Fayette County High School student Tapan Shah has been chosen to participate in Georgia’s 41st annual Washington Youth Tour, an all-expense paid leadership experience sponsored by the electric membership corporations in Georgia, including Coweta-Fayette EMC.

Selected by his local co-op, Coweta-Fayette EMC, Tapan will travel to Atlanta and Washington D.C. with 99 other Georgia high school students to learn about U.S. history, government and careers in public service.

This year’s tour, which takes place on June 8-15, exposes students to the fast-paced world of politics, leadership and agenda-setting. Each year the Washington Youth Tour challenges teens to consider the part they play in history, government and the cooperative movement, encourages them to become involved citizens, and prompts them to consider careers in public service.

“It’s a privilege to support students while giving them an opportunity to see for themselves the rich history of this country,” says Michael Whiteside, President & CEO of Coweta-Fayette EMC. “It’s equally important to introduce them to leaders of yesterday and today whose contributions have made it possible for Americans to live in a free and democratic society.”

Tapan is a junior at Fayette County High School where he is a member of the Key Club, Beta Club and the Spanish Honor Society.

When the group arrives in Washington D. C., Georgia’s delegation will convene with more than 1,400 youth representing cooperatives across the nation. The delegates will have the opportunity to mingle with peers from other states and exchange views on local and national issues.

During their stay, students will meet with national representatives as they attend a Georgia Congressional Delegation meeting, a lecture in the Supreme Court and actual congressional sessions. They will also visit many of the nation’s historical monuments and museums such as the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex; the Holocaust Museum; Arlington Cemetery; and the World War II, Vietnam War, FDR, Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials.

Since 1965, the Washington Youth Tour has given more than 1,750 students in Georgia and 40,000 students nationwide the opportunity to take part in this unique leadership experience.

Coweta-Fayette EMC is consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to 70,000 consumers in Fayette, Coweta, Clayton, South Fulton, Spalding, Troop, Heard, and Meriwether counties.

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