Ryley Johnson, a senior at Chisholm high school was voted as one of this year's delegates for Boys State by the Oklahoma American Legion. While there, Ryley participated in basic combat medical training, live combat training, and room clearing methods. He was also selected to be a member of Boys State Drumline where he played cadences as the group moved in military formation. Ryley was voted by his peers to be on the City Council and joined the Boys State House of Representatives. This event took place in Claremore, OK at Roger's State University.
Oklahoma American Legion Boys State is an intense week of non-partisan leadership, government, and patriotism sponsored by the American Legion of Oklahoma. Delegates to Boys State have just completed their junior year of high school and have been selected by the American Legion Post as a representative of the best of their community. Boys State was established in the 1930s as a way to counter anti-American activity during the pre-World War II era. It was so successful as a citizenship training activity that it remains the premier program of its type in the United States. The motto of the sponsoring American Legion, "For God and Country" serves as the backbone that supports this intensive week-long discovery of civic duty, citizenship and understanding of the American way of life from a participatory perspective. Ryley learned how the American System of government and politics works theoretically, but also in a hands-on laboratory setting. He experienced all of this as one of Oklahoma's 300 "best and brightest" high school seniors to be. It has been described as, and is "The week that shapes a lifetime."