On her way to Washington

At the beginning of the week, Emma Hone was a bright-eyed teenager eager to learn about the bells and whistles of civic, county and statewide government.

Six days later, she became one of just two girls statewide to take that experience to the national level.

At the conclusion of the North Dakota American Legion Auxiliary's Flickertail Girls State on the UND campus in Grand Forks June 12-17, Hone was elected as one of North Dakota's two representatives to Girls Nation, to be held in Washington D.C. on July 23-30.

Girls State is sponsored by the NDALA, and is composed of junior students about to enter their senior year of high school. Hone attended Girls State along with Natalie Hurlbut, also of Carrington.

According to Marlene Boyer of Carrington's American Legion Auxiliary, it is the first time that anyone from the city has advanced this far.

Hone was elected as Lieutenant Governor of the state of Flickertail, one of the two office-winners who earned their way to Washington. Samantha Meehl, from Oakes, was elected as Governor.

Her formula for electoral success at Girls State, Hone said, is a simple one.

"Really, what it comes down to is being able to remember the people you meet, and being genuine," she says. "No one wants someone that's fake; they want someone real that they can relate to, feel like they can trust, and are friends with you."

The start of each Flickertail Girls State session begins with the formation of four cities, two each of which are subdivided into two counties.

"You get to know the other girls in your city, because they're the ones with whom you'll be dorming and doing everything," says Hone.

From there, girls are assigned one of two political parties, Nationalist or Federalist, and can choose between "platform" or "campaign" duties.

Hone, a City 3 Federalist in Dawg County, chose to be on the platform team. She would coordinate with her other city-mates on what her party stands for, and the campaign group would essentially act as the advertising arm of the party with posters and other materials.

"I was sure to speak up and make sure my opinions were heard," she said.

On day two, citizens were allowed to run for three positions: mayor, municipal judge, and alderwomen.

Hone chose to run for mayor, and went on her way networking with other Girls Staters from City 3 to try and drum up support.

She would end up losing her city election by one vote.

Day three is devoted to voting on platform issues, and delegates go through each point one-by-one to confirm or deny their inclusion in the campaign.

Running for the chairman position, Hone lost again, and in fact, received the least amount of votes.

"That was a bit of a blow to the stomach," she chuckled. "I could kind of tell my party didn't really support me or know who I was, really."

So, her power of persuasion went into overdrive. She opened some eyes with her understanding of the issues, speaking up and guiding those who didn't understand the platform points as well.

"By the end of going over our platform, I had girls asking me who I was so they could nominate me for governor," Hone said.

She instead opted to run for Lieutenant Governor, saying she "didn't want all the stress and pressure of governor." Hone gave a 30-second speech for her candidacy, and ended up winning the Federalist majority.

Since she won her primary unopposed, Hone, along with her Nationalist counterpart, then went from city to city fielding questions for 15 minutes each on how she was the best fit for her office.

Later that night, candidates performed a "whistle stop," which she described as a one-woman skit.

"The point is to basically embarrass yourself for votes because you want to be funny," Hone said. "They can either hurt your campaign or help it; thankfully, mine helped."

Fourth day activities feature county functions. There, Hone ran for State's Attorney.

"I decided to run for that because I thought it would be a good way to reach some of the girls I hadn't talked to yet, and really to showcase my abilities," she said.

After winning that race, Hone and others were tasked with running a mock trial. She and her defense attorney chose the jury and three witnesses each, and Hone's team ended up winning the case.

That night, at Chester Fritz Auditorium, Hone got to give one final stump speech for Lt. Governor.

Following all speeches, girls vote on their preferred candidates, but the results are not announced until Thursday morning, the fifth day.

Statewide government is the focus for that day. Hone, in her position, was in charge of the Senate, and the House and Senate debate and pass bills for four hours.

At that point, each citizen meets with their respective cities, and decides who gets to go to Girls Nation.

In the evening, seven finalists are chosen for final speeches, and are given two minutes to speak on a pre-determined topic. In this case, it was on the rising amount of mass shootings in the country.

"We had to take a stance on it, and then we vote, but we don't know who advances [to Washington] until graduation Friday morning."

On Friday, Hone learned that she had been selected along with Meehl, and was also named as Outstanding Citizen of City 3.

What are the plans for Girls Nation, according to Hone?

"You work with the other girl from your state to try to get a bill passed," she explained. "You also meet a lot of the big people in our government on a federal level, like the Vice President, Chief of Staff, etc., and you see many of the tourist sites, kind of similar to Close Up."

Overall, Girls State is a highly recommended experience for both Hone and Hurlbut.

"It's also a good way to get out of your comfort zone and try something new," concluded Hone.

Hurlbut, a City 2 Federalist, added, "All I really have to say is that it was a good experience, and I'm very proud of Emma."

Emma is the daughter of Matt and Carlen Hone, and Natalie is the daughter of Pastor Keith and Colleen Hurlbut, all of Carrington.