Ben Andrews, Mobile – UMS
Pranav Bethala, Mobile – UMS
Jackson Britton, Montgomery – Trinity
Mary Parrish Cobb, Montgomery – LAMP
Mary Catherine Connors, Enterprise
Chad DuBois, Montgomery – Catholic
Justin Gallagher, Montgomery – LAMP
“Bubba” Pierce Godwin, Montgomery – Saint James
Sara Harrell, Birmingham – Oak Mountain
Dakin Hill, Montgomery – Trinity
Benjamin C. Hubbard, Huntsville
Wayne Ingram, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Ben Jackson, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
David Kinstley, Birmingham – Briarwood Christian
Taylor Lollar, Montgomery – Trinity
Hannah Masingill, Montgomery – Catholic
Read Mills, Birmingham – Spain Park
Vincent Mitchell, Mobile – UMS
Madeline Pendley, Montgomery – Saint James
Amelia Putnam, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Jeff Rogers, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Devon Schoeneman, Birmingham – Spain Park
Amy Sims, Gadsden
Levi Waters, Auburn
Zijie Yin, Birmingham – Mountain Brook

The Alabama National Affairs alternates, who will serve in the event any of the 25 selected delegates are unable to attend are:

1st Stone Phillips, Montgomery – Trinity
2nd Noah Crawford, Birmingham – Spain Park
3rd Isaac Bonner, Montgomery – Carver
4th Allie Phifer, Birmingham – Spain Park
5th Danielle Williamson, Mobile – St. Paul’s
6th Rebecca Fleisig, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
7th Hannah Mouyal, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
8th Joshua Waldo, Mobile – UMS
9th Alex Brashears, Montgomery – Saint James
10th Bea Tisher, Mobile – St. Paul’s
11th Jack Starr, Montgomery – Catholic
12th Lauren Wiggins, Pike Liberal Arts
13th Sara Nolin, Birmingham – Oak Mountain
14th Joshua Martin, Auburn
15th Natalie Jones, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
16th Margaret Ann Kreher, Montgomery – Saint James

The Enterprise delegation awards the Servant Leadership Award in honor of the eight Enterprise High School students who died in the March 1, 2007, tornado that struck their school and the Youth Legislature delegates who responded to the tragedy by raising money and classroom supplies for the high school. The recipient receives a paid trip to YMCA Christian Values Conference, which is July 15 to 19 at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, N.C.

The 2012 recipient of the Servant Leadership Award is Lobbyist Taylor Rogers, a junior from Gadsden.

Sunshine Award

This is the first year Youth Legislature has awarded the Sunshine Award, which is given in honor of Brittany Shepard Pugh, a Youth Legislature delegate from 2001 to 2004, who died March 7, 2011, along with her 15-month-old son, Shep, in a traffic accident on U.S. 231. She was 24.

Pugh was a teacher in the Barbour County school system.

During her time in Youth Legislature, she served as the 2003 School Superintendent and the 2002 Secretary of State. She ran unsuccessfully for 2004 governor and even dated the winning candidate. Her 2003 bill requiring mandatory kindergarten was signed into law by the youth governor. She was a 2004 and 2003 delegate to the Youth Conference on National Affairs and was the 5th alternate to National Affairs in 2002. In 2001, she was an Outstanding 1st Year delegate. But what Brittany was most known for both at Youth Legislature and in her short life was her sunny disposition and ability to lift up people and any endeavor she undertook.

The inaugural winner of the Sunshine Award is Amy Sims, a Gadsden junior who helped bring 23 delegates to the 2012 Youth Legislature conference.

Bill Barringer Award
Every year since 1987, the Alabama Youth Legislature college staff has selected the Bill Barringer Scholarship recipient. The scholarship goes to a college-bound senior with a minimum three-year involvement in the Youth Legislature program, who exhibits exemplary Christian character, extensive behind the scenes work regardless of recognition, great dedication to the program, an attitude of encouragement and enthusiasm and who has gained respect of peers and adults.

In 2012, the scholarship named for former Youth Legislature Director Bill Barringer, went to Taylor Lollar, a senior at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery.

Betty Carr Award

The Betty Carr Award, developed by the Anniston delegation in honor of longtime advisor Betty Carr, is presented to the Alabama YMCA Youth Legislature delegate who gives fully to the program, exhibits excellent debating skills, works diligently behind the scenes and stands for his or her beliefs. In 1988, when Mrs. Carr had been an advisor for 18 of the first 40 years of the program, she told the Tomorrow Today newspaper that the greatest accomplishment of Youth Legislature is the confidence it builds in young people: “They learn to speak on their feet, laugh at mistakes and realize that nobody is perfect.”

The Betty Carr Award winner for 2012 is Dakin Hill, a senior at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery, who is a fifth year delegate to the program.

Other Outstanding 1st Year Delegates:

Danielle Williamson, Mobile-St. Paul
Turner Duraski, Montgomery – Trinity
Cooper Barnes, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Natalie Jones, Birmingham-Mountain Brook
Sarah Kean, Montgomery-St.James
Margaret Ann Kreher, Montgomery – St. James
Baily Martin, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Daniel McCool, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Wesley Monnette, Birmingham-Oak Mountain
Rebecca Pober, Mobile-St. Paul
Paul Roth, Birmingham-Mountain Brook
Matthew Tindal, Birmingham – Mountain Brook
Brandon Toups, Birmingham – Spain Park
Carter Vance, Montgomery-Trinity

2012 Tomorrow-Today Editor Tricia Ward announced the editors elected for the 2013 session:

2013 TOMORROW-TODAY EDITOR: Kristian Duraski, Montgomery – Trinity
2013 TOMORROW-TODAY ASST. EDITOR: Nancy Anne Turner, Edgewood Academy

Others serving in editor positions for 2013 will be:
Print Editor: Tricia Ward, Edgewood Academy
Photo Editor: Amy Dennis, Montgomery – BTW
Social Media/Video Editor: Jacqueline Morris, Montgomery – Trinity

HOUSE:

FIRST YEAR:

Q: How long have you attended Youth Legislature?
A: This is my first year at Youth Legislature and so far it’s been really fun.

Q: What have you learned?
A: I have learned a lot about the process of getting bills passed and how our generation is very talented.

Q: What’s your favorite part of the conference?
A: Meeting new people and being able to socialize.

Compiled by Nancy Anne Turner, Tomorrow Today staff writer

Name: Rebecca Pober
School: St. Paul’s Episcopal, Mobile

Q: How did you hear about the conference?
A: I had a friend in Youth Judicial and my advisor mentioned legislature to us.

Q: What have you learned?
A: How to properly write a bill and address the chamber.

Q: What is your favorite thing about the conference so far?
A: Listening to people get really heated in a debate and hearing all of the different opinions.

SB07: The Abolishment of Predatory Lending by Thomas Stallings and Ashley Ann Adams, Montgomery-Trinity

Outstanding Senate Bills:
SB02: Update to the Alabama Building Code for Extreme Weather by Stone Phillips, Montgomery-Trinity
SB09: Proportional Allocation System for Alabama Elections by Dakin Hill and Taylor Lollar, Montgomery-Trinity
SB16: The Chance for Success Initiative, a state lottery to help fund public education by Brant Biddle, Gadsden

House Best Bill

HB32: Vocational Diploma Act by Bryant Williams, Birmingham-Spain Park

Outstanding House Bills:
HB40: Mandatory Storm Shelters for Trailer Parks Act by Chad DuBois and Megan Karst, Montgomery-Catholic
HB30: Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Repeal Act of 2012 by Zijie Yin, Mountain Brook

First Year Best Bill:

FYB30: Biking Lanes Act by Sergie Kampakis, Mountain Brook

“Youth in Government is a place where we can make a difference,” is what Read Mills of Birmingham-Spain Park had to say about the YMCA programs in his gubernatorial speech Saturday. The program ended its second day with the three gubernatorial candidates giving their speeches on why they should be the next Youth in Government governor.

Mills said he wants to make four major changes in the program: institute a state council, provide more district meetings, have real attorneys present at Youth Judicial and remove school names from all things to do with Youth Legislature. “We aren’t the ones who will change the world, we are the ones who ARE changing the world,” he said.

Joshua Waldo of Mobile said, “Youth in government is all about the individual and what you are passionate about,” Waldo has participated in the Youth Legislature program since he was a freshman and has also participated in the Youth Judicial program since his sophomore year.

Chad DuBois of Montgomery said, “we are the heart of this conference.” He wants to
ensure the quality of the program for the years to come by expanding the Junior High program. He also wants to improve clubs offered in schools statewide. He said he will take everyone’s ideas into consideration.

The gubernatorial candidates began their “debates” with a series of questions provided by the program’s media staff. They were asked about several topics but the hottest seemed to be what they thought of the write-in candidate. Waldo characterized having a write-in
candidate as “unusual but good.” Mills said having someone mount a write-in campaign is “cool” and “shows we aren’t held together by district lines; we each have our own voice and opinions.” DuBois, from whose district the write-in candidate emerged, said having candidates from districts that already have a candidate divides district support.

In the end, it was DuBois and Mills who faced each other in a run-off.

Each candidate has much to offer this program, but only one will get the chance to show it. Good luck, and may the best man win.

In First Year debate, the first bill to be debated was FY 38, “Teacher Proficiency,” written by Benton Hughes of Montgomery. In his opening statement he quoted Gov. Jackson Britton, “Youth may be only 25 percent of the population, but it is 100 percent of the future.” Hughes also quoted Tiger Woods, ” The best can always be better.”

Delegate Wesley Monnette of Oak Mountain said while the bill was a good idea, just because a teacher can take a test well doesn’t mean that a teacher can teach. The patron said teachers are well qualified, because they have already gone to college and gotten a degree.

Delegate Pat Williams of Montgomery asked if this was planned to be a requirement for public and private schools. Hughes said the government only has control over the public schools. Delegate Gray brought up the question who would create the bill. In his closing remarks, Hughes said that No Child Left Behind was a failure because it did not help kids at all, but he said that this bill will help kid’s education, because it will get rid of all of the “lazy teachers.”