President George W. Bush Makes a Surprise Telephone Call to Evergreen Boys State at CWU

June 19, 2007

ELLENSBURG, Wash.- American Legion National Commander Paul Morin received a surprise phone call from President George W. Bush while in Ellensburg to discuss veterans' issues with hundreds of high school students at Central Washington University on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at the annual American Legion Evergreen Boys State being held on Central's campus.

According to commander Morin, President Bush was calling to talk business. But when he found out the commander was at Central to speak at Evergreen Boys State, "The president asked me to put some of the boys on the phone so he could talk to them," Morin explains. "I passed my phone around. Some of the boys got a chance to talk with the president."

Boys State is a hands-on, week long leadership action program where young men take part in a practical government course designed to develop a working knowledge of the structure of government and encourage active participation in their community, state and nation.

"Boys State has a long history of holding its annual summer program on Central's campus which dates back to the 1940's," explains David Soltz, CWU provost. "Washington was one of the first states to create a Boys State program, which helps develop civic leadership and pride in America's youth."

The National Commander of the American Legion since August 2006, Morin was honored in 2001 by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs with the Secretary's Award for service to veterans.

"To have someone of Commander Morin's stature visit our program is truly an honor and it will hopefully bring some much needed attention to the issues facing veterans today in Eastern Washington, across our state and throughout the country," said Larry Sperry, vice president and director of the American Legion Evergreen Boys State program.

A community-service organization, the American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, wartime veterans' organization. Today the organization has nearly 3 million male and female members in nearly 15,000 American Legion posts worldwide. The American Legion has nearly 30,000 members in Washington state.

Contact: Raymond Ochs, Evergreen Boy's State Media Coordinator, 509-496-4634
Teri Olin, CWU Public Relations & Marketing, 509-963-1416