Five Local Students Chosen for 2015 Washington Youth Tour

Five local high school students were recently selected to attend the 2015 Washington Youth Tour (WYT), as electric membership coopera­tives (EMCs) in Georgia, including GreyStone Power, are set to com­memorate 50 years of supporting students and teaching life lessons during the week-long adventure. Alexei Antonovich of Alexander High School, Vincent Buckman of Lithia Springs High School, Jordan Fitzgerald of Pauld­ing County High School, Andrew Sheffield of Landmark Christian School and Cheyenne Tippens of Alexander High School will rep­resent GreyStone on the WYT.

Douglas County High School Counselor Tameka Collins, who was recommended by GreyStone, was selected by Georgia EMC as a chaperone to accompany the state’s students on the trip.

Scheduled this year from June 11-18, the Youth Tour is fully sponsored by 38 of the EMCs in Georgia, including GreyStone Power. It stands as Georgia’s oldest leadership program for teens and offers students a personal lesson in U.S. history, competitions and contests to encourage leadership and teamwork, conversations with elected leaders on important subjects and current events, and a better appreciation for community and public service.

According to Ashley Kramer, public relations and communications coordinator for GreyStone, leaders today as well as those at the helm of electric cooperatives five decades ago, hold dear the purpose of the Youth Tour: to prepare young adults for the role of leader and influencer by providing them with knowledge and appreciation of the world around them, skills to become productive and contributing members of society, and hands-on learning opportunities that go beyond the classroom.

“For many of these teens, it’s a series of firsts—their first trip away from home, first plane ride, first time to D.C. and the first time to meet and create a personal network with others who have similar goals and plans in life,” says Georgia EMC Youth Tour Director Gale Cutler.

GreyStone’s five student delegates will be part of Georgia’s largest contingent to date—112 students representing 155 counties in Georgia.

The Tour kicks-off in Atlanta with keynote speaker Rep. Brooks Coleman, chairman of the House Education Committee. A resident of Duluth, Coleman is passionate about student learning and particularly the Youth Tour, having served 32 years with Gwinnett County Schools as a teacher, principal, curriculum director and assistant superintendent.

Building upon Coleman’s passion for learning and his role as public servant, the trip also consists of personal visits with students and Georgia’s congressional delegation. In these meetings, students are encouraged to ask questions about issues of the day as well as initiatives that could impact their families and communities.

Paying tribute to those whose vision and sacrifice secured a free and open society is another key component of the WYT. To that end, the participants will visit historic landmarks in the nation’s capital including sites such as Arlington Cemetery, the Smithsonian Museums, Holocaust Museum, Mount Vernon, Supreme Court, Capitol, Washington Monument, and the MLK, FDR, Jefferson, World War II and Lincoln memorials.

Also in D.C., the Georgia delegation will join nearly 1,600 Youth Tour participants from co-ops across the country, providing yet another life experience, which is the chance to meet and learn from a diverse group of peers representing nearly every state.

“When you don’t know anybody, you make friends fast,” says a recent delegate from Grady EMC in Cairo. “Fast friends are not always forever friends, but with the WYT, somehow they are. It’s the common experience that creates those strong bonds.”

EMC sponsorship and support of the Washington Youth Tour is another example of commitment to community by the electric cooperatives in Georgia. According to Bill Verner, senior vice president, Georgia EMC, EMCs are major contributors to the state as a whole, providing leadership in education, school and youth programs, charitable giving and community support.

The Washington Youth Tour was inspired by former president Lyndon Johnson who, in 1965, encouraged electric cooperatives “to send youngsters to the nation’s capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”

GreyStone Power serves nearly 109,000 members in portions of eight counties, including Douglas, Paulding, Fulton, Cobb, Carroll, Bartow, Fayette and Coweta counties. Learn more at www.greystonepower.com.