MGA Participants Star in Virginia Tourism Film

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This year at MGA there was an interesting opportunity that some of this year’s students were able to participate in. On Saturday morning, appearing to come only minutes after the Inaugural Ball had ended and seconds after our heads hit our pillows, a group of students headed over to the Capitol Building at 6:15 in order to partake in a promotional tourism video directed by Tim Reid. Reid was actually born in Norfolk and, if you don’t recognize his name, played the father in “Sister, Sister” and William Barnett in “That 70’s Show.” This was clearly an exciting time for any of the girls who watched “Sister, Sister” in their elementary school days and any high school student who has held a special place in their heart for the senseless antics of Eric Forman (who hasn’t, really?).
The purpose of this documentary was to promote the historical aspects of Virginia’s tourism industry, while inadvertently showing off the dedication of our high school students to our government. The scene was shot in the Senate chamber with a mixed array of our senators, delegates, and reporters and showed a very well-versed Thomas Jefferson impersonator giving an inspirational anecdote on the importance of democracy. Key student speakers included Eric Spencer of Broadwater Academy as Sergeant-at-Arms and Chelsea Hall of Arcadia High School as President pro tempore. After about a dozen run-throughs at different angles, we were dismissed to go help ourselves to Krispy Kremes and return to our normal agenda. In the grand scheme of things, this was probably not the most important activity that occurred in our time here, but it was definitely an aside that will be remembered for years to come.
--Natalie

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