“This is just the beginning of your career. You’ve got bright futures in front of every single one of you,” Wheeler said.