Special feature: Jordan City forms incredible brotherhood and wins city flag

In the nightly meeting of Jordan City on Thursday June 12th, 2025, something incredibly special took place.

Jordan City does things a little bit differently than other cities here at American Legion Buckeye Boys State (ALBBS). Every night, delegates and counselors unite under conversation. Throughout the week, American Legion member and Jordan City Legionnaire Jacob Marx spoke on the importance of boldness, the necessity for perseverance, and the value of human connection. These conversations led by Marx opened the young men up to the vulnerability displayed Thursday night.

Thursday night went beyond simple group conversation, which was sparked by a reading of “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. In this poem, Ellis describes the importance of recognizing the finite nature of human life, saying that “so when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash… would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?”

After the reading, the floor was opened to conversation on how the young men of Jordan City understood the meaning of the poem. The delegates were originally apprehensive, but when a delegate who wishes to remain anonymous stood up and spoke about how he read the poem at his best friend’s funeral this past October, the floodgates opened.

Delegates stood and popped out from the sea of men like a whack-a-mole game, each sharing some of their stories relating to the importance of doing the best with the time you have.

“It really shows me how much these people of Jordan mean to me and how close we bonded to be brothers in not even a week,” Carter Brandt of Jordan City said.
The young men spoke about lost fathers, grandfathers, best friends, and the importance of living by their legacies. Two delegates who have not always agreed on everything, stood up together to support each other as they shared their perspective on life’s value. Backs were patted, tissues were soiled, and by the end of the meeting, not a single eye was dry.

“We all stood up and we shared how we felt… and it took a lot of character and a lot of courage for that. And, you know, men, they typically do that… It really spoke a lot about how we have a special kind of love for each other,” Kaden Sas of Jordan City said.

Despite only knowing each other four days before, the citizens of Jordan City became more than just friends and floormates. They became brothers.

“[Thursday] night was one of the most eye-opening and probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’ve never seen so many people come together and share their experiences with life, their losses in life, and just be a family. That’s what Jordan City is. It’s a family,” Jason Bagley of Jordan City said.

What it was really like to be at that meeting Thursday night will only be known by the men in attendance. However, the lessons to be learned on the nature of friendship can be taken by anyone. It is a fair assumption to be made after learning from the delegates that Thursday night of ALBBS was truly life-changing.

“We have grown together closer than most teams that I’ve ever been on in three days. This was special,” Parker “Porkchop” Roberts of Jordan City said.
The following day during nightly assembly, Jordan City took back their first city flag of the week. The men give all credit to the camaraderie established the night before for the immense honor.

“[Thursday night] was, I think, a lot more than just brotherhood. I think [Thursday night] was something that you can only get once in a lifetime and I believe that [ALBBS] is definitely that once in a lifetime opportunity… It’s a connection no one in the world can have but us,” Jameson Boyle of Jordan City said.