U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander visited Watertown Elementary School Monday to speak to eighth-grade students.  

He told the class stories relating to his life, and also about some lessons he had learned.

The first lesson involved Alexander's friend Alex Haley. Alexander told the student that Haley was the author of the book "Roots."

"(His family) sent him to the military. In the military, he found he could write better than his shipmates. He told me that he would rewrite many of the pages he wrote 26 times to be sure he got it right. The lesson I would like to leave with you is the best way you can learn how to write is to write a lot and to read a lot." 

He also told the students what his grandfather used to tell him when he was a young boy.

"He used to say, 'aim for the top, there's more room up there,'" Alexander said.

He told the students about his experience at Boys State when he was 16 and how the governor of Tennessee at the time had told the attendees that one of them would be governor someday.

"I was 33 when I ran the first time and was defeated," Alexander said. "The next time, I tried a little harder. I walked across the state, it took six months. I tried to shake 1,000 hands a day, and I got elected."

At the close of his talk, Alexander presented to Principal Anita Christian a flag that had been flown over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. 

"It is an opportunity for me to take a flag that's flown over the Capitol so that they can fly it here. I hope they fley it proudly," said Alexander.

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U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander also spoke at the Friends of Scouting luncheon. "The event, which drew about 300 guests, raised more than $32,000 for the Boys Scouts. Alexander, an Eagle Scout, was the keynote speaker.