WFEC Holds Annual Youth Tour Competition                                                                                                                                

West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) recently joined other co-ops from across the state in Tallahassee for the 2010 State Youth Tour.  During this two-day trip to the Capitol, local high school juniors chosen by their principals and guidance counselors for excellence, and whose parents or guardians are members of WFEC, visited the IMAX theatre where they saw the film “Forces of Nature” and participated in an electromagnetic classroom demonstration.  Youth Tour participants also enjoyed a private tour of the Governor’s Mansion.

The students also visited the Florida House of Representatives where they participated in a mock legislative session, proposing and debating bills. In addition, students visited the Supreme Court where they witnessed oral arguments in a case presented before the Justices.

Contestants representing WFEC in Tallahassee were:  Jake Hall, Altha School; Brett Tanner, Blountstown High School; Carly Hartzog, Chipley High School; Jared Byrd, Graceville High School; Ryan Pickwick, Holmes County High School; Karlee Floyd, Malone High School; Kaylee Toole, Marianna High School; Alex Roberts, Ponce De Leon High School; Angel Rodriguez, Poplar Springs High School; Jennifer Thompson, Sneads High School and Caleb Coppedge, Vernon High School.

WFEC’s eleven Youth Tour contestants competed for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C, where they will join other eleventh grade students from all over the United States to tour the nation’s capitol in June. A panel of three judges from the electric cooperative industry interviewed the students and chose two winners and an alternate on Thursday, February 18, 2010. The winners were Brett Tanner, Blountstown High School and Jennifer Thompson, Sneads High School. The alternate winner was Angel Rodriguez from Poplar Springs High School.

The trips to Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. are part of the cooperative’s efforts to educate the leaders of tomorrow about how our state and federal government works. The trips also help them gain insight into the roles rural cooperatives have played in the history of our country as well as their roles in the future of the electric utility industry.

The Washington, D.C. Youth Tour Program has been in existence since 1957 when co-ops sent students to Washington, D.C. to work during the summer. By 1964, the program caught on, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) began to coordinate the efforts of the co-ops. Since then, thousands of young people have experienced this opportunity.

(Group Shot): (l-r, back): Jake Hall, Altha Public School; Alex Roberts, Ponce De Leon High School; Caleb Coppedge, Vernon High School; Ryan Pickwick, Holmes County High School; Jared Byrd, Graceville High School and Brett Tanner, Blountstown High School (l-r, front): Jennifer Thompson, Sneads High School; Angel Rodriguez, Poplar Springs High School; Carly Hartzog, Chipley High School; Kaylee Toole, Marianna High School and Karlee Floyd, Malone High School.

(Winners): (L-R) Alternate – Angel Rodriguez, Poplar Springs High School, Winner – Brett Tanner, Blountstown High School
and Winner – Jennifer Thompson, Sneads High School

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