Miami University Wins Contract To Host Buckeye Boys State Summer Program

BY BLAIR DONOVAN
Miami University journalism student

Miami University will host the American Legion Buckeye Boys State summer program for the next five years, starting this June.

The partnership became official on Oct. 8 after representatives from Miami, the American Legion, and the Ohio American Legion signed a contract in the Shriver Center.

The Buckeye Boys State annual summer program is sponsored by the Ohio American Legion, which is the largest veteran's organization in Ohio. The program had been held at Bowling Green State University for the past 38 years. Miami previously hosted the Buckeye Boys State program, which started in 1936, just once, in the summer of 1946.

According to Jerry White, director of the program, the organization develops a site search committee about every two years to see what other universities could potentially host the eight-day program.

"We do this with the thought in mind that, should something catastrophic happen at that facility, would there be other sites in the state that could host the program?" said White. "When we're up in Bowling Green State, northwest Ohio is part of tornado alley. There have been tornadoes that have come really close."

Effort began in 2012

Buckeye Boys State had operated under several five-year long contracts during their partnership with Bowling Green. Before the current contract ended, Miami submitted a bid to the organization, asking it to consider moving the program to Oxford.

Kathy Crowley, senior manager of marketing and sales for Miami Conference and Event Services, started discussions as far back as 2012 to get the program to come to Miami. She said these continued discussions helped the university land a five-year contract.

"My position with conference and event services for Miami is to sell our beautiful campus and its resources for groups for such events," said Crowley. "As I do with all bids, I communicate with event planners, Director White in this case, and match our campus to their needs, propose a bid, and develop the relationship from there."

Jessica Greene, executive director of the Oxford Visitors Bureau, also helped put together this year's bid to the program. She said it included a letter of support, with details about Oxford and the city's willingness to be participants.

According to White, other universities within Ohio frequently reach out to the organization requesting to move the program to their campus. White added that several Miami students and administrators have participated in the Buckeye Boys State program, including Randi Thomas, director of institutional relations.

60-member board picks Miami

The selection committee developed a list of potential universities to host the program, with Miami or Bowling Green as the last two contenders. After the program's 60-member board of trustees compared the two facilities and weighed the potential costs, they decided to host the program at Miami in a majority vote on June 16. Miami wanted the partnership to be long-term, so both parties agreed to an initial five-year contract.

Crowley said she helped handle the negotiations for the contract's program with support from Miami's presidential office, the Oxford community, and political representatives in southwest Ohio.

The American Legion Buckeye Boys State program will bring more than 1,200 young Ohio men entering their senior year of high school to Miami from June 11-18. Participants represent about 500 high schools, several online high schools, and the home-schooled community within the state.

"The caliber of young men we have participating are, for the most part, the cream of the crop," said White. "We're bringing 1,200 plus potential student enrollment candidates to Miami. For eight days, Miami has the opportunity to showcase to 1,200 potential students Miami and show a young man and his parents the benefits of coming to Miami."

The program is a hands-on workshop that teaches participants the various aspects of local, county, and state elections and governmental functions from a nonpartisan perspective. It includes a functioning court, law enforcement system, and banking system. Participants must create a mythical 51st State of the Union. They do everything in eight days that Ohio government does over the course of a year, according to White.

"One of the great things about the Buckeye Boys State program is the ingenuity of the men," said White. "We let them develop their own processes. There's established procedures that have to be followed, but there's a great deal of flexibility. We let them develop what their bills will be."

Local officials will participate

Mayor Kate Rousmaniere said the prestigious program will bring positive attention to Oxford. Rousmaniere will attend an event during the program to teach students about mayors. Other prominent Butler County officials will also teach students about their roles.

"The city's mission is to teach young high school kids how government works," said Rousmaniere. "That's important to me as a mayor. We just had a national election, so people learned about national government. But I often think people know less about local government, so I'm very excited."

Crowley pushed to bring Boys State to Miami because it aligns with the university's mission to develop youth into good stewards and citizens of Ohio.

"The goal of Conference and Event Services is to bring all market segments to Miami's campus to enjoy all the beauty and resources that make this university great," said Crowley. "This department is a revenue-generating department for the university. "

The program will benefit not only Miami, but also the Oxford community.

"The city of Oxford expects have a positive economic impact, especially when parents come for parent day," said Greene. "We expect hotel stays and families eating lunch together. That will have a positive economic impact."

Greene's job is to find volunteers in city administration and government to meet with the students and help them learn about their roles.

Planning well underway

Miami began preparing for the program long before the bid was even submitted, according to Crowley.

"Due to the vast footprint that this large group will have on the campus, significant planning began a few years ago to make all the puzzle pieces of the program fit our venues," said Crowley.

The Boys State program will pay Miami for facilities and services. At this point, Millett Hall has been identified as a primary venues, with housing and other details still to be determined. a

According to Greene, the program was like a well-oiled machine at Bowling Green State because it had been held there so long. Now, Miami will have to plan out such small details, like how long it will take to walk from one location to the next.

"It's going to be a lot of work," said Rousmaniere. "They bring in a lot of their own staff, but for one week the city staff will be on red alert welcoming [the students]. They have some time off, so we hope they come Uptown and explore Oxford."

Photo: Participants of the 2013 Buckeye Boys State program attend their graduation ceremony. --Contributed photo