VIDEO BY KAITLIN BROTHERS / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

(WARRENSBURG, Mo. )-Jason Kander, Missouri’s former secretary of state, received an award from UCM’s Student Government Association.

Kander came to UCM April 20 to receive the James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award, which was created to honor James C. Kirkpatrick, who served as the secretary of state in Missouri for 20 years.

According to SGA, the award is given to someone they believe has practiced good governmental procedures, promoted the public interest and demonstrated loyalty to the university.

Kander was secretary of state in 2012-2017, and was the youngest statewide elected official in the country.

Kander was the 33^rd recipient of this award.

The award has been given annually since 1985. Some past recipients were Sens. Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill; former Gov. Jay Nixon; Director of Student Activities Beth Rutt and many more.

Kander said he is honored to receive the Excellence in Governance award since it is named after James C. Kirkpatrick.

“Today to receive an award named after Jimmy Kirkpatrick, who literally the secretary of state’s building is named after, was pretty cool and I’m a fan of his,” Kander said.

One of Kander’s biggest programs is Let America Vote, which helps Kander as president of this program, to fight back against politicians throughout the country who make it harder for people to vote.

“I started Let America Vote just like the same reasons I ran for secretary of state. I wanted to fight for voting rights, and I see a lot of people out there right now, politicians who want to make it harder to vote for folks who they think are not going to vote for them,” he said. “And I think that’s un-American. I don’t think that’s how democracy is supposed to work. In fact, I know it’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

Kander said anyone thinking about running for office should remember to do something, not just be somebody.

“I’ve gotten the most satisfaction out of doing something…out of not focusing on a title or anything like that, but focusing on what change you can accomplish in the world,” Kander said.