Wednesday, July 30, 2003
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Wednesday, July 30, 2003 |
Local students attend Washington Youth TourArmed with a better appreciation of their nation's government, and a lifetime of memories, Jared Schnute of Fayetteville and Andrew Widener of Sharpsburg recently returned from the 2003 Washington Youth Tour, a week-long tour of the nation's capital, sponsored by Coweta-Fayette EMC. "The despicable acts of Sept. 11 reinforced the importance of strong leadership in the United States," said Michael Whiteside, president and CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC. "Through this tour, we encourage young people to think about the challenges that face their neighborhoods, their towns and their country and become part of the solution. And we'd love it if, after their experience with the Washington Youth Tour, they consider careers in public service." During the all-expense-paid trip in June, Jared and Andrew joined 83 students from across Georgia and journeyed to Atlanta and Washingon, D.C. They observed the workings of the U.S. government, gained knowledge of electric cooperatives and visited with their representatives in Congress. In Atlanta, Eric Tanenblatt, chief of staff to Gov. Sonny Perdue, gave the keynote address during the kickoff banquet. The next day, students met with Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Assistant Secretary of State Terrell Slayton, and visited the floor of the House and Senate chambers of the Georgia General Assembly. In addition, they met with CNN anchors Sophia Choi and Leon Harris. After arriving in the nation's capital, Georgia's group joined the more than 1,400 students representing cooperatives from across the country. In Washington, they toured the White House; the Washington Monument; the Lincoln, Jefferson, Korean, Iwo Jima and Vietnam Memorials; the Holocaust Museum; the National Cathedral; and the Smithsonian Institution, to name a few. During their visit to Arlington National Cemetery, the Georgia delegation laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All of the state groups convened for Rural Electric Youth Day, where they heard from Army Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, a badly burned survivor of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, and Therese Lyons, director of public liaison, White House Office of Freedom Corps. The Washington Youth Tour was inspired by former president Lyndon Johnson, who encouraged electric co-ops "to send youngsters to the nation's capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents." Since 1964, the nation's electric cooperatives have sponsored approximately 40,000 high school juniors and seniors for the Washington Youth Tour. Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to 62,000 members in Coweta, Fayette, South Fulton, Heard, Clayton, Spalding, Meriwether and Troup counties.
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