Youth Tour representatives wanted for CHELCO educational program

Choctawhatchee Electrical Cooperative sponsored a trip to Tallahassee for its 2014 Youth Tour representatives, who are pictured on the steps of the State Capitol. In the photo are, in no particular order, Joseph Ensor and Brandon Sessions, Crestview; Joslyn Aughtman and Joseph Brannon, Laurel Hill; Mary Quizon and Stefan Sanguyo, Baker; Travis Shaw and Samantha Reeves, Paxton; Nicholas Wilkinson and Megan Matthews and Chelsea Edwards, DeFuniak Springs; Hailey Fannin, Mary Kathryn Myrick and Laura Ham, Freeport; Ricky Gal and Allison Findling, Collegiate High School, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville; Amy Broadt and Lucas Thompson, South Walton County; Doug Linder and Ian Kampert, Rocky Bayou; Laurel Murley, Jordan Pearson and Cameron Mayo, Ponce de Leon; and Youth Tour Coordinator Bonnie Whitfield of Baker.

Choctawhatchee Electrical Cooperative is looking for high school juniors to participate in the 2015 Youth Tour program. To qualify, their parents must be CHELCO members.

The tour offers a valuable opportunity for student leaders to learn more about American history, government and the role of electric cooperatives.

Youth Tour packages have gone out to Northwest Florida high schools. Each school selects two juniors to compete in CHELCO’s Youth Tour program. Every student who participates in the program has the opportunity to attend a two-day trip to visit Florida’s Capitol, Supreme Court and Challenger Learning Center. They also get to meet students from other co-ops throughout the state. After the Tallahassee trip, the same students compete in a 10 minute interview to determine who will go to Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. winners enjoy a weeklong, all-expense-paid trip to the nation’s capital, where they join 1,500 Youth Tour representatives from across the country. One of the 2014 Washington winners said, “Before leaving (for Washington), I had so many expectations of what my time in D.C. would be like, and the trip surpassed them all.”

CHELCO is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving more than 49,000 accounts in Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes and Santa Rosa counties.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Youth Tour representatives wanted for CHELCO educational program