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Mark McCraw sees making a difference in young people’s lives as “a mission.”

Mark McCraw admitted he didn’t know much about American Legion Boys State before a few years ago.

“I kind of started learning about it four years ago. Started working with a mentor in another district, he knew a lot of people. He was involved in Boys State quite heavily,” said McCraw, who’s now the vice commander for American Legion Post 127 in Choctaw, Okla.

He’s also now a top recruiter for Oklahoma Boys State — a fitting accomplishment for McCraw, who’s writing his 13^th children’s book since 2020.

A veteran of the Air Force and Air Force Reserve, McCraw is also a former educator. “It’s a natural thing for me to be involved with children. I enjoy making a difference in the lives of children and youth,” he said.

“To me, it’s a mission.”

That mission has involved writing books aimed at military children, donating books to military dependents, and participating in Month of the Military Child events each April. The mission has also prompted McCraw to ensure more and more young men experience Boys State each summer.

“We’ve been trying to build a rapport with the local high schools. We basically go to four different high schools,” McCraw said.

Post 127 also hosts a recognition dinner each September for the local Boys State participants, with ROTC and school administrators, mayors and sponsors also in attendance.

That post-level effort hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Oklahoma Boys State staff.

“Mark and the good people of Choctaw, Okla., have been one of the more productive posts for us as of late,” said Corey Brooks, director of American Legion Oklahoma Boys State. “Mark has really run with recruiting for Boys State the last couple of years. The last two years they have been at 16 and 13 delegates, respectively.

“He is always on top of things and works hard to get into schools to talk about the program, its benefits, and its mission. If we, and other departments, had more of him, there is no doubt that we’d be back to the glory days of Boys State with 25,000-plus attendees nationally.”

The 2026 session of American Legion Boys Nation, which brings 100 rising seniors from across the nation to Washington, D.C., for a week of immersive government education, will be the 80^th session and also coincides with America’s 250^th birthday. Let us know what your Boys State program is planning in conjunction with these milestones at wproffet@legion.org.