NHKG Lola's Farewell Address

"I have to be honest — I was never interested in politics before, and I am still not sure if I want to be a politician when I grow up. But when my teacher, Mrs. Foreman, told my class that we would be participating in the Kid Governor program, I got really excited. Something inside of me knew that this would be my thing."
 

November Blog

Hey guys, it’s Lola, and if you have been keeping up with the blog you would know that there's a new Kid Governor! I’m proud to introduce Suzy as New Hampshire's next Kid Governor!

Once the votes had been tallied and the winner was picked, we planned a secret surprise announcement at her school, which was awesome! Suzy’s school is different than mine. It is made up of many buildings that look almost like houses and has a field the size of 5 football fields, (maybe a little over exaggeration), but anyway, it’s a big campus!

When I got there I had to hide so the kids wouldn’t see me and maybe ruin the surprise. So, we went in a room at the school to plan what to say during the announcement and how the assembly would go. After a few minutes Suzy’s mom had come, and her mom knew that if Suzy saw her she would know she had won, so she came and hid with us. It was very exciting! When we had the call to go, we went into the copy room behind the auditorium. The 8th graders there were putting on a Spanish play at the time, and because I was hidden, I was able to watch that and then… Showtime!

Mrs. Genest came out and said a few things about why she was there. Then I came out and announced that Suzy had won. The crowd went absolutely wild!! Suzy came up and I gave her some gifts and Mrs. Genest asked if Suzy would like to say anything. Suzy was very shy but thanked everyone for their support.

NHKG Lola and NHKG-Elect Suzy

Afterwards, Suzy and I went into the “hiding room” and I talked to her about what she could do as Kid Governor. I gave Suzy as much advice as I could think of to get her excited to get going on her platform, which is about making recess longer to help kids get more time outdoors. I am rooting for her to do well, and I agree that recess should be longer, too!

Next month will be my last blog during my term as Governor, but my fight for animals will continue. I hope everyone has a great holiday with their families. I’ll be back in January to officially pass the torch to Suzy as she moves on to take her place as the 2020 New Hampshire's Kid Governor!

October Blog

Hey guys, it’s Lola here! I did some cool things this month.

First I went to the G.I.R.L. Expo. It was so fun! I went inside a whale, can you believe it? A WHALE!!!! It was awesome. I learned all about the second biggest whale in the world! And no, it’s not what you’re thinking. Not a real whale! It was a blow-up whale. The whale had almost everything a real whale should have, like a spine, a heart, and other bones and stuff. Just not like acid or anything from its stomach. That’s gross. There were other booths with things you could do, like pottery, look at a pigs’ hearts with no cells in them, check out 3D printed body parts, play the drums, see tap dancing, see ballerinas, and so much more!

NHKG Lola and friends at the G.I.R.L. Expo

Then I went to see all of the candidate videos for next year’s NH's Kid Governor. They were all awesome!! I don’t get to vote but I did get to help check the videos to be sure they fit the requirements. There were very few errors. You guys did great! As much as I have enjoyed being kid governor, I am excited to see who wins! Stay tuned for the reveal!

Lastly, I went to City Hall in Nashua, where I held a meeting with a group of local representatives to talk about passing a bill where you can’t sell any cats, dogs, and rabbits unless they come from a nonprofit organization or shelter. They were so helpful and so nice! I’d like to thank them for coming. Alderwoman Klee had brought her two rescue greyhounds. They were so cute! (One of them even farted while we were in the meeting! It was funny.) Also I’d like to thank my friends and everyone else who came to my meeting. With everyone's support, we have a great shot at passing this bill.

NHKG Lola at her meeting at Nashua City Hall

That’s all for this month! See you next month with more action! Bye.

September Blog

Hello guys! Welcome to my September blog.

I started middle school, and I am having so much fun here. We do so many things. I’ve already had 3 tests, (not that that’s much fun), but we don’t have much homework… Yet. I don’t know if you guys have recess? I don’t anymore, (only on Fridays sometimes)! We do a lot of experiments too, and we have to memorize Latin root words. UGH! They are so boring!

I have a locker now… I love it! It's pretty big actually. I have to switch from class to class instead of just staying in one, (like at my old school). Now we call the classes “periods.” I have 7 periods every day. We also have something called “home room” and “advisory.” Advisory is where you can make up work you didn't do. Home room is just for attendance, (not much else).

That’s enough about school, let’s get to the Kid Governor stuff... It’s happening! I am going to try to do everything I can to help pass a bill that I feel so strongly about, as it was part of my 3 point plan in my campaign at the start of Kid Governor.

The bill states that, (if put into law), you will no longer be able to sell or purchase cats and dogs at a pet store in New Hampshire.

Representative Katherine Rogers (D-Concord) wrote the bill. It is called Humane Pet Store Legislation and Humane Pet Store Bill. It took Katherine 2 years to write it!

Remember, just because I'm Kid Governor does not mean the law will pass. How a bill becomes a law is a whole different story!

First, the Governor has to find a sponsor in the legislative body to submit what's called a legislative service request to have them draft the bill. Then they give a bill what's called a docket number. After that, a bunch of drafts will come in from the 400 elected members that are a part of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and the 24 members of the New Hampshire Senate. All drafts must be approved and signed by the sponsoring legislature, (the co-sponsors have to sign and approve it too). Every bill introduced to a committee must have a public hearing. That is where I come in. I am going to a public hearing as well! I will present my testimony about why I feel so strongly that this should pass.

Hopefully this bill will pass, but it is a slow process, and it will take until next year to get it done. I have to stay patient and really work hard to get people to come to the public hearing, and then, hopefully get some interested people to agree to testify on behalf of the bill by sharing their experiences with the judge.

We will be holding an informational meeting at City Hall in Nashua, NH to explain more about what people can do to help us pass this bill from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 29. The meeting will be open to everyone. I hope you can make it!

See you next month!

-New Hampshire's Kid Governor Lola

August Blog

Hello! Kid Governor Lola here! 

I have done sooo much this month!

First, I was asked to sing the National Anthem at an event called Barnful of Blues.
This was the most different I have ever done before and I was scared, so asked a
couple of friends to give me a hand.

I would like to introduce my friends, Lacey Bechard and Madison Pisco!

Madison, NHKG Lola, and Lacey

With the help of my friends, my nerves went away and we had a great time on stage!
After we sang, we ran my Kid Governor table.

We shared a booth with a boy named, Dominic Cole, a 12 year old boy from New Hampshire
who performs his drumming on the streets of Boston to raise money for his organization,
Percussion For a Purpose. Dominic uses the money he gets from drumming to create kits
for homeless people and children. He is the best kid drummer I’ve ever heard, and I play
clarinet in the school band?!

NHKG Lola and drummer Dominic Cole

We couldn’t stay for the whole event because not only were my friends coming to help me

sing, but they, (and a few more), also came to help me celebrate my birthday with a
sleepover!! It was a super busy weekend but we all had a great time! 

Then we went to “Kid Governor Boot Camp” it’s not what your thinking! It was a workshop
for the teachers to learn about the Kid Governor in New Hampshire. There were a lot of
teachers there. They seemed very interested in learning about teaching the program.
Hopefully the kids will be excited about participating too! I think that they will like it, and I am
excited to see what the election will be like when more schools get involved. 

I was honored to meet, Brian Confrancesco, the person who started the Kid Governor Program
in Connecticut. I was surprised to find that he was just as excited to meet me as I was to meet
him! He is a very nice man. My mom and I enjoyed talking to him and listening to him
speak at the Boot Camp.

NHKG Lola and Head of Kid Governor Brian Cofrancesco

At the Boot Camp, I got the chance to see my teacher, Mrs. Foreman, from my 5th grade class.

Mrs. Foreman, my mom, and I all sat on a panel to be interviewed about our experience with the
Program. We were there for a couple of hours. When we were on our way out of Saint Anselm’s
College, the author, (Gloria M. Gavris), of the book, E is for Election Day, gave us signed copies
of her book! It was a cool surprise to meet her and get a signed copy. Finally, we wrapped up
my Library tour. We visited 3 NH libraries this summer, Hopkinton, Concord, and Hooksett.
Each of the librarians were so kind and they gave us space to teach the kids about how to make
dog toys and explained how to participate in the Kid Governor Program. We met some great
kids at each of our library stops, and with their help, we made quite a few toys to donate to our
local shelter.

I have started middle school and I am excited for the school year. 

Stay tuned! 

-New Hampshire's Kid Governor Lola

July Blog

Hi guys, it's Lola! I didn’t do much this month, but I did go to speak at a library in Hopkinton, NH.

When we got to the library we got a warm welcome from the librarian! She showed us around, we got set up and then we looked for a book to read to the kids. I picked the book Pig and Pug. Then we were ready to start. Around 6 or 7 kids came.

First I talked to them about Kid Governor. Next, I read them the book. Finally, we made dog toys. I had lots of fun.

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog. See you next month, bye!

From the NH Kid Executive Council: Working at the Salvation Army

Day One:
My first day working at the Salvation Army was a success! Me and my mother were shown around the store by a staff member named Megan. Our first job was to make sure all the clothing in the women's’ section was in the right place (medium in the “M” section, small in the “S” section, etc.). Unfortunately before our work hours ended, I started feeling sick and had to go home. 

Day Two:
On my second day working at the Salvation Army, we got to visit a lot more of the store, and met two new people. Our first job was to take out all the clothes in the children's section that had blue tags. There we met a man that was also doing community service that told us about his life. Once we finished that, we went to the  “garage-like” area in the store, where we met a young woman who also told us her life story, and hung up clothes that were in donation boxes, then took them into the women's section to be distributed appropriately. Overall, my experience was I've learned it takes many people to run a store like this and a lot of time.

P.S. I’ve also learned that this computer’s voice recognition translates “to be” as “2B”, But it knows, “bro”...(

-Evelyn Ellis-Haines: