2017 Connecticut's Kid Governor Jessica Brocksom ended her term last week at the inauguration of the 2018 Connecticut's Kid Governor Megan Kasperowski. Jessica reflected on her term, shared well wishes with Megan, and thanked all who helped her this year. You can read her farewell address below and watch it here.
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| Jessica prepares to give her Farewell Address at the 2018 Inauguration Day in the Courtroom of Connecticut's Old State House. |
Good morning everyone! A special welcome to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, State Senator Art Linares, State Representative Christie Carpino, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell, Supreme Court Justice Emeritus Dennis Eveleigh, Portland First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield, Portland Superintendent Dr. Philip O’Reilly, and Kid Governor-Elect Megan Kasperowski. Thank you for being here for this special day.
I have had a very exciting year as the 2017 Connecticut’s Kid Governor. I would like to tell you all about it, but first I want to give a special thanks to the Connecticut Public Affairs Network. They are the reason that I was able to run to be Kid Governor and help so many animals. And thank you so much Mr. C, Ms. Whipple, Mr. Orcutt, and Ms. Sousa and everyone else for being there every day and helping me along the way. You guys have done so much for me this year and my accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. I want to personally thank my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Stuart, for all that she does for me. She is the most amazing teacher that I ever had and I wish all students had the chance to be taught by Ms. Stuart. She was so supportive of me during my term. I thank you for everything you do for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you.
I really want to thank my family for all of their support for me and bringing me to many events just like this. I am truly grateful for them and I wouldn’t be able to do anything without them, so thank you so much.
During my year as your Kid Governor, I had the great opportunity to travel all over the state as well as New York and a special trip to Washington, D.C. During my travels, I was able to meet so many people along the way who are as passionate as I am about helping animals. It’s been amazing to see my platform of animal cruelty awareness not only help many animals, it motivated other people to help as well.
I would like to especially thank Senator Richard Blumenthal for inviting me to Washington, D.C. He and Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Chris Murphy took the time out of their busy days to visit with me and learn about my platform to help animals. They also told me about their work in Congress and the animal legislation they support. The Humane Society of the United States also met with me in Washington and shared how they help to advocate for animals.
I also got to go to New York and had the honor of being recognized by the ASPCA as the Tommy P. Monahan Kid of the Year. The ASPCA is such an important organization and they inspire me to do great things to help animals.
Over the year, I was able to meet all three points of my platform and do much more. I met my first goal of helping pass a bill. I was able to speak at a press conference at the state capitol to support a law allowing therapy animals to go to court with kids. The bill was signed by Governor Malloy in July and took effect in October. My second goal was met by coordinating a collection drive and donating many items and money to the animal shelter to help with costs for animal care. I also prompted other kids and adults to do the same and shared resources for planning collection drives in schools. Lastly, I met my third goal of making an educational presentation to spread awareness about responsible pet ownership. That presentation was released this week. There are so many things that you can do to help stop animal cruelty and be a responsible pet owner. I'm so proud of all the people in Connecticut who are helping animals, those without a voice.
This past year, I went to libraries across Connecticut to teach kids and adults about responsible pet ownership. I helped start a program called Heat Kills in my town of Milford with my State Representative, Pam Staneski. I met with elected officials and news reporters to share my platform. I also kept a blog called Helping Animals to motivate other kids to speak up for animals.
In closing, congratulations to our new Kid Governor Megan! You have such a great year ahead of you! You are going to make so many people happy and inspire others. Just don't forget to have fun and enjoy it while you can. It goes by so quickly.
I would also like to say “congratulations” to the six other candidates from the Statewide Election! Your campaigns were amazing and I hope that you will continue to spread your messages because they are all very important. Just remember you all can make a difference.
Even though my term is up, I will still continue to educate people on animal cruelty and speak up for animals to make sure their voices are heard. Once again, congrats to Megan and the six final candidates. And to everyone, remember to help animals, those without a voice. Thank you and have a great day!
