Palmetto, GA—April 29, 2014—While April showers bring May flowers, June will bring two deserving high school students from the Coweta-Fayette EMC service territory a unique summer experience that will last many seasons.
Ethan Sisk, a student at Northgate High School, and Edward Legaspi, a student at Fayette County High School, were recently selected to attend the 2014Washington Youth Tour, a fully paid leadership trip sponsored by 38 of the electric membership corporations in Georgia, including Coweta-Fayette EMC.
As Georgia’s oldest leadership program for teens, the Washington Youth Tour is designed to teach students about U.S. history, the role of democracy, the importance of community and public service, and the need for civic leadership and service.
Ethan and Edward will join 109 other bright Georgia high school students during the event, set for June 12-19. While in D.C., the Georgia delegation will meet up with nearly 1,600 Youth Tour participants from co-ops across the country, providing yet another significant benefit of the trip: the opportunity to meet and learn from a diverse group of peers representing nearly every state.
According to EMC Public Relations VP Mary Ann Bell, the Youth Tour is an opportunity for exceptional students to visit historical points of interest and meet face-to-face with members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
“Making the pilgrimage to D.C., with an emphasis on the nation’s rich heritage, is something many adults, and certainly high school-aged kids, never experience,” Bell said. “Particularly during their formative years, the trip opens them up to possibilities they may not have considered otherwise. When you add personal tours of the sacred memorials and monuments, and stories of sacrifices made by others, the Youth Tour offers a history lesson that can’t be learned from any textbook or classroom in Georgia.”
Ethan is the son of Perry and Grace Sisk of Sharpsburg. Upon graduation, he plans to study engineering at Georgia Tech. Edward is the son of Elinor Legaspi of Fayetteville. Upon graduation, he plans to pursue a career as an educator.
The trip will involve stops at historic attractions such as the Little White House in Warm
Springs, and D.C. landmarks, including the Smithsonian Museums, Holocaust Museum, Mount Vernon, Supreme Court, Capitol, Washington Monument, and the FDR, Jefferson, World War II and Lincoln Memorials.
The Washington Youth Tour was inspired by former president Lyndon Johnson who, in 1965, encouraged electric cooperatives “to send youngsters to the nation’s capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to 75,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether Counties.
Ethan Sisk from Coweta
Edward Legaspi from Fayette