Arkansas Boys State, a one-week civic engagement and leadership program for students entering their senior year of high school, starts on Sunday, May 28,hosting 498 delegates from 187 high schools across the state. The upcoming session, which is sponsored by the Arkansas American Legion, marks the 82nd iteration of the leadership experience. The program and the student attendees are led by 72volunteer staff members who converge on the University of Central Arkansas campus for the week.“ Arkansas Boys State continues to be a premier youth leadership experience for students throughout the state of Arkansas, a sit has for thousands of delegates since 1940,”said Dr. Lloyd Jackson, the program’s executive director. “This week, 498 more young men will embark on a week that shapes a lifetime, and our staff is looking forward to investing in the future of our state. General Wesley K. Clark, a retired four-star general from the United States Army and the current Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark &Associates, a strategic consulting firm based in Little Rock, Arkansas, will deliver the program’s opening keynote address on Sunday, May 28,at 3:45 p.m. in Ida Waldran Auditorium. Gen. Clark was an Arkansas Boys State delegate in 1961 when the program was hosted at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The summer’s program includes the usual slate of Arkansas Boys State activities: administering a mock government from the ground up, engaging with peers on social and political issues, hearing from prominent keynote speakers and participating in the program’s marquis Schools of Instruction program. Continuing a partnership from the past two years, Arkansas PBS will live stream presentations, speeches and elections from the program on the Arkansas Citizens Access Network (AR-CAN), myarpbs.org/arcan“ Our 82nd session is just the most recent iteration of a program that truly invests in and changes the lives of young men within the state of Arkansas,” Jackson said. “We look forward to opening in this year’s session and welcoming our newest cohort of delegates.” For more information, visit  www.ar-boysstate.org.View Online: http://arboysstate.merit-pages.com/news/Arkansas-Boys-State-welcomes-498-stu-dents-from-187-high-schools-on-Sun-day/36197