Civic Responsibility Ambassador to Visit UW Thursday

A representative of a national effort aimed at encouraging civic responsibility among young people will make his official visit to Wyoming Thursday, Sept. 8, at the University of Wyoming.

Wyoming Senate President Phil Nicholas, on behalf of Gov. Matt Mead, will welcome basketball entertainer Les “Pee Wee” Harrison -- an ambassador for the Responsibility Foundation -- at 2 p.m. in the Wyoming Union Family Room. The public is invited.

Joining in the event will be Mead’s chief of staff, Kari Gray, and UW men’s basketball head coach Allen Edwards.

The Responsibility Foundation, in partnership with Studies Weekly and the Every Kid Learns Foundation, is working this summer to inspire citizens -- especially young people -- to understand and participate in civic responsibility. Among the partnership’s activities is a Nov. 1 mock election involving K-12 students across the country; the nation’s participating students have voted correctly for the winning presidential candidate in the last three elections.

Harrison, now a motivational speaker, played with Meadowlark Lemon as a Harlem All-Star. He is traveling across the country to ignite conversations about responsibility in all 50 states and inspire school children to learn about civic responsibility and the election process.

He also is raising awareness of and money for construction of the Statue of Responsibility, a sister to the Statue of Liberty planned to be constructed on the West Coast to symbolize responsibility to elevate thoughts and actions to create a better world. Harrison will present Nicholas with a stainless steel replica of the Statue of Responsibility.