"The despicable

acts of Sept. 11 reinforced the importance of strong leadership in the

United States," said Michael Whiteside, president and CEO of Coweta-Fayette

EMC.

"Through

this tour, we encourage young people to think about the challenges that

face their neighborhoods, their towns and their country and become part

of the solution. And we'd love it if, after their experience with the

Washington Youth Tour, they consider careers in public service."

During the

all-expense-paid trip in June, Jared and Andrew joined 83 students from

across Georgia and journeyed to Atlanta and Washingon, D.C. They observed

the workings of the U.S. government, gained knowledge of electric cooperatives

and visited with their representatives in Congress.

In Atlanta,

Eric Tanenblatt, chief of staff to Gov. Sonny Perdue, gave the keynote

address during the kickoff banquet. The next day, students met with Lt.

Gov. Mark Taylor and Assistant Secretary of State Terrell Slayton, and

visited the floor of the House and Senate chambers of the Georgia General

Assembly. In addition, they met with CNN anchors Sophia Choi and Leon

Harris.

After arriving

in the nation's capital, Georgia's group joined the more than 1,400 students

representing cooperatives from across the country. In Washington, they

toured the White House; the Washington Monument; the Lincoln, Jefferson,

Korean, Iwo Jima and Vietnam Memorials; the Holocaust Museum; the National

Cathedral; and the Smithsonian Institution, to name a few. During their

visit to Arlington National Cemetery, the Georgia delegation laid a wreath

at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

All of the

state groups convened for Rural Electric Youth Day, where they heard from

Army Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, a badly burned survivor of the Sept. 11

attack on the Pentagon, and Therese Lyons, director of public liaison,

White House Office of Freedom Corps.

The Washington

Youth Tour was inspired by former president Lyndon Johnson, who encouraged

electric co-ops "to send youngsters to the nation's capital where

they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents."

Since 1964,

the nation's electric cooperatives have sponsored approximately 40,000

high school juniors and seniors for the Washington Youth Tour.

Coweta-Fayette

EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related

services to 62,000 members in Coweta, Fayette, South Fulton, Heard, Clayton,

Spalding, Meriwether and Troup counties.