(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Barack Obama and director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, will lead the list of speakers for the 2014 American Legion Missouri Boys State at the University of Central Missouri.
Axelrod will accept the George H. Lehr Memorial Speakers chair as he addresses the more than 1,000 Boys State members at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 14, in Hendricks Hall. Boys State is scheduled for June 14-21.
Axelrod plans to discuss the life and times of working as a presidential adviser and his wide variety of experiences on the campaign trail, according to a news release.
From 1988 to 2008, Axelrod was the founder and senior partner at the consulting firm AKPD Message and Media in Chicago. He managed media strategy and communications for more than 150 local, state and national campaigns with a focus on progressive candidates and causes.
In 1998, he and his wife, Susan, helped found Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, which has raised more than $26 million in the search for a cure.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will deliver a keynote address at a special assembly at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19, followed by a question and answer session.
Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Monday, June 16, and Lt. Gen. Boomer Milstead will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 17. Eric Greitens, a White House fellow and U.S. Navy SEAL, will speak at 7 p.m. Friday, June. 20.
In addition to the scheduled speakers, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District will convene at 2 p.m. Monday, June 16, to hear the case of State of Missouri vs. Jason Lindell Chambers.
All presentations will be in Hendricks Hall in the UCM Administration Building.
The George W. Lehr Memorial Speakers Chair was established in 1988 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the American Legion Missouri Boys State program. The Lehr Chair was created to honor the late Missouri State Auditor George W. Lehr, a Boys State participant in his youth and a supporter of Missouri Boys State during his public life.