Kings County high school leadership students get taste of county government

The event began at 8:30 a.m. in the board of supervisors’ chambers and board members encouraged the leadership students to learn and interact in the roles of governmental officials.

Lemoore High School had two participants on Tuesday, including Nicholas Sheldon, who sat with Kings County Supervisor Joe Neves, and Katelyn Pedersen, who got to sit with her father, Supervisor Craig Pedersen.

Students spent a portion of the day with their counterparts, attended a K-9 demonstration at the Kings County Sheriff’s Department, and attended a luncheon featuring guest speaker, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Doug Verboon.

For 39 years, this event has been sponsored and spear-headed by the late Les Collins and the Hanford Optimist Club from 1974 until 2014. Collins passed away in 2014. The longtime community supporter recognized the importance of mentoring the youth of Kings County and giving them insight into County Government.

His efforts did not stop there. He was known as the hardest-working philanthropist in Hanford, raising money and forming the Community Foundation of Kings County, now known as the Les Collins Community Foundation.

The foundation raises money to help local families hurt by tragedies and disasters. He was a decorated World War II veteran earning both the Combat Infantry Badge and the Combat Medic Badge. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star in Operation Straight Line, a day that saw only two of the 33 medics who went ashore that day in 1944 survive.

Following Collins death, the Hanford Rotary Club stepped to sponsor the event in 2015 and again this year.