Students from around the state attended the 2019 Montgomery Youth Tour to learn more about Alabama’s history and electric cooperatives’ role in that history.
APPRECIATION 2019 participants learn about cooperatives at Montgomery Youth Tour
Wiregrass Electric Cooperative recently sponsored 10 high school juniors for an all-expenses-paid trip to the state capital for the Montgomery Youth Tour. During the trip, the students visited historic sites like the Alabama State House, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, the state archives and more. The goal of the Youth Tour is to educate the students on Alabama’s history and the role electric cooperatives have played in that story. Students also receive a $500 scholarship from WEC, which not all cooperatives provide. WEC honored all 10 participants at a banquet on March 20 at its main office in Hartford. “This program is such a great experience for these students,” says WEC Chief Operating Officer Brad Kimbro. “It not only teaches them about the importance of electric cooperatives, but it also helps shape them into our future leaders. We look forward to sponsoring students each year.” At the banquet, judges selected two students through an interview process to represent WEC on the Washington, D.C., Youth Tour this summer. This year’s winners are Claire Aplin, who attends Ashford High School, and Victoria Zinn of Samson High School. 6 MAY 2019
The 2019 Montgomery Youth Tour delegates pictured with WEC board president Donna Parrish, board members Danny McNeil and David Winstead and WEC Chief Operating Officer Brad Kimbro at the Youth Tour Banquet.
Gavin Gomez of Wicksburg High School was the first alternate. “I almost cried,” Zinn says on hearing she had won. “I have never been to Washington before, and I don’t think I would have ever had a chance to go had it not been for this trip and Wiregrass Electric. I am so excited and grateful that they chose me.” WEC board president Donna Parrish has served on the board for 10 years and said the Youth Tour is one of the best programs the cooperative sponsors. “It has been amazing to me to see the matu-
rity that these kids have shown over the years,” Parrish says. “These students are the cream of the crop, and it’s amazing how much this program helps them.” Students gain a better understanding of cooperatives through the program, and they also learn leadership skills and how to branch out and meet new people. “I don’t regret going on this trip one bit,” Gomez says. “I got to meet people like me, people who aren’t like me, and it was a great experience. There was nothing about this trip that I didn’t like.” www.alabamaliving.coop
