Youth Sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric to Attend Educational Washington, DC, Trip
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, N.C. – July 3, 2008 – Several youth were recently sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation to attend an educational leadership development opportunity in Washington, DC.
Kasey Thomson of West Jefferson, daughter of Cory and Linda Thomson; Samantha Kerley of Ennice, daughter William Kerley and Sandra Arnold; and Crystal Tsang of Boone, daughter of Nam and Kai Tsang, attended the 2008 Rural Electric Youth Tour June 14-20 in our nation’s capitol.
Samantha, Kasey and Crystal were among more than 1,500 high school students nationwide 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.
Additionally, Samantha received the Youth Leadership Council award by being chosen by the other North Carolina Youth Tourists to represent them in Washington, DC, and at the annual meeting of the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association next year in New Orleans. In addition to being distinguished for her leadership abilities, Samantha will also receive a $2,000 college scholarship.
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 this program. 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 ranks of our government, including the U.S. Senate.
The Youth Tour aims to educate youth on all aspects of rural electrification in order to promote better understanding of the value of rural electric cooperatives. The Youth Tour provides 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. The trip also gives participants an opportunity to meet elected officials and to better understand how the federal government operates.
The Rural Electric Youth Tour is a joint effort of local electric cooperatives, such as Blue Ridge Electric, statewide co-op associations and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Arlington, VA.
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