Meya Adams from Washington County High School and Carson Carter from Johnson County High School were recently named Washington EMC’s 2022 Washington Youth Tour Delegates.
Meya Adams is the daughter of Vincent Adams and Teleshia Lyman of Sandersville.
Carson Carter is the daughter of Franklin and Shelby Carter of Wrightsville.
The Washington Youth Tour is a once in a lifetime experience made possible through the generosity of the electric membership cooperatives in Georgia, including Washington EMC. Students were selected through an application process and chosen to represent Washington EMC.
Serving as the state of Georgia’s oldest youth leadership program, the Washington Youth Tour was created from extemporaneous comments made by then Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson as he addressed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Annual Meeting in Chicago in 1957.
“If one thing goes out of this meeting, I hope it will be sending youngsters to the national capitol where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents,” declared the Senator.
Beginning that year, some of the Texas Electric Cooperatives sent groups of young people to Washington, D.C. to work during the Summer in Senator Johnson’s office learning about government in action.
Youth Tour events for Georgia’s participants will soon begin with a kickoff banquet for the students and their parents in Atlanta. That will be followed by a day full of activities and a flight to Washington, D.C. The tour highlights typically include visiting the U.S. Capitol, Holocaust Museum, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Supreme Court, and whenever possible, the White House. Other stops could potentially include the National Cathedral, Arlington Cemetery, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials, and the Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR memorials. Students are also treated to a riverboat cruise on the Potomac River.
In addition, students will have the opportunity to meet state and national leaders in an effort to gain a better understanding of how our government works. Participants will also be involved in leadership building activities and will have the opportunity to interact with students from across Georgia and the United States.
Meya Adams, Washington County High School
Carson Carter from Johnson County High School