Four local high school juniors have been selected by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation to represent the cooperative on the upcoming Electric Cooperative Youth Tour 2015 — a leadership, travel and educational opportunity in Washington, D.C.
Electric cooperatives across the nation are celebrating the 51st year of helping young men and women learn about American government, U.S. history and the cooperative business model. Students are also offered opportunities to earn college scholarships of up to $6,500.
Four students from among a field of approximately twenty candidates across Blue Ridge Electric’s service area were selected for the honor. Winners were selected based on their application and a three- to five-minute speech on how to best communicate to members.
Youth Tourists from Blue Ridge Electric are:
- Caldwell County: Issac Tuttle, Hibriten High School, son of Carroll and Amy Tuttle of Lenoir;
- Watauga County: Shelby Reagan, Watauga High School, daughter of Jason and Stacy Reagan of Boone;
- Ashe County: Kathryn Bard, Ashe County High School, daughter of Everette and Susan Bard of Crumpler;
- Alleghany County: Kacey Caudill, Alleghany High School, daughter of Lori Hirschy of Sparta.
These students will join approximately 50 other North Carolina cooperative-sponsored students in June to begin their six-day, all-expense-paid trip.
Since its beginning in the 1950s, the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has assisted more than 40,000 students in learning about electric cooperatives, American history and the United States government. For some student winners, the tour has been their first opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. The tour seeks to make students more aware of the role of cooperatives and encourage participation in leadership and speaking opportunities. As part of the tour, students will visit the U.S. Capitol, meet government officials and learn about how the federal government functions.
Blue Ridge Electric serves some 74,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Avery, Alexander and Wilkes counties. To learn more about youth leadership and scholarship opportunities, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com under “In the Community” or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.