It was pretty thrilling to be recognized by the entire House. I suspect we all wondered whether cool people would wave back, and I bet that none of us remember whether we did or not. Our representatives know their business-- we were awed as they worked their way through the calendar, answering phones, working on their computers, signalling eachother, speaking, and voting on the business of this state.Following that experience, we went to the Museum, dodging excited little children, enjoying the incredible artifacts, and we ate lunch all together, the entire time, in the sun (far, far away from the designated smoking area). It was 81 degrees at one point today.
Our next stop was the Taxation Public Hearing. There was a very interesting bill on the floor from Opportunity Maine, and we enjoyed the testimony very much.
One highlight of the day was that when we visited the Governor's office, Rose (his assistant), asked which one of us was the teacher and helped us set up the picture you see immediately above this post. Sadly, Governor Baldacci was in Bangor, but we filled in as best we could in his absence, signing a number of emergency laws into immediate effect. It was the least we could do for this very busy man. Kidding. It was very, very enjoyable to hear Rose explain the artifacts lying around the room, including a bat with a personal note to the governor from Big Papi.
Special thanks to Mr. Jason Tardy, our AD, for going out on a number of limbs with coaches and bus drivers to help us arrange the trip on such short notice. Warm thanks to Rep. Josh Tardy for his gracious hosting and Ms. Heather Priest for giving so generously of her time, arranging such an interesting day, making sure we had copies of the paperwork, and checking in on us throughout.
In all seriousness we are both honored and appreciative of how many people went out of their way to make this a lovely and educational experience for us. We missed the rest of the class, who had to miss this trip due to Envirothon and a recent Latin trip, but perhaps we can go again next year. The girls want to try paging--it looked like fun!
4 comments:
It sounds like you had a great trip!
Yes, as one of the students that went on this trip I must say that I had a great time! I had never been to the state house and I truely enjoyed seeing our state's government at work. The issues presented were interesting and to have the chance to get in and see everything that is going on was quite the experience. Thank you to everyone that made the trip possible, and a special thanks to Mr.Tardy for the experience of not only the trip but also the work he has done with my class over the year, two things I have learned a lot from and times I will definitly remember in the years to come!
The entire trip was sweet. I had never been to anything like this and was amazed at the speed and efficiency with which everything, during the session, was carried out.
The meeting at 1 PM (the Taxation Committee, I believe) we attended was also very interesting. Mostly because the project, we did at Nokomis, was akin to it (bill presented, endorsed, decided on, etc). Also, however, the second bill we heard (on the government helping college kids pay off their loans, provided the attended college, and intend to work, in Maine) actually effected me. Being a minor, I never thought of bills on taxation effecting me, personally. Due to the fact that I'm going to college soon, however, I felt like I could finally connect with what was going on, on a personal level.
I had an awesome time and wish that we could go back, this year. Only this time with all of our classmates.
Cheers!
P.S. The House Speaker's voice is hypnotic. It's AMAZING.
The trip was a great experience. This was my first time traveling to the state house, and what a sight it was. When we arrived, our small-town personalities came out when we marveled at the 2.5 and 3.5 floor levels.
The assembly that we attended around 10 am was incredible. We all concluded that Mr. House Speaker must have been or is an auction announcer; his voice is perfect for that. Mrs. Vigue was absolutely right about the cafeteria food; it was inexpesive and delicious! The bill at 1 pm was very interesting. It was a bill that I actually understood and it might even one day pertain to me ;) It was exciting to see a common college kid - one that you or me might be down the road - propose his and many other's support for this bill.
Thanks to Mrs. Vigue for booking this trip and getting me back home well in time for the softball game. A.D. Mr. Tardy was right on top of things when it came to over-seeing conflicting events. Rep. Mr. Tardy was a great help in explaining many of the bills to us. Overall, it was just a fun, eye-opening experience.
Post a Comment