Weston Gavin of Warren was elected county judge of the fictional Hutchinson County during the recent Boys State event at the University of Central Arkansas at Conway.
He described his experiences to Warren Lions Club on Wednesday. The club was a sponsor of one of the Boys State/Girls State delegates, which included three Warren boys, two Hermitage boys and two Warren girls.
Gavin will be a senior at Warren High School in the coming school year. He is also active on the Lumberjacks football team.
He said Boys State had a motto of “God and country,” as it is also sponsored by American Legion.
City, county, district and state elections were held with 55 youths representing eight counties. As part of the election process, each candidate had to gather 30 signatures from other delegates, give speeches and be elected to their respective offices.
WHS band director Kevin Dunn also served as the band and choir director at Boys State.
Gavin said leadership discussions were held each day. “It was a humbling experience to get to know these people,” he said.
His parents, John and Sandy Gavin, also attended the meeting.
Since this is Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival week, John Gavin also gave a brief overview of the tomato crop.
He said the county had experienced a cold, wet spring. “Everything up to two weeks ago was behind,” he said. However, the crops have turned around and now there should be plenty of tomatoes available for sale and for festival events.
The county has a good crop of tomatoes coming in, with about 350-400 acres planted. The number of farmers has decreased while acreage on each farm has gone up. Gavin said it is hoped that prices will average about $25 per box.
