Sept. 10, 2004

Photos and Graphics Click for larger images

AUSTIN – The calendar clerk of the Senate is making the final schedule for the day. The clerk of the House and the lieutenant governor are having an unofficial conversation with the lobbyist coordinator while members of the legislature gradually start taking their seats.

And the governor is being misquoted by the press – again.

Business as usual at the Texas capitol building in Austin?

Not exactly.

These "government officials" were 4-H'ers who participated in the Texas 4-H Congress in Austin.

Held in even-numbered years when the Texas legislature is not in session, the four-day 4-H Congress allows members "to experience the excitement and importance of youth having a voice in government,"said Dr. Toby Lepley, Texas Cooperative Extension 4-H and youth development specialist.

And that experience includes serving as a legislator or other official, a member of the press corps or a lobbyist.

Ty Mylnar, 18, a senior at Three Rivers High School, was governor this year.

"At the last 4-H Congress I was in the press corps," he said, "and I was able to interview the governor (of the 4-H Congress), Jeremy Bishop. (After that) I wanted to be governor. By a twist of fate and a huge amount of luck, this year I managed to live out that dream."

His second-in-command was Emily Richter of Lockhart, 18, who served as lieutenant governor. A recently-graduated homeschooler, she now is a freshman at Texas A&M University.

"I didn't know much about the political process (before attending Congress) and I had to learn," she said. "I learned about (what) goes on behind the scenes and how much work goes into it."

Clayton Boldt, 18, also now a freshman at Texas A&M, was clerk of the house. The recent graduate of Westbrook High School in Beaumont "had never been to (4-H) Congress before so I didn't know what to expect," he said. "The only thing I had to go on was what we learned in government class in school."

Jonathon Glueck of Canyon, 18, said his job as lobbyist coordinator was the best job in Congress. "I'm a second-year (Congress) member like Ty," he said. "I was in the Senate last time. But when I was told I was to be a lobbyist coordinator, I had no idea what would happen."

That's where the expertise of retired lobbyist Shawn Irvine came in handy. "I learned all the tricks of the trade with him," said Glueck, a freshman at Texas A&M. "Our goal was to make things interesting – to persuade members of Congress which way to vote."

Victoria Katzfey of George West, 18 and another freshman at Texas A&M, was chosen to be calendar clerk of the Senate. Unfortunately she could only stay at Congress for one day because she had to have reconstructive surgery on her knee. But that didn't stop her from enjoying Congress as much as possible, from a distance.

"I was there the first day," she said. "It was amazing. I had never seen so many kids there for one purpose."

After she left, she said, her friends who were still at Congress called her every night with updates.

More than 300 young people attended, the delegates estimated, along with another 100 or so adult volunteers and chaperones. "Our state legislators serve as sponsors for the events and assist in securing the Capitol facilities and placing us in contact with Capitol staff," Lepley said.

"The ‘officials' for Texas 4-H Congress are chosen by adult leadership from the Texas 4-H Council," he said.

"There's more than 1 million 4-H'ers in Texas," Mylnar said. "Not everybody gets to go (to Congress)."

Delegates are chosen among older 4-H'ers, age 15 to 19, who fill out applications. Those who are interested in being in the press corps or serving as lobbyists are judged by adult leaders expert in those areas. And for those in the press corps, some kind of writing or journalism background is suggested, this year's delegates said.

"The delegates apply through their county Extension office and are selected on the local level," Lepley said. "Once they are selected, each person is required to submit a legislative bill. The bills are reviewed and assigned a committee and house." Each member serves on the committee pertaining to his or her bill.

"We maintain a real balance of youth between our House and Senate, just as true state legislative branches do," Lepley said.

Some of the attendees become intense about their bills too, the delegates said.

"One girl had a bill on forestry, and she is (working with) her congressman to try to get in introduced to Congress," Richter said.

"Some members become overly possessive about their bills," Mylnar added. "We need to remind them this is a model congress. It's good to have debate. Our job as Texas state 4-H council members was to make sure ... laws were followed; to make it fun while making it serious."

Through his experience at Congress, he's learned "the impact of the youth of Texas," Mylnar said. "To walk through the halls and realize we can have a huge impact on that (political process), on people who want to learn and listen to us.

"I definitely learned you can't take what you see from commercials, what you see in the paper, you have to learn to make your own decisions because of your own ideals."

Attending Texas 4-H Congress is "a real education process," Glueck said. "It really opened everyone's eyes."

"It's different from anything you'll every learn in high school," Katzfey added.

And that's especially important in this election year, she said. All five of these 18-year-olds are eligible to vote for the first time in a presidential election, and all are determined to do so. They all said 4-H Congress taught them how important voting is to the democratic process.

"I now pay attention to everything that goes on," Katzfey said. "It really makes you think about what values you stand for and who you're going to support.

"I started watching C-Span because of Congress!"

"It makes you stop and think," said Richter. "So often we're taught to think what everybody around us thinks, to maintain the status quo." Thanks to attending Congress, she said, she's seeking out other opinions and comparing them to her own.

"I'm on all kinds of political mailing lists now," she said. "It's good to go out and vote, but go out and work on a campaign; work with other youth to help them get involved."

Getting involved in Congress lead Boldt to get interested in the political process, he said.

"I never paid attention before. I never cared before and now I do," he said. "I have a whole new respect for people (in politics). ... I learned to start paying attention to people (who serve) and the whole process. It does matter, it matters a lot.

"It's not a popularity contest."