Local Students Awarded Hands-On Learning Opportunity With Youth Tour of Nations Capital
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (July 24, 2003) – Two local students had the opportunity to view first hand the cooperative way of doing business as well as our nation’s government in action as more than 1,500 high school students representing electric cooperatives across the country visited Washington, DC, for the 39th Rural Electric Youth Tour this summer.
Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation sponsored Matt Miller, the son of Jim and Sherry Thompson, of Ashe County, and Hillary Smith, the daughter of Dan and Elizabeth Smith of Alleghany County.
Each summer, an activity-filled week affords select high school youths opportunities to learn first-hand what it is like to be involved in politics, community development, and today’s social issues. The tour’s theme of Commitment to Community provided students with an opportunity to learn more about American history, observe the workings of the U.S. government, and visit with their representatives in Congress. While on the Tour, students also learn about the cooperative form of business and how cooperatives operate to serve their member-owners as not-for-profit entities.
While on the trip, the students had the opportunity to visit historical monuments, places of government and other educational sites. Students also learned about energy, the electric cooperative industry and its importance to the future.
In addition to receiving an exciting and informational travel opportunity, Youth Tour winners are also eligible to compete for several college scholarships and further training opportunities. In contending for these opportunities, Hilary placed second in the Cooperative Leadership Conference scholarship competition, and will be participating in the 2003 National Institute on Cooperative Education at Virginia Tech.
The Rural Electric Youth Tour is a joint effort of local electric co-ops, such as Blue Ridge Electric, their statewide co-op associations, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, based in Arlington, Virginia.
Since 1964, the nation’s cooperative electric utilities have sponsored approximately 35,000 high school juniors and seniors for visits to their U.S. Congressional delegations, energy and grassroots government education sessions, and sightseeing in Washington.
Blue Ridge Electric is a not-for-profit electric cooperative affiliated with Touchstone Energy and serving some 65,000 consumers in Ashe, Alleghany, Caldwell, Watauga, and Wilkes counties.
