Sawyer Ray of Arkansas has been elected as the 80th President of Boys Nation. Ray, who earned the Nationalist Party’s nomination on Sunday, defeated Federalist candidate Lincoln Haussler in the presidential election on Tuesday night.
Ray becomes the first Arkansan to win the top position at Boys Nation. He was sponsored to Arkansas Boys State by Shelton Tucker Craft American Legion Post 27 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ray stated that the presidency was a goal for him after losing a gubernatorial election at Arkansas Boys State.
In addition to the presidential election, the Boys Nation senators voted for a vice president on Tuesday. North Carolina Federalist Krish Korrapati defeated Illinois Nationalist Charles Davis for the position. Korrapati, who was sponsored to Tar Heel Boys State by American Legion Post 321 in Huntersville, will lead the Boys Nation Senate through the remaining sessions of the week.
During the program, senators participated in several visits. They visited the Pentagon, where President Pro Tempore Brady Pace and Secretary of the Senate John Alley Jr. laid a wreath at the 9/11 Memorial. The group also visited the Supreme Court, where Marshal Gail Curley spoke to the senators. Additionally, senators Alexis Zamora Reyes and Burklee Jackson from Kansas laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The 80th session of Boys Nation included visits and remarks from leaders of the American Legion Family. American Legion National Commander Dan Wiley and Boys Nation Director PNC Clarence Hill accompanied senators during visits to Arlington National Cemetery.
