Special to the Enquirer

Joe Wheeler EMC has announced its selection of five area students to visit Washington D.C. this summer as delegates to the 2019 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.
This year’s representatives are:

Kendal Crowell from Hatton High School,

Austyn Randolph from Hartselle High School,

Mallory Hampton from West Morgan High School,

Russell Haggard from West Morgan High School

and

Molly Turner from Danville High School.

These five area students, along with 54 others from across Alabama, will join 1,500 delegates from across the United States in Washington D.C. for a week of leadership building, networking, touring and fun. They will also have opportunities to meet with their U.S. representatives and senators for a question-and-answer session.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour is coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association based in Arlington, Va., and is held each year to promote the values and principles of electric cooperatives and the rural communities they serve. According to the NRECA website, more than 50,000 students have participated in the program since its inception in 1957.

“The Washington Youth Tour is an opportunity for some of the best students from across the state to experience something many of them might never be able to otherwise. In some cases, it can be a truly life-changing event for them,” said Laura Stewart, the Youth Tour coordinator for the Alabama Rural Electric Association, based in Montgomery. “We are always excited to watch these students blossom into the leaders of the future and are proud of the role we play in helping to facilitate that.”

Joe Wheeler EMC communications director Michael Cornelison said Joe Wheeler sees programs like the Youth Tour as another way for the cooperative to give back to the communities the cooperative serves.
“Investing in opportunities like the Youth Tour, scholarships and school sponsorships allows us to help students reach their fullest potential,” Cornelison said. “Concern for community is one of our founding principles.”