Celebrating 250 years of civic life in America

Imagine being told you have to leave your home, perhaps forever. You only have a couple of hours to pack, and you can only take what fits in your car.

Calista Christiansen, a seventh-grader from the Columbia River Gorge community of Lyle, didn't have to imagine. That's what happened to her, her family and her neighbors last summer when the Burdoin Fire burned through the community, destroying 14 homes and threatening more than 250 others, including her own.

Christiansen spoke about the experience during the 2026 National Civics Bee state competition last month in Olympia, telling the judges how it reframed how she viewed wildfire preparedness - and what she proposed to do about it.

"To mitigate the risk of a future fire devastating my town, I propose to start a local nonprofit organization called Fire Proof Lyle, which should be composed of three branches: finance, people and labor," Christiansen said.

It was a winning pitch. Christiansen won first place in the competition, earning $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. later this year to compete in the national championship.

This is the fourth year the AWB Institute has hosted the state championship of the National Civics Bee, which is a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. For the first time in the competition's history, all 50 states are represented - a fitting milestone in America's 250th year.

For two and a half centuries, our nation has relied on our citizens to elect representatives, serve on juries, run for office and engage in civic life from a young age. And yet too many of us are uninformed about the basics of our government and the reasons why civics education is important. The National Civics Bee competition is working to change that, one quiz and essay at a time.

The competition started early in the year. Middle school students from throughout the state competed in regional competitions at local chambers of commerce. They answered civics questions in a game-show style quiz and submitted essays about a problem in their community and their proposed solution. The top finishers moved on to the statewide finals in June.

This was the second year for Christiansen competing in the state finals. She finished third last year, two places behind Washington state champion Maanha Nasir. Nasir went on to finish third at the national competition last fall in Washington, D.C., earning $15,000.

In the weeks leading up to the July Fourth celebration of America's 250th birthday, Nasir appeared on NBC's Today show to compete in an on-air civics quiz. Nasir and co-host Sheinelle Jones went up against co-host Jenna Bush Hager and the 2025 Indiana state champion, Barrett Hodorek.

There is an element of fun underpinning the whole competition. Can famous TV personalities name who is on the 10-dollar bill or the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence? (Hint: No, they cannot.) Can you and I pass a basic civics test without pulling out our phones?

But it's clear that civics education is about more than game show quizzes.

It's about understanding how our communities work, how our government works, the rights we have as Americans - and the responsibilities, too. It's about identifying a problem or a threat - like the risk of wildfire - and looking for a solution to keep your family, your neighbors, and your community safer.

Calista Christiansen heads to Washington, D.C. this fall, 250 years after the start of this great civics experiment we call the United States of America. Congratulations, Calista. And happy birthday, America.

- Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state's chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.