Contact:

Ruth Clayton-Davis, Girls State PR, (309) 794-0449, or [1] mldrcd@mchsi.com

State officers inaugurated at Iowa American Legion Auxiliary Girls State at ISU

Ames, Iowa— Election results for state and county officials were announced at the 62nd annual Iowa American Legion Auxiliary Girls State on Thursday, June 21. Activities concluded on the Iowa State campus Friday evening, June 22, with state officials being sworn in by Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

Laura Arneson, Ankeny, and Tessia Rockey, Lone Rock, defeated Briana McGeough, Cedar Falls, and Sarah Wipperman, Dallas Center, to win Thursday’s election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, of Iowa Girls State.

Other state officials elected were as follows: Kay Oskvig, Milford, secretary of state; Erin Martin, Dubuque, auditor of state; Chloe Dedic, Mason City, treasurer of state; Eleanor Vernon, Cedar Rapids, attorney general; and Allyson Ladd, Boone, secretary of agriculture.

Lt. Governor Patty Judge administered the oath of office to the new officers at the 5:30 p.m. inauguration ceremony in Stephen Auditorium at the Iowa State Center.

Announcements of other honors also took place at the inauguration. Kay Oskvig, Milford, and Briana McGeough, Cedar Falls, were named to represent Iowa Girls State as senators at Girls Nation, July 22-29, at The National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Md. In the event they are unable to attend, alternates are Eleanor Vernon, Cedar Rapids, and Anna Grimley, Springville.

Scholarships, ranging from $100 to $2,500 in value, were awarded to several Girls Staters. Recipient of the $2,500 American Legion of Iowa Foundation Scholarship Award, presented to the Outstanding Girls State Citizen, was Ann M. Johnson, Forest City. The $250 Girls State Staff Scholarship was awarded to Sarah R. Baker, Huxley.

As state winner of a scholarship from the American Legion Samsung National Scholarship program, Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch, Manson, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Her entry is now in national competition for a $25,000 scholarship.

The $200 Alberta Rhea Scholarship, which honors former Girls State Director Alberta Rhea, was awarded to Tessia Rockey, Lone Rock. The McGivern Award was given to Megan Kelty, Walker.

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