We are very proud of the young ladies who are participants in Girls State and the Paper Queen contest. Both events have a focus on civic service and patriotic duty, and these young people will certainly be potential leaders of tomorrow.

Girls State educates youth in the duties, responsibilities and rights of American citizenship, by actually performing the functions of local and state government. This week, these participants traveled to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, where they had the opportunity to organize their own “mock” city, parish and state governments.

The Girls State exercise gives students a hands-on look at government and civic responsibilities, and many famous politicians were once participants in the program. This year’s representatives from Washington Parish are Emily Pierce, Mary Margaret Crawford, Sydney Watson, Sharmeequah Smith, Diamond Martin, Lexi Hebert and Addison Seal.

On Saturday, the 2016 Bogalusa Paper Queen will be officially recognized during the annual pageant at the American Legion Post 24 headquarters.

The Paper Queen is different from many pageants, because the winning participant is selected based on collecting the most donations to help with community projects. Also, all participants must carry at least a 2.0 grade-point average.

We congratulate 2016 Paper Queen Madison Pope, as well as all of the young ladies who participated in the competition this year.

It is wonderful that our youth are able to compete in these positive outlets, and we thank the American Legion and other organizations that make them possible.