Jeff Fortenberry: “First let me thank Mr. Huizenga and Mrs. Maloney for their very thoughtful reflections on the history and importance of…”

“First let me thank Mr. Huizenga and Mrs. Maloney for their very thoughtful reflections on the history and importance of Boys Town. I greatly appreciate the sentiments offered. I am very happy and proud to stand here in support of the centennial commemorative coin. As was mentioned, Boys Town was founded in 1917 by Father Edward Flanagan and has since grown from a small local home for children who found themselves in difficult circumstances in Omaha to one of the largest nonprofit, nonsectarian child and family service organizations in America. Boys Town offers a remarkable model of academic and spiritual engagement. Students learn more than math and grammar, as important as that is. Their teachers and caregivers provide them with solid formation. Graduates are equipped to succeed not only professionally, but are also given the life skills to stay on the right path. Boys Town is so impactful that about 90 percent of the children who come there integrate successfully back into their communities; and historically, many, over time, have joined the military. What is this extraordinary model of intervention? It starts with a family. Each child is placed into a family with a caring, nurturing mother and a protective, giving father, where there are rules and expectations, discipline, and love. The success of Nebraska's Boys Town has recently been duplicated across many, many communities in our country.…”