Buena Vista Heritage Museum. Photo by Carly Winchell
The 2024 top 20 local finalists in the Buena Vista (BV) Civics Bee will compete live and in-person at the Buena Vista Heritage Museum from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. The event is free and open to the public but space is limited. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided.
The competition is co-hosted by the Buena Vista Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of Chaffee County (LWVCC). The local Civics Bee is part of a nationwide competition organized by the United States Chamber of Commerce.
The winners of the Buena Vista competition will go on to the Colorado Civics Bee Competition. The state winners will then compete at the National Civics Bee in Washington, D.C.
The competition began earlier this year when middle school students submitted essays covering how they would solve a local problem of their choice. Some 77 middle-schoolers chose to submit essays and judges then scored the essays through an anonymous judging platform.
“The kids were asked to identify a problem in the community and explain how they would solve it. They wrote about problems that I also care about like bullying and violence in the schools, safe walking routes to school and around town, housing inequities and forest management, litter and environmental issues, AI and plagiarism, cultivating curiosity in the educational process, after school activities and clubs, discrimination at school, child care, and so much more,” wrote BV Chamber Executive Director Liz Morgan in the Chamber’s newsletter The BV Buzz.
“They are paying attention and collectively they know the problems that need to be solved and they’ve got great ideas to move us all forward into a better future,” continued Morgan. “I believe it’s up to us adults to instill in the youth that these problems can be solved. That we can do it. That we hear them and we see that’s it’s worth doing. We teach them by example, by taking the dialogue and the community needs seriously, by accepting no less than constant, collective improvement. We teach them to not become complacent and hopeless by celebrating together the possibilities and the successes that arise from robust civic dialogue.”
The top 20 finalists after the essay portion of the competition will gather for the live competition this Sunday. They will be quizzed on three rounds of questions.
The Buena Vista Regional Finals of the National Civics Bee were held at the Surf Hotel last year. Photo by Jan Wondra
Rounds I and II will feature all 20 contestants answering questions, receiving points for each correct answer. Questions in these rounds are based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The five finalists with the highest scores after the first two rounds will advance to Round III.
In Round III, each of the five remaining students will provide a three sentence summary of their essay and then answer questions from the live panel of judges. Answers will be evaluated on how well the student demonstrates an understanding of civics principals, demonstrates clarity and effectiveness, and uses specific examples, evidence, and primary sources.
The top three competitors will be determined based on scores across all three rounds of the local live competition.
Judges for the live rounds are Buena Vista Mayor Libby Fay, Chaffee County Commissioner Keith Baker, Buena Vista Public Library Executive Director Cecilia LaFrance, and Ark Valley Voice Editorial Board member Daniel Smith. Heart of the Rockies Radio host Dan “R” Ridenour will serve as the emcee for the live competition. Local historian and author Suzy Kelly will be the keynote speaker.
Event Sponsors include Ark Valley Voice, High Country Bank, First Colorado Land Office, Buena Vista Heritage, and Full Circle Real Estate Group. All are dedicated to supporting civic knowledge and dialogue in the community.
The top 20 finalists competing this coming Sunday are:
- Simon Allen
- Olivia Bearss
- Skylar Bowers
- Sara Coates
- Caden Courson
- Joseph Drexler
- Emmett Hachmann
- Eva Montgomery
- Ryder Moore
- Andee Quilico
- Kaia Rasmussen
- Olivia Rasmussen
- Faith Ruggeri
- Max Saltzman
- Mai Ly Sanderson
- Cassandra Sandmeier
- Elizabeth Savoren
- Daniel Young
- Wyatt Welch
- Taos Williams
The community is invited to study along with the finalists as they prepare for the live competition. During the event audience members may log into the quiz platform and enter answers in real-time to see how their answers compare to the winners. The study guide for the Bee is available online.
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