Faith In Action with Joanne Fox
Faith In Action with Joanne Fox is a public affairs show produced by Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM.
Joanne is a retired journalist and Siouxland Catholic Radio Board member.
Joanne guests include Bishop R. Walker Nickless, Diocese of Sioux City; regional areas of interest such as the Herreid Military Museum in Luverne, Minnesota; and national speakers and authors including Lt. Col. Scott Mann, Operation Pineapple Express.
Faith In Action with Joanne Fox is made possible in part by Mary's Choice, a Sioux City pregnancy resource center.
YOU can continue to enjoy Faith in Action with Joanne Fox!
Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=JWP5QULKUQXHA , or send your tax-deductible donation to 701 West 5th St., Sioux City, IA 51103.
For more information call 712-224-5342.
Faith In Action with Joanne Fox
Faith in Action—Boys State, September 14, 2026
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Tune into Faith in Action at 9 a.m., Monday, August 31 on Channel 88.1 FM, Siouxland Catholic Radio. Host Joanne Fox interviews Tom Elliott, a participant in Boys State this year, and Bill Burrows, a previous Boys State participant who sponsored Tom.
Faith in Action is brought to you by Mary's Choice, a Sioux City Pregnancy Resource Center. Previous Faith in Action programs can be found at siouxlandcatholicradio.com, on YouTube, and on several other podcasting platforms. Programming is subject to change.
Contact Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM:
Listen to Siouxland Catholic Radio Anywhere and Everywhere!
- On-air at 88.1 FM,
- Online,
- And the Siouxland Catholic Radio App (TuneIn app, Apple App or Google Play stores).
Help Siouxland Catholic Radio keep bringing you Faith In Action with Joanne Fox. Donate here now!
Thanks for listening and keep podcasting!
Welcome, listeners, of Channel 88.1 FM, KFHC Poncassoo City, and K O I A Storm Lake. It's another edition of Faith in Action. I'm your host, Joanne Fox, and I want to thank you so very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in and listen to this show or any of the other shows we do. And it's all due to the generosity of Mary's Choice, a Sioux City Pregnancy Resource Center, which is the exclusive underwriter for this show. So maybe it's 9 a.m. on a Monday, or maybe it's 7 p.m. on a Saturday, or maybe you just went to our website, SiouxlandCatholicRadio.com, clicked on Local Programs, clicked on Faith in Action, and you're listening at your convenience. But however you access us, we again are so very grateful for your support. So, listeners, as you know, this show is pretty much a lot about me and bringing my friends on. And I noticed online, because uh I do troll Facebook quite a bit, and so I found this out. So um I am somewhat familiar with the the Iowa Boy State, and that is um what I would call kind of organized and coordinated by the American Legion. And online it had this wonderful posting about uh Bishop Healan's student Thomas Elliott selected to attend Boy State Iowa Boys State, and it is again through the this one through the sponsorship of the American Legion Monaham Nelson Post 64 here in Sioux City. And what makes this even more meaningful is there's kind of an interesting connection. Uh Healan alum Bill Burroughs, again, another longtime friend, uh class of 1965 from Healan, sponsored Tom this year, but Bill also attended Boy State in 1964. And I thought this is such a wonderful serendipity moment. I think I've mentioned how I'm always impressed how the Holy Spirit works in very mysterious ways. So uh I'd like to welcome to the program uh my good longtime friend Bill Burrows and my new BFF, Tom Elliott. And thank you guys so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. I know it's the summer and you enjoy doing a lot of stuff, but you were gracious enough to say yes to my request, and here you are down in the studio. So thank you so much for for coming on down and sharing with the listeners a little bit about yourselves.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Joanne, and thank you to Catholic Radio.
SPEAKER_03Oh, thank you, Bill. So, Bill, why don't you start out and tell the listeners a little bit about yourself?
SPEAKER_02Okay. I was born in Genoa, Nebraska, 1947. My folks moved up here in 1949. Uh been here ever since, except for a year in the seminary at Lawrence College in 1966, and a tour of duty in Vietnam from 70 to 71. Had two careers, 20 years at uh St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, followed by uh our merger with um St. Vincent's uh so it was a marrying number of years, and then I had 20 years selling empty boxes for uh Smurfit Stone. That's where I retired in 2009.
SPEAKER_03Okay, terrific. And Tom, tell the listeners a little about about yourself.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I guess thank you guys for having me on. Um like we mentioned earlier, I went to Boy State this summer, uh a week and a half ago now, and I was born here in Sioux City, Iowa, 2008, and I am entering my senior year of Bishop Healing, and I'm pretty excited to what I guess what the future has in store for me.
SPEAKER_03Okay, excellent. So have you gone all through Catholic school here in Sioux City?
SPEAKER_00Uh yes. I started with St. Michael's preschool, and I've just spent my entire life going through the healing system.
SPEAKER_03Okay, how about your family?
SPEAKER_00Um, I think, yeah, all of them except for my oldest sister. She kind of came in a little later um in middle school, I believe, but all of us kinda uh started in preschool and kind of went through the entire healing system.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so you have a sister, do you have other siblings?
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I have two sisters, two brothers. Where are you in the birth order? Um, I am second youngest.
SPEAKER_03Second youngest. Okay. Well, we know what that means. Yeah. We do, listeners, don't we? Well, anyway, Bill, maybe you could tell the listeners a little bit about this is such an exciting thing, you know, Iowa Boy State. I don't think everybody is familiar with it. I am a little bit, because I've written articles about it, but maybe you could tell the listeners a little bit about Iowa Boy State.
SPEAKER_02Well, uh, I'll start by just just saying my association with uh Monaghan Nelson Post 64 goes back to 1958 uh when uh my dad got my brother and I involved in the uh drum corps that was run by and sponsored by the Post. Um that musical organization goes back way into the 1920s. But Dan and I were a part of it from 1958 through 62. The name of the group was the Montagn Marksman. Uh so it was one of those things where it's not what you know but who you know, and my dad's boss, Vic Waxweiler, um put a good word in for me when I was at Healing uh to attend Boy State uh the summer of my going into my senior year. Uh so I was sitting at the Legion meeting one night, and the subject of boy state came up, and it just popped into my head that you know what, I need to pay back, do it uh pay forward. And so I just told the post that I would sponsor a student this year, be it to girl state or boy state. I did not really have a preference except uh that I wanted the the student to be from Healen because uh I have gra I graduated from Healen. Uh I have uh four siblings that graduated from there. I have three children graduate from there, and now I've got three grandchildren in this in the system. Um so it was really kind of a no-brainer for me. Uh and I'm glad that uh we got the opportunity to do that, and it's it's worked out well.
SPEAKER_03Well, Tom, why don't you tell the listeners how you became aware of Boys State? Because it isn't something that people sit around and chat about. Maybe they chat about the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts or Boys Inc. or Girls Inc. or 4H or FFA. You know, the litany can just go on and on. But how did you become familiar with Iowa Boys State?
SPEAKER_00Um, I guess I was kind of sitting around in school, and then I heard some like talks about it, but no one really kind of knew what it was, and then eventually I received word that someone recommended me to the Legion. So, and then uh we kind of went back and forth with the Legion, kind of setting up a date to uh uh fun do a fundraiser for P at Pizza Ranch. Um and then I kind of gotta go there, meet everybody, um, kind of learn more about what Boy State is and kind of what to expect, um, and just kinda meet all the Legion members. And then for the Legion members who weren't there, I came to I think their next meeting after that and just kind of introduced myself and met uh everyone who uh I didn't meet before.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So you you sounded like you were perhaps a little shocked, maybe not like Bishop Keener getting the phone call that you're gonna you're coming to Sioux City, Iowa. But this might have been kind of like a whoa moment. Somebody wants to sponsor me. I didn't know I brought that kind of stuff to the table.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. Um I guess yeah, it was a really big shock. I didn't really know what to expect. People always said it's life-changing, and I think for sure it was, but going in, uh, especially driving up to Camp Dodge where we stayed for the week, um, seeing just kind of everyone uh go down that first uh hallway to where they checked you in, it was just uh it was an atmosphere for sure. A little intimidating. I was a little nervous, a little excited for sure, but I just didn't really know what to expect.
SPEAKER_03Well, Bill, you did attend Boys State, so you do have a familiarity with what, although it may have changed over, you know, all these many years, but how was it that you knew to reach out to Tom instead of maybe another student?
SPEAKER_02Well, uh obviously I'm uh Healand Backer, and um so I called Chris Bork, the principal, and he turned me over to um the counseling department, and that's uh I simply asked if they had a candidate that would be interested in going, and then I worked with um the counseling staff and Thomas Thomas' name appeared, uh, as Brad um um from Channel Four uh pouch used to say, one man with two first names, and uh that kind of got my attention.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's the truth too. So in the back of your head, Bill, you knew what it take you it when you went, you knew what it took to become part of the the Iowa Boys State experience, but what kind of qualities were you hoping that this young man would bring to the table so that he would thrive at Boys State?
SPEAKER_02Well, uh since I've retired, I've become a local government nerd. And um before I uh offered to send a candidate to um uh Boy State, uh Bob Scott, uh Robert E. Scott, mayor of Sioux City, I believe you're a classmate as well, said I asked Bill.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he is one year older. One year older than me. Okay, I apologize. No, no worries. That's often a mistaken uh presumption, but he graduated a year ahead of me.
SPEAKER_02Anyway, uh I go to some of the meetings and uh he suggested that I should take a civics class. Um and how subtle, Bob! I said, Well, you know what? Next best thing is to send somebody else to boys tape because it's about government. And um, and that's really was my you know, rationale for doing that. Uh vicariously. I sort of have the civics class now.
SPEAKER_03Yes, you do.
SPEAKER_02Did Bob recommend it?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um but you know, um required minimum distributions are a wonderful thing. So I don't want anybody to think that I did this out of the goodness and kindness of my heart, because you have what you call a uh qualified charitable distribution, and the American Legion uh is eligible to receive those kind of funds, just like Catholic Radio would be. And so it's like I was gonna spend the money anyway, and I I can't think of a better way to spend it. So work down.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, very much so. So, Tom, would you say that you have this kind of interest in government and civics that seem to position you that that you would come away from this experience with maybe, you know, a little bit better understanding of government or interest?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. Um, I guess going into it, I always kind of thought of government, like especially the House of Representatives or the Senate, kind of like some far-off thing where it still exists, but it's not really people don't think about it as much. Uh kind of in the background. But going through to Boy State, I was lucky enough to be elected to the House of Representatives to represent some of our Boys State uh members in our city, and uh it really kind of changed the way I look at it. Now uh I guess to answer your question, before I didn't really even think about gov going into government as a possibility in my life, but after that whole experience, uh I think it's definitely uh a path I want to maybe pursue a bit a little bit in the future.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so you said that uh you were elected uh, you know, to the House of Representatives, but maybe you could explain to the listeners what you experienced. So like on in day one, you you meet everybody, and this is what we're gonna do, and this is when we're gonna eat, and this is when you're gonna have a little bit of uh recreational time. But explain to the listeners, you know, kind of the structure of um those those days that you were there.
SPEAKER_00Sure. So I guess I'll start with the first day. We got there Sunday in 950-ish, around 10. Uh we had to check in from I believe it was 8 to 11. So we had to get up a little bit early, make that drive down to Jefferson. But we checked in, uh, we saw everyone, uh, a lot of people I didn't recognize. There was a few people I did uh from Lamar's and I met them through like sports or something. Sure. Um but a lot of new faces, uh a lot of just the opportunities to kind of uh you're like a new slate, you can kinda make uh whatever you want of yourself. So first day it was just meeting new people. Um if you wanted to run for a state position, so like governor, secretary of state, treasurer, um something like that, you would need a bunch of signatures. Um I unfortunately did not get enough signatures to apply to run, but you know, I could live with myself. Okay, that's good to hear. Uh that was kind of the first day. They sat us down for a general assembly, and they just kind of told us like uh we're gonna pretty much be running a mock government. Um they split us up into groups of 32, so and those were called our cities. So our groups, we all slept in the barracks together at uh Camp Dodge. Uh we ate together, we had little group meetings to in the morning and at night see how our day's going, what we kind of hoped for, uh either tomorrow or throughout the day. And then there was uh I believe it was two cities to a county. So two groups of 32 to a county, and uh between those two groups and counties, we could elect county officials for county sheriff, uh I can't remember the other ones, but that's okay. Yeah. Uh for county positions, and then for the entire uh state, uh it was eight groups, so we had about 300 people so we could uh meet like we had three t free time throughout the day, so we could go to other groups, talk to them, introduce ourselves, ask them to vote, uh we could give them our little spills, our pitches, um, and just kind of meet people and talk with people and get a better understanding of people your age that you don't usually meet, whether they're just outside your city or outside uh who you normally talk to. And it was a really cool experience there. But that was for the most part the first two, three days. And then they gave us uh fake parties. Uh so they split us up between red and blue, but they made sure we knew it didn't represent Democratic or Republican. Uh the parties were whatever we made them. Um it was the Red Party was Federalists and the Blue Party was nationalists. Okay. So they split us up between our two parties and we had little uh conventions where we could elect our officials we wanted to run in the primary. And we split off I believe it was three hours for the first session, narrowing it down to two or three people, and then at night, uh Monday night, we came in and uh got our sole candidate to run in the primaries for the state positions.
SPEAKER_02How was the food?
SPEAKER_00It was alright.
SPEAKER_02Um that's what I remember. Uh it's the first time I ever eaten a mess hall. Really? And I understand the word mess. Oh as far as mess hall.
SPEAKER_03Okay, this is good to know. Yeah. So the food was um mediocre when you were there. And according to Thomas, it was okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, uh well, considering my background, the food tasted pretty good.
SPEAKER_03Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02There was a lot of it anyway.
SPEAKER_03Well, good. Yeah. Yeah. Did you have when you attended that many? What you said there were like 300 and some. Did you have that many when you attended Bill?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that was about uh the number. The I don't know if it's limited to a certain number or not. But it could be.
SPEAKER_00I guess I have something to add to that. Um, I talked to a few of the counselors there um to ask about how many people could be elected uh to come to Boy State and have the opportunity that I had. And they said before COVID they were averaging averaging around 700. And then COVID dropped it down to 200 to less than 200. And this year we were lucky enough to have 300 and it was a 50% increase from last year. So they're hoping to keep that trend and give more kids the opportunity that I had. And 300 of uh fellow delegates also had.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there were there were really only two years that they didn't have Boy State. It started in 1938, uh, and they didn't have it in 1945 because of gas rationing.
SPEAKER_03Oh.
SPEAKER_02Uh and they didn't have it in 2020 because of COVID. Right. But other than that, they've been there every summer.
SPEAKER_03That's that is remarkable. What a wonderful continuum of of that experience. So I guess I'm curious, you know, how overwhelming was it, Tom, when you went there and you you saw all these people? I mean, I would just kind of be gasping, I think, like, oh my heavens, what have I gotten myself into? Look at all these people, look at all these things I have to do. I'm I mean, how did you cope with all that?
SPEAKER_00That was kind of me for the first uh few hours I was there. We got there uh, like I said, around 10. Then we had lunch, we kind of settled settled in, met with our groups, um, and then people were just walking around campaigning be if they wanted to be governor or treasury or treasurer, secretary of state. And it was just kind of all these people all these people coming in out of out of the rooms, all these noises, these sounds, everyone. It's just I just had to like I sat down for a minute, I just I just need a I just need a minute to kind of process everything I got myself into. Um But after I kind of sat down, uh I kind of talked with some people who also uh well I guess I saw people who kind of were feeling overwhelmed too. I introduced myself, tried to make them uh a little less overwhelmed, and then I would talked to our counselors and they kinda sat everyone down, uh and just kind of gave us the rundown on what to expect and kind of made sure everyone was included in conversation and felt that uh felt welcome that they should be there and were here. And then uh I guess they kind of just threw us to the wolves after the last two days, just figure out what you want to do and do it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, I remember my first day at Boy State. It it was very much like my first day at Healand, um, where you didn't know anybody, and uh and then that changes quite quickly, you know.
SPEAKER_03So Yeah, because you look around and you you realize you you're not alone. Everybody's going through the same thing. Everybody's going through the same thing. So, listeners, if you're just tuning in right now, thank you again for um supporting Siouxland Catholic Radio. Uh this show is Faith in Action. I'm your host, Joanne Fox. And in the studio with me are Bill Burroughs, uh who graduated from Healing in 1965, and Thomas Elliott, who I assume will graduate next year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, next spring.
SPEAKER_03Okay, 2027 from Healen. And the connection is they both attended Boys State. Um, obviously, Tom, more recently this year, 2026, and then Bill attended in 1964. And the connection is that Bill sponsored Tom to go to Iowa Boys State. So I just want to ask you, Tom, you know, you mentioned, you know, you could run for these offices like governor and and uh this the other stuff, you know, the county offices. So when did you decide which office you wanted to run for and how did that play out?
SPEAKER_00Um, yeah, so like you said, people ran for governor, and I think probably about half of the people wanted to run for governor. Sure. So I was like, yeah, why not? Uh but I I guess as I mentioned earlier, I didn't get enough signatures to apply to run. But then I kinda sat back, I let everyone else kind of take the center stage with that and do their uh elections, their campaignings. They made posters and everything. I let them kind of take that, and then I asked the counselors or other kids who knew a little bit more about Boys State than I did, uh, what other state positions are there? What other county, uh even city, what else positions do we have? And they're like, Yeah, there's obviously the House, the Senate. Um, you could apply to be in the military program or a state trip. Or if you wanted to, you could uh be a lawyer. Something like that. Yeah. Okay. So I was like, okay, what it what do those kind of interest me? I don't really know a whole lot about the Senate. I know a little bit more about the House. So I was like, okay, I'll try to run for the House.
SPEAKER_03And this would be at the state level.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, at the state level.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So you decide you're gonna run at the state level. Do you have to find yourself a campaign manager?
SPEAKER_00Uh I was lucky enough I didn't. Um between our groups of 32, they elected three to four members to the House of Representatives. So um I guess I talked around to the members of our group um that we spent all we had so much free time. I wouldn't say so much, we had enough free time where we could meet each other and kind of get to know each other and build uh relations with each other to where we could kind of carry that through to our life over this shared experience. But I talked to them, I see I guess I heard what they kind of were looking for in someone who could pass bills or uh kind of push things through, and then I kind of thought to myself, well, I think I could do that. So I talked to them like I would really appreciate it if you would consider me for your vote to House of Representatives. And I was lucky enough that I think they said 52% of our group voted me in.
SPEAKER_03Wow, that is that's a pat on the back. So, Bill, when you uh attended Iowa Boy State, did were you also elected to a position?
SPEAKER_02Uh no, I wasn't. I could share that with uh Thomas. But what it did do is that it encouraged, or word probably not is is encouraged, but it it made me uh feel that um maybe I could do something back at school. So uh I was on student council all four years and then um was elected class president in 1965, which John Planner reminds me all the time. Um but anyway, it's uh the interesting part of it is that at our sixty-year class reunion, uh one of my classmates took a straw poll uh straw poll and wanted to know who voted for me, and nobody admitted voting for me, so I don't know how I get elected. But I do want to say that Thomas's uh classmate, uh my granddaughter Joy Bishop Karma, was elected uh student council president this next year, so I'm very, very proud of that.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that is a pat on the back, yeah. Yeah, she's Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Grandpa. Not at all. So, you know, what did you base your campaign on then, Thomas? You know, uh chicken in every pot or I'm fireside chats every Sunday night, or what what did you promise the constituents?
SPEAKER_00Um I guess I just told everyone to I guess I just told everyone that if they have something they want to get done, uh I would voice by I would voice their concerns uh in the House of Representatives. Like they gave us papers to write mock bills on. Okay. And then if they wanted something done, like there was a little like convenience store they ran in the uh uh Camp Dodge for us that the American Legion uh put on for us, and people wanted lower prices for some of the monsters' drinks.
SPEAKER_03Sure, I understand that. Yeah. So they're priced kind of high.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so a few people wanted to, or they not that they wanted to, they actually did. They wrote bills out um to try to lower the price of monsters from four dollars to I believe one was three fifty, and then one was they just wanted it a flat three dollars, and then they also wanted to raise the price of everything else to kind of compensate. And that's where the bill went wrong in the Senate. I believe it passed in the House of Representatives, but uh I kind of just told everyone if you want something done, you know, just give it to me, I'll see what I can do about it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and how interesting, you know, because really that's not too far off from the kinds of bills that we see, you know, in our state legislatures and sometimes at the national level as well.
SPEAKER_00And then I guess there's something I'd like to add to that. We had a total of ten bills that passed the House of Representatives, passed the Senate, and were signed off by uh the elected governor of Boy State, and we had a list of ten bills which we wanted to actually happen in the Iowa. And I guess I'm proud to say that we got our top ten list to get sent to Kim Reynolds.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00Uh actual bills we'd like passed in Iowa.
SPEAKER_03Can you give the listeners an example of a bill?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I took a photo of them. I can pull it up here.
SPEAKER_03Alrighty. Not the monster.
SPEAKER_00Not the monster one. Not the monster one. That didn't make it.
SPEAKER_03Although I think that's just delightful. And it and it shows initiative, like, well, how can we fix this? And so I I give you guys credit and pat down the backs for that.
SPEAKER_00Oh shoot. Where'd it go? Gotta find it in the camera roll. Here we go. Um, so I guess the number one bill that passed was the uh education reform bill, is what we called it. Wow. It would um I guess the way they worded it here isn't what it was supposed to do. The way they would have it worded here is permit students to use cell phones, which is not what we wanted. We wanted it to uh remove the mandate for schools from the state for schools to require phones to be put in certain positions. Yes, yes. So what we wanted to do instead is leave that up for the individual school, individual school board, I guess I should say, to dictate on how they want to do that. Whether each phone is required to be put in a locker or whether the teacher collects phones at the beginning of class. Um, the main reason that was passed was just school safety. You never know uh nowadays, but having a phone, even if it's one phone in the room, could be the difference. Um so people were really really wanting to get that one passed. And I which I I ended up agreeing with too, whether it's just one phone or twenty. Uh I think just having not letting the students be on it during class, unless if uh you could if the teacher allowed it, um, but just having that available in a pouch in the teacher's desk, whatever.
SPEAKER_03Um I think that one shows a lot of thought, and that's particular to our culture right now is the whole cell phone issue and whether or not students should have them, you know, be it at the high school, middle school, or elementary level. What are we doing with them? I mean, they're they're a great resource, on the other hand, they're also a wonderful distraction. So that that a very timely, um appropriate bill there that you guys pushed forth, and who knows what Governor Reynolds might do with it.
SPEAKER_00And people are also pretty concerned about the data centers taking up farmland. So we saw a few bills like that. Um, and I believe one of them did get sent. Yeah, our number four list, or our number four on the list was to restrict new data centers and requires local approval, not just state approval and uh company approval um to build data centers on uh perfectly healthy farmland. And there we saw a lot of bills like that, a few better than others, so we had to strike down a few, uh which kind of hurt, but there was a decent amount of bills uh people wanted to pass to restrict the data centers that are taking up a lot of land.
SPEAKER_03Well, I would imagine that ability to generate uh the bill and you have to worry about wording, semantics, all that good stuff, and then it's kind of agreed upon, and that now it's going someplace, you know, House passes it, Senate passes it. I I can't even get my head around how much joy or affirmation that must have given you and maybe the rest of the people, individuals you worked with, to see something like that achieved.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was really cool. At first I didn't even know that was a thing that we could uh send our past bills that ha could have an actual effect on Iowa uh to Kim Reynolds, but in the closing ceremony, they showed us the top ten bills that people wanted to send in to Kim Reynolds, and I I just thought that was the coolest thing. To where what we did at Boy State this year could have an actual effect on real people in real lives, all that, not just solely for the boy state.
SPEAKER_03Well, as the the week or however d many days you were there came to a close, um, what happened like at the end of everything?
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm. So we spent uh Thursday kind of closing out our offices to where the House and the Senate, we had like a little closing ceremony, just kinda tying up everything that we needed to, and then yeah, that was Thursday night. And then we just kinda they just kind of sent us loose back to our cities, our individual groups, and we had a little talk with our cities, our groups, uh what went well, what do you do we think should be improved next year? Um and then on Friday morning we had different rotations to where we could talk to different counselors or different uh volunteers to Boys uh Boys State and give them feedback on what we could do differently or um just what we would like to see changed. And they also give us some information, like they told us if we wanted to we could come back be counselors next year. Um and I think that'd be a great opportunity if I have the chance to. Uh I would love to come back and be a junior counselor.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that would be great. So, Bill, since you sponsored Tom to go down to this, um what were your hopes that he would walk away from this with what?
SPEAKER_02Uh that he would be more actively involved in um civic activities involving the city. The city has um a youth commission. But uh I I'm ho I was hoping that young people such as Tom, based on his experience, uh he could share that with them and get him involved in other local issues uh involving the city and Woodbury County, of course. Uh so that was my real intent behind the whole thing.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So as you listen to Tom talk about his experience, did it parallel yours or was something dramatically different or something dar gosh darn, I wish we'd done this when I was there.
SPEAKER_02No, it was it it was very much the same. Uh sleeping in a bunkhouse was a new experience. Um I've read the book uh Boys in the Bunkhouse, and um that's that's not one of the greatest things that ever happened in in the state of Iowa. Uh so that kind of communal experience was the first, and of course carried over when I ended up in the in the service. Uh so I was sort of prepared for it in that sense, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So, Tom, now you've gone through this, what would you say was perhaps the best part of this experience?
SPEAKER_00That's kind of hard. Uh there's a lot of things that I just really enjoyed uh that if I didn't if I wasn't so lucky enough to get the opportunity to go, I just never would have thought about or never would have I guess gave it a second look. Like I think one highlight was being elected to the House of Representatives that people, you know, knew felt like they knew me enough and trusted me enough to uh voice their opinions in front of pretty much strangers if I haven't met these people. Um I think that's one experience um I'll take with me and uh maybe pursue a uh a future career in the House of Representatives or something at the state level I think would be really cool, which I just didn't even think was an option for me uh before this.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. So, of course, this show is called Faith in Action, and part of our faith is that we are good citizens of our country and we are patriotic and all the stuff that goes along with this. So how could you maybe share with the listeners what role faith might have played? And Tom, I'll ask you first, since you've just had the experience, what role do you think your faith might have played in this um opportunity to go to Iowa Boys State?
SPEAKER_00Um, I think it was I think it was like the Holy Spirit that guided me to be able to uh make the connections I did and the relationships I made at that place, uh at Boy State. And I think it was I guess the Holy Spirit that kind of uh helped me get through the first few days, uh, helped me calm my nerves, and I guess just put me in a place to where I was lucky enough to be um selected to have that opportunity that I know so many people can't.
SPEAKER_03That's the truth, too. So, Bill, looking back, um Tom mentioned that you know he thought he would like to be a counselor. Was that something that you thought as well you might want to do after your experience at Boys State? Or or maybe the opportunity wasn't there for you at that time?
SPEAKER_02Uh well, uh Tom mentioned the Holy Spirit, of course. Um I worked at uh I was the first counselor at the St. Anthony's Boys Home, which uh Father Robert Keefe uh started at Catholic Charities. So as I was working at Catholic Charities when I was at Briarcliffe, uh this was in 1968, and we first uh occupied the old St. Anthony's Orphanage uh until uh the uh Opusanciti, the the uh Holy Spirit sisters, outgrew their uh location, and so we swapped with them. We went down to 14th and Grandview, and they came up to St. Anthony's. Um so that was that was uh you know, I never had control of anything. I was just he was moving me or the the spirit, let's put it that way, he was moving around. Um and then uh of course when you're 10,000 miles away from home, one of the first places you head for is the chaplain. Let's see the chaplain or the chaplain. And um because you really feel like you don't you're out of control there. Um so yeah, it's it's been uh it was a great experience, and I I I'm I'm still benefiting from that that experience.
SPEAKER_03So Yeah, and then the whole idea of reaching, you know, you mentioned right at the top of the show, I really felt like I needed to pay back, which is great. And so you reach out to Chris Bork, who we we've had on this show to talk about other stuff, who is principal at Healing, and I really think maybe you felt the Holy Spirit working in mysterious ways as to how this all played out. It could have gone in so many different directions.
SPEAKER_02Well, uh, you know, I've had the the the wonderful experience to be around some great priests in my day. And uh there are too many to mention, but uh one that comes to the top of my head is of course uh Father Victor Raymaker. Uh he was uh in charge of healing when uh my wife and I were on the parent board. And of course I was uh in a uh working for in a private industry at that time, and I asked Father Raymaker, I said, uh father, would you like to go play golf? And of course I was gonna put it on the company tap. Uh and he said to me, No, he said, I'd rather pull weeds. And I said, What? And he said, Yeah, at least I could see what I accomplished. But uh other great men uh in the priesthood, Father Roger Lennan, you know, he just keeps going, going, going. Uh very bright man and uh very faith faithful. But I tell I have to say Larry Burns and and and Larry McCarty, those guys were incredible. Uh said to Father one time, Father Burns now, I said, um I was I was concerned because my dad was a convert. And I always thought, convert, convict, you know, that sort of thing. Until Larry Burns told me one time, we are all in the process of conversion. And then this big weight left my shoulders. And so uh one day he was leaving and leaving the office and going outside, and I said, Father, uh, keep the face. And he turned to me and he said, Better yet, spread it. And it like it made that made sense.
SPEAKER_03Wow. Talk about that that is just exactly what we're trying to do here at Sioux Land Calgary right now, is we're trying to spread it.
SPEAKER_02Keep it, spread it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, don't we don't want to keep it, we want to spread it. So I I cannot thank both of you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to come on down. This has been an absolute delight. Oh, Bill is not he he's doing the finger to me, and he has something else to say. I'm going to let him, only because he's a friend, speak.
SPEAKER_02Well, I I did want to put a plug in for the our post. Uh we're like all organizations, uh fraternal organizations as well, that uh many of our members are have now assumed room temperature. And we need to get some new blood into the um post. And there are three ways you really can. You don't have to be a veteran, uh, but that's the real reason why they're formed. But we also have sons and daughters of the American Legion. That means uh if you had a relative that served in the military, and we also have an auxiliary, so there'd there's lots of ways to serve. Uh, we can be reached at um 258-3986. We rent out our post uh for a very reasonable fee. We're at 4021 Floyd Boulevard. Uh you can find us on at Sioux City Legion64.com or Facebook American Legion Monaghan Nelson Post 64. Finally, I want to remember the 26 guys from Sioux City who died died in Vietnam. And talking about local politics, I'm trying to get the local officials uh in the city, because there's no city ordinance uh about who gets to name streets except for the developer. And they they usually name a son or daughter or cousin or aunt milling or whatever, which is fine. But there are 26 guys that were were never recognized, and I think uh they ought to be uh recognized for their for paying the the ultimate sacrifice. So thanks for having us, Doanne.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, it's my pleasure, and I uh 1,000% agree with you. I lost a classmate in Vietnam and a classmate ahead of me. That would have been in Bob Scott's class. Um, and so yes, that resonates with me quite a bit. So that just about wraps up another edition of Faith in Action. I would again like to very much thank my guests. Um Healan Alum 1965, Bill Burroughs, who attended State in 1964, Healan current student, Tom Elliott, attended State this year. And listeners, I never really did say it was June 21 to 26. It was at Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center, which is a mouthful, that's in Johnston, Iowa, and Bill sponsored Tom. And what a wonderful experience both of you had, and I'm so grateful that you shared that with the listeners. I know that they are going to really profit from everything that you've you've spoken about, and I think it will resonate with them because I know my listeners are also good citizens, so I think at least they are.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_03There you go. So, like I said, listeners, that brings to another conclusion of faith in action. Um, if you tuned in late or in the middle, uh, you know, you can always go to our website, Siouxland Catholic Radio.com. All the previous faith in action shows are there. Uh, we are also on Spotify, YouTube, and a number of other podcasting platforms. That's all due to the generosity of Mary's Choice, a Sioux City Pregnancy Resource Center, which is the exclusive underwriter for this show. And I want to remind you that Siouxland Catholic Radio has just great international, national, and our local programs. We have the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day at 3 p.m. Bishop John Keener leads that off. Uh, Mass is celebrated and broadcast from Modern Day every Sunday at 9 a.m. Life Plan, which is a show out of Omaha, that airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. Catholic Ministry Professionals with John and Ty. That airs Tuesdays at 4 p.m. Draw Near with Fred and Cara, Wednesdays at 4 p.m., and Father Knows Best with Father Mark Stoll airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. So it's just a great lineup of local programming we have here. We're very proud of it. So on behalf of myself, I'm the host of this show, Joanne Fox, and my executive producer Ann Reed, I want to remind you that a faithful reaction is good, but faith in action? Ugh, it's so much better. Thanks for listening and God bless.
