Girls State nearly 70 years strong

By Anna Koeppe

As the 2015 week of South Dakota Girls State draws to an end, the organization is approaching its seventieth year anniversary in 2016. South Dakota Girls State, in particular, has retained a copious amount of qualities that have helped to spur it on to such a milestone.

“I’ve heard for years and years that South Dakota has one of the best Girls States in the nation, and I think (that’s) because of our dedication to keeping that quality up,” Jane Benzel said about Girls State week’s excellence.

Benzel has been with the American Legion Auxiliary organization for over thirty years, but she just attended Girls State for the first time this year.

“I was really excited this year that I was going to be able to come… I’m very excited about coming back next year; I’ve had a great week,” she said.

Next year, Benzel will become the president of the American Legion Auxiliary Department. She was extra eager to attend this year, since she had been deflated as a high school student by missing the chance to go by one one-hundredth of a GPA point.

Cheryl Hovorka has been the director of SD Girls State for the past fourteen years. The heart and dedication she pours into her position is a driving force behind its quality and high standards. Benzel asserted reasons why Girls State has been going strong.

“Cheryl has so much energy and so much enthusiasm. . . she’s such an asset to the program that keeps that quality at the level that it is,” Benzel said.

When Hovorka was a delegate as a student, she was inspired to believe that people really do have the power to make a difference.

Hovorka’s experience at Girls State gave her inspiration that continues to influence her philosophy about directing it.

“We try to make it a fun week. You learn, but we want to make learning fun,” she explained.

The variety of officials who come in to teach and interact with delegates is a main factor in how enjoyable and beneficial the week can be.

This week, there have been representatives from lawyers, judges, Sheriff departments and the Sioux Falls SWAT team volunteer to reach out to delegates.

Other values Cheryl brings into the Girls State experience are strong patriotism, public service and enabling delegates to learn about and develop their leadership abilities.

“We need to encourage ‘For God and Country,’ since that’s what the American Legion Auxiliary stands for,” Hovorka added.

Everyone’s hard work and dedication pays off for the delegates’ experience, as Courtney Welu and Tiffany Messick, both of Chicago, expressed.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for girls who are top of their class to come to a place (like this). . . and meet people who are like-minded,” Welu said.

Building off her comment, Messick added, “I think it’s because you can meet so many people who have the same opportunities as you, and go higher.”

To commemorate SD Girls State’s seventieth anniversary, Cheryl Hovarka plans to continue a tradition that has been in place for both the sixty and sixty-fifth year anniversaries. The sixtieth year was dedicated to the fallen soldiers of Iraqi freedom. The sixty-fifth year was dedicated to all the past Girls State governors; a photo collage was made of every one of the sixty-five governors and arranged on a large bulletin board.

Next year, the plan is to do something similar, but with pictures of all the past ALA department presidents. Those in leadership positions in the ALA are especially important to us as Girls Staters, since the event is sponsored by their organization.

As SD Girls State approaches its seventieth anniversary, the quality and high standards shown here aren’t fading. Here’s to many more years of inspiration and opportunities for South Dakota girls!