Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
GAGE PILLSBURY
Gage Pillsbury is going national.
The Shawano Community High School student is heading to Washington, D.C., to represent Wisconsin in the mock government program known as Boys Nation.
Previous participants in the program have included President Bill Clinton, astronaut Neil Armstrong and basketball superstar Michael Jordan.
It is only the third time in the program’s 75-year history that a Shawano representative has reached the level equivalent to a U.S. senator. Pillsbury will join Samuel Butler of St. Croix Falls in representing Wisconsin during the national gathering starting July 21.
“It’s not easy to get to that level,” said Fred Bern, director of Badger Boys State, the state program.
The program is funded by the American Legion and was started in the 1940s as a way of promoting national patriotism in the face of growing threats from abroad during World War II.
At the state level, more than 800 boys heading into their senior year of high school gather from throughout Wisconsin and conduct a mock government in Ripon, breaking into small groups that represent cities and elect mayors. The weeklong exercise culminates with two boys being elected to advance to Boys Nation as senators.
The only other Shawano representatives to advance to the national level previously were Allan Redman in 1948 and Jay Hein in 1982.
In Washington, the senators meet for a week to debate legislative ideas and to elect one among them as president. The festivities also typically include a meeting with the U.S. president.
Pillsbury, 17, the son of Dennis and Alysia Pillsbury, said he is happy to be advancing to the national level, where he will propose and argue for mock federal legislation requiring drug testing of people who receive public assistance.
Asked whether he might become a candidate for president of Boys Nation, Pillsbury said he would wait until he gets to Washington to decide whether to pursue higher office.
“We’ll see where it takes me,” he said.
After high school, Pillsbury hopes to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, then enlist in the military, and later pursue a career in politics.