There was a high level security meeting this past weekend in Millbrook. There was a president and vice president and several high ranking officials. But it wasn’t something too outlandish.
It was a gathering of teenage boys, mostly from Alabama coming together after a summer filled with Boys State and Boys Nation. It was after Stanhope Elmore High School senior Nick Frazier was selected as Boys Nation vice president. And his new found friend and Alabama resident Luke Lawson. It’s only the second time ever students from the state were selected as Boys Nation president and vice president. It last happened in 2003 when Charlie Walker and Richard Friedman from Alabama did it.
But it almost didn’t happen.
Frazier had to figure out as a child and young teenager how to deal with life after losing his sight.
Frazier then made a trip to Washington D.C., a trip of many firsts. It was Frazier’s first time to the nation’s capital. It was his first flight and his first flight with a service dog. But he wasn’t worried about meeting new people.
“I wasn't worried about the week itself,” Frazier said. “We all had the same credentials to be there. None of us were really different, because we all got there for the same reason, and that's through our leadership.”
Frazier was more worried about getting there with Morgan, his service dog.
“The morning we were actually headed to the airport they canceled my connecting flight from Atlanta to DC,” Frazier said. “I had to get on a few connecting flights in North Carolina, and then finally landed in DC, like three hours later than expected. The first night was a little hectic, because that puts you a little bit behind, but not in, like, a bad way.”
Frazier learned big cities were not his thing. But he knew it was going to be a special trip. He was one of 100 making the trip.
“Regardless of what happened, I can say I was able to experience American Legion Boys Nation,” Frazier said. “Not a lot of people can say that. So me just doing that alone was my gratification.”
There were trips to the World War II Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
“I experienced the quietness of the charging of the guard,” Frazier said. “I could hear the heel clicks and the rifles move.”
Frazier also was allowed to visit the catacombs of the moment where the Army soldiers reside.
“We got to speak with them and learn more about what it is like for them,” Frazier said. “It is such an honor for them to be there. It was an honor to be there to experience it. It’s a moment I will never forget.”
Frazier and Lawson bonded after meeting at Boys State in Tuscaloosa earlier this summer. They had plans at Boys Nation to campaign for vice president and president. They put themselves out there like they did at Boys State. They met everyone they could. Frazier they were just themselves, teenage boys hanging with everyone until midnight and later each night.
It was connections made there that not only created lifelong friendships but cemented Frazier’s and Lawson’s vote for vice president and president.
Frazier was chosen to speak at the 911 Memorial at the Pentagon. He doesn’t speak from a prepared script. Instead he develops a bullet point list to speak from.
“I don't write my speeches,” Frazier said. “I'll occasionally gather a few thoughts together, but most of the time it's off the cuff. I can't write my speech because I can't read it, obviously. If I think about my speech, word for word, bar for bar, and just remember it in my brain, when I went up there to speak, I would stutter. I would forget everything. I'd black out.”
A family on vacation from Missouri came by the Pentagon Memorial as Frazier was getting ready to speak.
“They walked past and just happened to be there at the right time,” Frazier said. “When they heard me and the president, Luke Lawson, giving a speech, they stopped. They listened. Tears were shed. You could clearly tell that it moved them.”
Frazier also got to meet U.S. Senators including Tommy Tuberville and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Frazier said he made lifelong friends at Boys Nation and Boys State. He learned from former Boys Nations participants some have gone on to create businesses together.
Hearing this Frazier further commented to the idea he had leaving Boys State about getting some of the participants together. Lawson travelled from south Alabama to Frazier’s home as did several other Boys State participants. Only this gathering saw the Boys State governor and lieutenant governor as president and vice president.
But it was just a gathering of friends for Frazier. He went shopping to make sure they all had food for the weekend.
“They're going to come up this weekend before school starts back,” Frazier said. “We're just going to hang out, be teenagers and have a good time,” Frazier said. “Then school's going to start back, and then we'll set something back up around Christmas time or early spring next year.”
