Blackfoot ‘We the People’ team returns from nationals

The Blackfoot “We the People” club has won the state title nine years in a row. The team just got back from its trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

“The cool thing was we pushed ourselves to do that much work,” said Tate Sensenbach.
They start out at 30 minutes a day of practice, then an hour, then two hours.

“Every unit prepares three separate papers on three separate questions,” said Hallie Preece. “When you go to competition you recite those papers and you do a presentation for them. It’s four minutes long, no more and only a little less. Then you have six minutes of question and answer and the judges can ask you anything based on that paper.”

For the Broncos team winning is a tradition, but the journey to get there may be the most rewarding.
“You go in the class, you’re thinking, ‘This is previously eight-time state champ team, we got this in the bag.’ Then your coaches run you through your first panel,” said Sensenbach. “Oh that is terrible, from that point you work so hard because you don’t want to ruin that reputation.”

Once the hard work is done, the memories are priceless.
“My first favorite honestly was the Vietnam Memorial,” said Sensenbach. “My grandpa served in the Vietnam War, and just touching that wall. It’s indescribable.”
“The day that we went to Arlington National Cemetery, it was pouring rain and we were soaking wet an miserable,” said Preece. “We saw an Honor Flight bus come and it was full or World War II veterans and Korean veterans, and they were coming out with their wheelchairs and walkers. So we formed a tunnel, the whole team, and started clapping for them as they came in. Just to see their faces and to learn and appreciate how these people went through so much to give us the freedoms that we have.”
“The reason I keep doing this program is so I can see the kids touch the Vietnam wall, and cry in the national archives when they see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for themselves,” said Holly Kartchner, coach of the “We the People” team.

The team had to do more than just win at the state level to get to nationals in D.C. Students had to raise $43,000 for the trip. The kids opened a store for fundraising complete with a business license and a health department license. It was completely run entirely by the students.