“If one thing goes out of this meeting, I hope it will be
sending youngsters to the national capital where they can
actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson
Hometown Living At Its Best 107
Georgia delegates
in front of the
Washington
Monument
“Have you had Ms. Banks, the art teacher?” I asked.
“She’s my daughter.”
“I had her in junior high,” said Kenlee
Foskey, a senior at Vidalia Comprehensive High School. “Oh, I see it
now. She looks just like you.”
It’s a response I often hear about one of my children or
grandchildren. Although children inherit physical features from
their parents, other things are not so easy to pass on. Value for the
American flag, our national anthem, and respect for those who serve
our country are sometimes lost in the fray of cultural conflict. Rituals
past generations upheld are questioned or scorned in acts of protest.
Although education at home and school is vital, personal conviction and
patriotism cannot be learned from a book alone, which is what makes
the Washington Youth Tour one of the most important opportunities for
the youth of our community.
“They tell you it will be a life-changing trip,” said Kenlee, one of
three youth chosen by Altamaha EMC to represent our community
at the 2017 Washington Youth Tour. “I thought, ‘Yeah, okay. I’ll go on
some cool tours and come home. But life changing?’” She smiled. “I was
wrong. It changed me forever. You go to school with a lot of different