A Greene County High School student will represent the local American Legion at Girls Nation in our nation’s capitol next week.

Haley Hall is going to be a senior this fall and qualified for one of only two spots in the state to make the trip out to Washington, D.C. where she will get to meet the President of the United States. American Legion Post Number 11 will sponsor Hall. She first started the process at Girls State, where she learned about state government. American Legion member Phil Thompson says about 270 young ladies met at Drake University and got to run for state government offices, but only two move on as “senators” from Iowa in Washington, D.C.

Hall recalls how she reacted when she found out that she was selected to attend Girls Nation.

“The interview went well, but you know, you always have that thought like, ‘I forgot to say this’ and that probably would’ve helped me and gave me that edge or something like that. But when I found out, I started crying and everyone from my city was yelling and I met a lot of girls at Girls State. And a lot of people told me they were hoping that I would go because I’m so involved in our political system.”

Thompson is hoping to bring both the Girls and Boys State programs back to Greene County. He hopes to begin the process this fall. He was also the last person from Greene County to make a trip to Washington D.C. through the Boys Nation program in 2008. Any high school junior interested in learning more about the program can contact Thompson at 515-391-1941.