Grady Electric Membership Corporation

A MEMBER OWNED ENERGY PROVIDER

Senators Isakson and Chambliss speak to 2011 WYT Delegation

Pictured separately left to right are 2011 WYT Delegates Jordan Downing, Gabrielle Howard, and Davis Jenkins.

GRADY EMC “LOOKING FOR LEADERS”

WASHINGTON YOUTH TOUR 2012

Sharing the country’s proud heritage comes at a critical time for young people. According to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Education, just 12 percent of 12th graders demonstrated proficiency in American history.*

As such, a tour of the nation’s Capital could be considered a casual visit by some. But for 104 high-achieving high school students and 14 adults from Georgia, a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 2011 Washington Youth Tour provided a keen appreciation of U.S history and the importance of leadership and service.

From June 9-16, 2011, Jordan Downing from Cairo High School, Gabrielle Howard, from Bainbridge High School, and Davis Jenkins from Thomas County Central High School were among Georgia’s brightest high school students sent on the Washington Youth Tour, a leadership program sponsored by the electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) in Georgia, including Grady EMC.

Jordan, Gabrielle, and Davis did a tremendous job in serving as the 2011 WYT delegates.  They represented themselves, their parents, their schools and communities extremely well.  They joined more than 1,500 premiere students from 44 states for the week-long educational experience.  The 2011 delegates followed an esteemed group of recent WYT alumni who have graduated as valedictorians, salutatorians and STAR students.

According to Donnie Prince with Grady EMC, the purpose of the Tour is to teach students the values every electric cooperative brings to the communities they serve, promote civic involvement, enlighten youth on today’s pressing energy issues and provide a personal view of the nation’s rich heritage.

“They come away with a new appreciation for the history of the country they live in, a new interest in government and a new sense of responsibility and feeling after they’ve visited the War Memorials, go to Arlington Cemetery and realize how many people sacrificed their lives so they could be in this great country,” said Paul Wood, president/CEO of Georgia EMC.

For nearly 50 years, more than 50,000 young citizens have traveled to Washington with the help of their electric cooperative. A notable number of Youth Tour alumni are now working as congressional aides and as federal agency staff, and there are many more serving in some role in state and local government. Countless others have taken their places as engaged citizens.

“I wouldn’t be in the job I’m in today were it not for the Washington Youth Tour,” said Bill Verner, vice president of External Affairs with Georgia EMC, and 1979 Youth Tour Delegate.  “In fact I would say that my profession chose me; I did not choose my profession, and the Youth Tour is how it all started.”

 In 2011, the Tour began with a kick-off banquet in Atlanta. WSB-TV meteorologist and community leader David Chandley served as master of ceremonies, and state Rep. Brooks Coleman, chairman of the Georgia House Education Committee, was keynote speaker.

The group’s first history lesson came in the form of a visit to the Little White House in Warm Springs, Ga., where President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in 1945, and the retreat where many of his important decisions as president were formulated, including the plan to bring electricity to rural America.

In D.C., students gained perspective on today’s important issues and their role as engaged citizens. Everyone had the opportunity to engage with staff and/ or members from every member of Georgia's congressional delegation, including personal visits with leaders Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and U.S. Reps. Hank Johnson, Lynn Westmoreland, John Lewis, Rob Woodall, Austin Scott, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, John Barrow and David Scott.

“We have seen students' lives transformed by this trip,” says Prince with Grady EMC. “The trip gives them confidence, broadens their horizons, and helps them see the opportunities available to them. It also provides them a network of successful young people for life.”

The emphasis on education continued via lunch at the Kennedy Center and tours of the Supreme Court, U.S. Capitol, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and the FDR, Jefferson, Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Veterans memorials.

While absorbing the memorials and monuments, the student delegation from Georgia made a lasting impression not only on EMC representatives, chaperones and youth tour directors, but also on members of Georgia’s congressional delegation and multiple guards, flight attendants, and hotel/monument personnel in D.C.

"Meeting with the EMC Youth Tour group is a highlight of our year on Capitol Hill and is one of the greatest things the EMCs of Georgia do for their communities and our state," Senators Isakson and Chambliss both remarked during their visit with the group of young leaders in the Russell Senate Office Building.  Pictured is the Georgia delegation on Capitol Hill as they listen to Senators’ Chambliss and Isakson. 

One of the standout delegates, Alexis Fish, sponsored by Cobb EMC, was chosen by her peers as the 2011 representative to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Leadership Council.

As such, Fish will attend the YLC Conference in Washington, D.C. in July, the GEMC Annual Meeting in November, the 2012 Youth Tour kickoff banquet next June and the NRECA Annual Meeting in San Diego next March.

Her selection to this national post catapults her into an elite group. Georgia’s 2010 Youth Leadership delegate, Avery Jones, recently graduated valedictorian and STAR student and was accepted to Yale and Harvard Universities.

Existing high school juniors who believe they possess the attributes to become a WYT delegate may contact their respective school’s coordinator for information on how to apply.  Grady EMC will again send one delegate from each of our primary service counties of Decatur, Grady, and Thomas.

Dates for the 2012 WYT are June 14-21.  Deadline for submission of applicants to Grady EMC is March 5, 2012.

Grady EMC is a member-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to approximately 13,000 members in Decatur, Grady, and Thomas counties.

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp.  Collectively, Georgia’s member-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to more than four million people, half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area.

*Source: U.S. Department of Education, The Nation’s Report Card