Hometown Livin g At Its Best 109
“The three students with the highest average are selected
to go on the Washington Youth Tour,” said Ms. Vaughn.
“Altamaha sponsors three students, but there are around
110 students each year sent to represent Georgia’s 41 local
electric membership cooperatives and some 1600 students
nationwide.” In addition, “Any EMC employee can apply to
go as a chaperone, but we can also nominate educators in
our area. When I’m in a school speaking about the program,
I ask if there are teachers interested in going as a chaperone.
If a teacher is interested, there’s a form to fill out, but I also
have to nominate them. I’ve had six or seven over the last
12 years to be chosen for chaperones from Georgia. Susan
Sullivan, a science teacher from Robert Toombs, was a
chaperone on last year’s tour.”
The three students selected for the Washington Youth
Tour in 2017 were Kenlee Foskey (Vidalia High School),
Jansen Killian (Montgomery County High School), and Tyler
Summerall (Treutlen County High School).
It all began in 1957 when then-Senator Lyndon Johnson
said to those gathered for the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, “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.” Texas was the
first to send youth to tour Washington, D. C. By 1964, twelve
states had joined them. In 2017, over 1,600 youth from
across the nation gathered together for the annual event,
including 113 Georgia delegates.
On June 8, 2017, Georgia delegates met for a Kickoff
Banquet in Atlanta. Each one had been chosen by one
of Georgia’s 41 electric membership cooperatives. The
following day, the delegates and chaperones flew to
Washington, D. C., to join other delegates from across the
nation.
The first morning began with a photo op in front of the
White House. “The only thing that we’re limited on doing
since 9/11 is a White House tour,” said Ms. Vaughn. “We
apply for the tours every year, but it’s hard for a group that