Washington Youth Tour 2011
Returning for the annual event that shows the state’s young leaders the vibrant activities of our nation’s capital, nearly 140 students from electric cooperative service areas across Tennessee boarded buses in June to travel to Washington for the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.
Zak Hileman of Bulls Gap, Christina Maddox of Rogersville, Madi Harris and Courtney Skelton of Church Hill, Linda Tipton of Mt. Carmel, and Courtney Dickerson of Morristown won spots on the weeklong tour of Washington, D.C., for writing winning short stories titled “Electric Cooperatives: iPower the Future,” describing how locally owned, member-controlled electric cooperatives provide valuable community-building support in addition to reliable and affordable electric service. Misti Gray, English teacher at Morristown-Hamblen East High School was also awarded a spot on the trip to recognize her invaluable support of the co-op’s youth programs.
The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour is a joint effort of local electric co-ops such as Holston EC, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Each school year, Holston EC sponsors a short story contest for high school juniors. Winners are awarded expense-paid trips to our nation’s capital the following June as part of the Washington Youth Tour. This year’s trip ran June 10-16 and included meetings with elected officials, visits to Washington’s popular tourist stops and time to meet winners representing other co-ops across the state.
“We’re delighted to have sent another deserving group of our leaders of tomorrow on expense-paid trips to our nation’s capital as part of the Washington Youth Tour,” said Michelle Simpson, Holston EC Communications Representative who served as a chaperone. “These essay winners represent the best from our service area, and we’re thrilled we were able to provide them this once-in-a-lifetime trip to see D.C. and learn more about their member-owned electric cooperative.”
On the tour, students saw famous sites they’d learned about in school, including the White House and memorials to past presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as well as monuments honoring the sacrifices of veterans of World War II and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts. Strolls through the varied museums of the Smithsonian Institution afforded the students opportunities to learn more about science, history and art. Other fun stops included homes of former presidents — George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello — a performance of “Shear Madness” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and tours of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and National Museum of Crime and Punishment.
The Youth Tour also included a solemn and sobering visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where the group laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. And the Tennessee group marveled at the precision and skill of the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon at the Sunset Parade, performed in front of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial’s iconic statue re-creating the flag-raising over Iwo Jima.
No trip to Washington, D.C., would be complete without a lesson or two in government and civics. The group was treated to a special after-hours, VIP guided tour of the historic U.S. Capitol and met Reps. Diane Black, Scott DesJarlais and Phil Roe as well as Tennessee’s senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker. Congressman Phil Roe also spent some time with his constituents outside the Capitol and posed for photos.
“This is another wonderful program our cooperative sponsors to educate our youth on their hometown electric co-op,” said Holston EC general manager Larry Elkins. “Through this and similar educational opportunities made possible by Holston EC and our statewide and national organizations, our future member-owners experience first-hand how we energize their communities with special community-building programs as well as affordable electricity.”
These students will never forget Congressman Phil Roe, who met with them on the steps of the US Capitol. From left, Linda Tipton, Christina Maddox, Madi Harris, Congressman Roe, Courtney Skelton and Zak Hileman.
Kids (of all ages) enjoy spending time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. From left, Linda Tipton, Christina Maddox, Zak Hileman, Madi Harris, Michelle Simpson, Courtney Skelton, Courtney Dickerson and Misti Gray.
