Local teacher also makes the trip

WASHINGTON, DC-Clay County High School (CCHS) student Erin Meadows was one of three students from Tri-County Electric’s service area who recently enjoyed an opportunity of a lifetime.

Meadows, Siara Chyle of Red Boiling Springs High School, and Samantha Law of Macon County High School, were among 139 students from across Tennessee chosen to serve as delegates here at the 2024 Washington Youth Tour.

Tri-County Marketing Assistant Lindsay Wilkinson and CCHS teacher James Franklin chaperoned the juniors on the trip.

This annual event is sponsored by Tri-County Electric and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.

Students were selected for the trip by writing a short story titled “Co-ops Connect,” which were written to exlplain how co-ops connect Tennessee communities with energy, education, broadband, economic development, and more.

“Chaperoning the best and brightest of Tri-County Electric’s service area on a trip of a lifetime to Washington, DC each year is a highlight of my job here at Tri-County Electric,” Wilkinson said. “This year’s delegates represented Tri-County Electric well at our nation’s capital and are coming back home with the knowledge and leadership skills to become future leaders in their communities.”

The Washington Youth Tour’s nonstop, seven-day itinerary is jam-packed with places to visit and experiences to give delegates a trip they will never forget.

Highlights included a guided memorials tour around the city, visiting museums at the Smithsonian Institute, touring Washington’s Mount Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello, and taking a trip to Arlington National Cemetery.

Delegates also got to see Washington, DC staples like the White House, U.S. Capitol, and the Washington National Cathedral.

While in DC, winners were announced in the statewide competition for the Robert McCarty Memorial Scholarships, which featured thousands of papers submitted across the state for this year’s contest.

The scholarships are named in memory of Robert McCarty, an employee of Volunteer Energy Cooperative and longtime chaperone on the annual Youth Tour.

Yuridia Garcia, a senior from Appalachian Electric Cooperative, was awarded a $10,000 Cooperative Youth Ambassador Scholarship.

Garcia was a 2023 delegate on the Washington Youth Tour.

Delegates who remain engaged with their sponsoring cooperative during their senior year and complete certain community service requirements are eligible for the scholarship.

Garcia’s name was randomly selected among the delegates from across the state who completed the requirements.

“We are owned by our members, and it’s important that our member-owners understand how that makea us different,” said Tri-County Electric CEO Paul Thompson. “Our communities need strong leadership, and the youth tour is one way we can help prepare students for the roles they may one day fill.”

The Washington Youth Tour was inspired by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1957 when he encouraged electric cooperatives to send young people to the nation’s capital.

Since then, more than 6,000 young Tennesseans have participated in the Washington Youth Tour as delegates.