Missouri’s Boys State has been an important part of the lives of hundreds of young men in the ShowMe State, and one young Dexter man said it was a week that will shape his life.

Owen Flowers spoke this week to the organization that sponsored his participation at Missouri Boys State, the Dexter Kiwanis Club. Flowers was one of four Dexter young men who participated in Missouri Boys State in 2011, along with Dylan Heflin, Tyler Miller, and Zane Olson. 

Flowers was elected health inspector of Alcorn City, one of the communities young men are divided into for the Boys State experience.  Flowers was then elected as the presiding commissioner of Benton County.

“I represented 120 men at the county level,” Flowers said. “We literally created a state from the ground up.”

He is the son of Kim and Tim Flowers of Dexter and is a senior at DHS.

Boys State gave the young Dexter man not only leadership experiences, but a chance to explore career options. Flowers told the Kiwanians he had the opportunity to attend one of the five Boys State schools of law enforcement.

“It was because of this experience that I developed a stronger interest in criminology. I learned a lot about the benefits and the difficulties of the demanding but rewarding profession,” he said. Flowers said he plans to pursue a degree in criminology in college.

Flowers said that polling of Boys State members in 2011 showed that nearly half the young men said they favored continuation of the death penalty, 44 percent voted for the removal of the military presence in Iraq, 64 percent felt the drinking age in Missouri should remain at age 21, and 81 percent of the Boys State participants felt education should be the top focus for Missouri state government.

“The most influential impact I gained in my week at Boys State were my friendships,” Flowers said. He forged strong friendships with several other young men during the week.

“These individuals have shaped my life; they are friends I will have for a lifetime,” he said. “These connections will be remembered for a lifetime. I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity.”