by Bart Moss for the FCT

Phil Campbell High School student Elizabeth Benford was elected Secretary of State at the 2015 Girl’s State Convention held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa last week.

Benford, a rising senior, knew she would have to run for an office, so when it came to deciding what office to seek, she decided to go big.

“I wanted to run for a state office,” said Benford. “I like challenges, and this was a big one.”

In deciding what office to seek, she didn’t have to look too much further than her own hometown and her family. John Merrill, the recently elected Secretary of State, is married to Cindy Benford of Phil Campbell, Elizabeth’s cousin.

“I knew of John because of our family ties, so I decided to run for Secretary of State,” said Benford. “Once I decided what to run for, I developed a campaign plan, built a coalition of girls from surrounding schools to help me and prepared a speech about teamwork.”

Benford’s speech drew on her relationship with Merrill and focused on working together to accomplish big goals. She used the tornadoes of 2011 to focus on how the state and communities can work together instead of against each other to make things better.

“I drew on our county’s experience with tornadoes and how everyone pitched in to help each other out,” said Benford. “Schools were no longer rivals but family. I also pointed out that it wasn’t just our area that was affected by disasters. There were several other towns and cities affected on that awful day. There are cities and towns near the coast that have been severely impacted by hurricanes. If we can work together when a disaster strikes, then why can’t we work together every day to solve the big problems that face our state and find a solution?”

The day after Benford’s election she visited the real Secretary of State, John Merrill.

“It was a great honor,” said Benford. “I had a lot of great friends here locally that attended the convention and met many new friends. It was a great experience I will never forget.”