BOYS TOWN, Neb. (AP) — Boys Town youth residents have elected 17-year-old Josh Reed, of Fort Calhoun, as mayor of the village in west Omaha.
A news release from the organization says Reed becomes the 119th mayor of Boys Town. Ja’had Hart, of Erwin, North Carolina, was elected vice mayor.
Reed is a captain of the Boys Town cross-country team and is a member of the track team and student council. Hart competes on the basketball, football, baseball and track teams.
The Rev. Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, conceived the self-government system in 1926 as a tool for the town’s citizens to build character, citizenship and a sense of community. The process was made famous in the 1938 Academy Award-winning movie “Boys Town,” where Mickey Rooney portrayed Whitey Marsh, a tough young boy who turns his life around and becomes mayor of Boys Town.