GMC News
Bridges Chosen to Represent Tri-County EMC on Washington Youth Tour
TWO STUDENTS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT TRI-COUNTY EMC ON WASHINGTON YOUTH TOUR (Gray, GA)—When asked the secret to success, many community and business leaders often cite early experiences that provided guidance, encouragement and peer networks which prepared them for a life-long journey of leadership and service. Through the support and sponsorship of Tri-County EMC, one such opportunity will be available to two local students, Analese Bridges of Jones County and Ellen Hallman of Putnam County, later this year when they will be among 105 high school students who will attend the Washington Youth Tour, a weeklong leadership event set for June 13-20 with stops in Atlanta and Washington D.C. Analese is a sophomore at Georgia Military College Prep School in Milledgeville, while Ellen is a junior at Gatewood School in Eatonton. As Georgia’s oldest leadership program for teens, the Washington Youth Tour is conducted by Georgia Electric Membership Corp. in conjunction with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc. and designed to teach high school students about U.S. history, government and careers in public service. According to Kim Bonner with Tri-County EMC, student evaluations from previous Youth Tours show a significant increase in the students’ self-awareness; self-confidence; ability to impact the community; and goal-setting, communication and team-building skills. In addition to personal development offerings, students will also receive in-person U.S. history lessons which involve personal visits to the Little White House in Warm Springs, Ga. and travel to Washington, D.C. where they will meet Georgia’s representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, participate in National Youth Day and visit a number of treasured monuments and memorials. To underscore the importance of leadership and service in young adults, the Washington Youth Tour was inspired by former president Lyndon Johnson who, in 1957, encouraged electric cooperatives “to send youngsters to the nation’s capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
