{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://rice.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/rep-tom-rice-teaches-ocean-bay-middle-school-students-about-founding", "Rep. Tom Rice teaches Ocean Bay Middle School students about founding fathers, Arnold Schwarzenegger", "2014-09-26", "2014", "2014-09", "Republican", "House", "SC", "Tom Rice", "R000597", "rice.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Some Grand Strand students were treated Wednesday to Rice Krispies treats, a visit from a U.S. Congressman and a short Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation.\r\n\r\nAbout 200 eighth-graders packed into the Ocean Bay Middle School auditorium to hear Rep. Tom Rice speak Thursday as part of their \u201cCareers and Leadership\u201d speaker series. Rice was the inaugural speaker.\r\n\r\nRice kicked off the talk with a brief history lesson about how the founding fathers sacrificed everything \u2014 even their lives \u2014 for the right to a democracy.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe most precious thing to them, the thing they were trying to protect, was freedom,\u201d Rice said. \u201cThat\u2019s what they were all fighting for.\u201d\r\n\r\nFighting for those freedoms should still be on politicians\u2019 minds, according to a few students.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe most important part of government is protecting the people and the country,\u201d said eighth-grader Elizabeth Gatley.\r\n\r\n\u201cAnd protecting the freedom of the people,\u201d Ela Ender, a fellow classmate, added.\r\n\r\nRice spent part of his lecture reminding students of the founding fathers' intent to provide a better country for themselves and \u201ctheir posterity\u201d \u2014 as described in the Constitution \u2014 and students should appreciate the opportunities given to them. By setting up a democratic republic, rather than a kingdom, founders fostered an environment that promotes growth and competition.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re the most wealthy country in the world, the most free country,\u201d Rice said. \u201cMe and you, we\u2019re the beneficiaries of the founders' sacrifices.\u201d\r\n\r\nJade Crooks, 13, took Rice\u2019s words to heart.\r\n\r\n\u201cSince we live in the land of opportunities, then why not make an opportunity to get what you want,\u201d Crooks said.\r\n\r\nMost students could name all three branches of the U.S. government, though some were unclear about their purposes. Brooke Caboli, an eighth-grader, said she didn\u2019t know everything about the federal government, but knew one of the most hotly debated issues: how to spend the federal budget.\r\n\r\n\u201cI think money is important to everybody,\u201d Caboli said. \u201cAnd the government is important, because it handles that stuff.\u201d\r\n\r\nRice\u2019s talk was part of the school\u2019s \u201cCareers and Leadership\u201d series that aims to expose students to outstanding individuals who represent the finest in their areas of business, industry, professions, education, professional sports and performance. Rice said he hoped to give the students a better understanding of America\u2019s history and how the founding fathers\u2019 decisions affect students\u2019 everyday lives.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen you talk about what our founding fathers went through to give us the precious freedom that we enjoy and the prosperity that freedom gives us, we may understand the sacrifices that these people made,\u201d Rice said.\r\n\r\nHe said he was impressed by what the students already knew about the government and how easily some could name the three branches of government.\r\n\r\n\u201cThey were very knowledgeable,\u201d Rice said. \u201cIf they can work hard and stay smart, in this land of opportunities, they can accomplish anything they want.\u201d\r\n\r\nRice closed the lecture by describing how a skinny, tall Austrian wanted to become a bodybuilder, so he made his way to the U.S. and won two World Bodybuilding Championships. Then married a Kennedy. Then became governor of California.\r\n\r\nIn his best Arnold Schwarzenegger imitation, Rice encouraged the kids to \u201cnever let the naysayers get you down.\u201d\r\n\r\nContact CLAIRE BYUN at 626-0377 or follow her on Twitter @Claire_TSN.\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n  \r\n\tRead more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/09/25/4497767_rep-tom-rice-teaches-ocean-bay.html?sp=/99/134/142/&rh=1#storylink=cpy", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://rice.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/rep-tom-rice-teaches-ocean-bay-middle-school-students-about-founding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4410782605409622, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}