Jan. 20, 2009

Graham student pages for Rep. Jim McCune in Olympia
Nathan Noel participates in opening week of 2009 legislative session

Nathan Noel just completed serving as a page in the Washington State House of Representatives. He was sponsored by Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham.

Nathan, 14, is the son of Mark and Tanya Noel of Graham. An 8th-grader at Washington Virtual Academy, he served as a page from Jan. 12-16.

“It was great being able to sponsor a student from my hometown,” said McCune. “The first and last weeks of the legislative session are always the most interesting. I hope Nathan was able to take a lot of knowledge away from his experience in Olympia. It’s important for our students to understand and know that they can be an integral part of the legislative process.”

As a page, Nathan’s responsibilities included delivering messages and documents to legislators in their offices, committee meetings and House chambers. In addition to assigned duties, he continued his regular schoolwork and spent time in the legislative page school learning about state government.

Young men and women from across the state have come to Olympia to serve as pages for the Washington State Legislature since 1891. House members are only allowed to sponsor a limited number of pages each year.

Pages must obtain permission from their parents and schools, and most live with volunteer host families while in Olympia. Students interested in becoming pages can contact Rep. McCune directly at (360) 786-7824 or mccune.jim@leg.wa.gov.

More information about the House Page Program can be found at: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx

The 2009 legislative session began on Jan. 12 and will run 105 consecutive days.

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For more information, contact: John Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758