NATIONAL ELECTRIC CO-OP YOUTH TOUR PROVIDES LOCAL STUDENTS WITH EXCITING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

For Immediate Release

Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener

LENOIR, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 12, 2006 – Aaron Logan Stamey of Hudson, Dylan Clements of Boone and Audrey Carico of Ennice attended the 2006 Rural Electric Youth Tour June 10 - 16 in Washington, D.C.

Logan, Dylan and Audrey were among more than 1,500 high school students nation-wide who attended the Youth Tour to learn about electric cooperatives, American history and the U.S. government. Students also had the opportunity to visit the historic sights of the nation’s capital. Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation sponsored Logan, the son of Manuel and Wendy Stamey; Dylan, the son of Lisa Clements; and Audrey, the daughter of Mark and Deborah Carico.

The Youth Tour has brought students to Washington, D.C. since the late 1950s. To date, more than 40,000 students from small towns across the nation have participated in the Youth Tour. Past participants of the Youth Tour have gone on to design airplanes, work as congressional aides on Capitol Hill and serve in some of the highest positions in our government such as Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate.

The objectives of the Youth Tour are to educate youth on all aspects of rural electrification in order to promote a better understanding of the value of the rural electric cooperatives; to provide an opportunity for youth to visit monuments, government buildings and cooperative-related organizations in order to become familiar with the historical and the political environment of the nation’s capital; and to provide an opportunity for youth to meet elected officials to better understand how their federal government operates.

The Rural Electric Youth Tour is a joint effort of local electric cooperatives, such as Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, their statewide cooperative associations and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Arlington, Va.

Blue Ridge Electric is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative delivering power and energy solutions to some 69,000 consumers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes and Alexander counties.

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