WFEC Sends Two Students to Washington, D.C.

GRACEVILLE, FL – Rachel Pelt of Sneads and Preston Wilson of Chipley were among the nearly 1,500 high school students from across the country who participated in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Tour held June 13-18, 2009, in Washington, D.C. Pelt and Wilson were sponsored by West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC).

Each year in June, an action-filled week provides high school students opportunities to learn first-hand what it is like to be involved in politics, how our government operates, about electric co-ops and today’s pressing issues. Highlights included meeting their elected representatives in the U.S. House and Senate; tours of Arlington National Cemetery, the Capitol, Mt. Vernon, Ford’s Theater; tours of various monuments including the Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and many more; the National World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and Korean Veterans Memorial. Participants also enjoyed a cruise on the Potomac River and many more tours and events.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has been a joint effort of local electric co-ops, such as WFEC, their statewide co-op associations, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Arlington, Virginia for over 40 years.

Since 1964, the nation’s cooperative electric utilities have sponsored more than 40,000 high school juniors and seniors for visits to their U.S. congressional delegations, energy and grassroots government education sessions, and sightseeing in Washington. NRECA is the national service organization representing the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide electric service to 39 million people in 47 states. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Tour is open to all high school juniors whose parents or guardians are members of West Florida Electric. Each high school within WFEC’s service area chooses a representative for the State and National Youth Tours each Fall. If you will be a junior during the 2009-2010 school year, see your school’s guidance counselor for more information about the Youth Tour or contact Candace Croft at ccroft@westflorida.coop .

Photo caption: (Arlington Cemetery): Preston Wilson (left), Chipley High School and Rachel Pelt (right) Sneads High School represented West Florida Electric on the 2009 National Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C.

(Capitol with elected officials): Thirty students represented Florida’s electric cooperatives in Washington, D.C. on the National Rural Electric Youth Tour. They are pictured here on the steps of the Capitol with U.S. Congressmen Adam Putnam (front left), Cliff Stearns (far left), Tom Rooney (back right), Allen Boyd (middle right) and Jeff Miller (front right).