Held in Ellijay for third time
Kids who attend the American Legion’s annual Family Junior Leadership Camp in Georgia know their stuff. In one instance, what they learned in camp about flag etiquette and handling the Stars and Stripes on special occasions came to the fore when they were invited to a flag retirement ceremony.
“(The kids) commented that the post was doing it all wrong,” an informational brochure on the camp noted. When told, “OK, let’s see you do it,” the children who had been to camp “performed the ceremony flawlessly.”
Junior Leadership Camp just completed its 12th year in the Peach State, and last week it was hosted in Ellijay for the third time. Camp director Brian Shedd of American Legion Post 82 reported, “We had a really good camp, everything went real well.”
Fourteen children from around the state (including seven kids from Gilmer County) took part in the camp, from ages 8 to 17 years old. They must be junior members of the Sons of the American Legion or the Legion Auxiliary.
“Overall, we’re trying to teach them respect for our veterans and the American Legion,” Shedd explained. “That includes teaching them about America, how our government works, what the Constitution means and what it stands for. Last year, we did the Four Pillars of the American Legion, and the year before that we did the Five-Star Program (see box).”
As well, campers have the opportunity to earn some of the 25 activity patches that can be sewn onto a vest, much like merit badges in youth scouting organizations. Some of the patches can be earned helping a veteran in the community to build a wheelchair ramp or take part in a home repair, for example. Last week, the older campers in Ellijay earned requirements toward a patch by helping remove the memorial crosses around town. The annual cross emplacement is a Post 82 Legion Auxiliary project.
Campers can also meet specific patch requirements by interviewing a veteran in their community about his or her experiences while serving in the military. Some of the projects the kids take part in support the Veterans Administration (VA) of Georgia, and the Ladies Auxiliary takes them to local senior centers Manor Lake and The Oaks of Ellijay.
“They
went up there a couple of weeks ago and visited with veterans, and we’re trying to do that every three months with the kids, once a month with our Ladies Auxiliary,” said Shedd. “One day, they worked on flag etiquette and how to fold it correctly, and we’ll do a flag retirement ceremony in the next few days.”
After a half-day of classes, campers take part in activities like tubing, fishing or going to a movie. The junior leadership camp will likely be in the Columbus area next year, and in the past has also been held in Rome, Augusta and Villa Rica. Kids must be junior members of the American Legion to participate; they join under their parent’s or grandparent’s membership.
“They will vote for their officers of the state for the Junior Sons of the American Legion and Junior Auxiliary, and on the last day of camp, there will be a graduation and officers will be installed,” Shedd pointed out. “Officers will be able to attend state-level functions and can learn to speak publicly while they’re there.”
Shedd said that between 150 to 200 young people have been impacted by the camps in a dozen years.