Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative Hosts Washington, D. C. Youth Tour Contest

WEWAHITCHKA – Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative recently held its annual Washington, D. C. Youth Tour Contest at the Honeyville Community Center in Wewahitchka. 

Each year, the Cooperative sponsors the contest for high school juniors whose parents or guardians are members of Gulf Coast Electric.  Contestants are interviewed by a panel of three judges from the electric cooperative industry and two winners are chosen to travel on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D. C. in June, where they join other eleventh-grade students from all over the United States to tour our nation’s capitol. 

Local civic organizations and high schools play an important role in the contest, as they nominate the students who vie for the trip.  This year’s contestants were:  Andrew Bidwell, representing the Wewahitchka Volunteer Fire Department; Jay Bryan, representing the Scotts Ferry Volunteer Fire Department; Aliya Chaudhry, representing Wewahitchka High School; Elizabeth Gratz, representing the Mossy Pond Volunteer Fire Department; Jordan Heath, representing the Wewahitchka Woman’s Club; Randy Hightower, Jr., representing the Dalkeith Volunteer Fire Department; Jessica Jamerson, representing Wewahitchka Search and Rescue; Karen Morgan, representing the Kinard Volunteer Fire Department; Samantha Nicodemus, representing the Overstreet Volunteer Fire Department; Eleni Patronis, representing A. Crawford Mosley High School; Arianna N. Paul, representing the Wewahitchka Ambulance Service; Lacee Rudd, representing Deane Bozeman School; Levi S. Strickland, representing Port St. Joe High School; and Jacob Taylor, representing the Wetappo Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

This year’s winners are Aliya Chaudhry and Lacee Rudd.  Alternate is Jordan Heath.

In addition to the Washington, D. C. trip, Gulf Coast Electric takes all of the students nominated to compete in the contest on a two-day trip to Tallahassee.  There they tour various sites in Tallahassee with other eleventh-grade participants representing electric cooperatives across the state. 

“The Youth Tour Contest is a great opportunity for us to reward local students for being outstanding leaders in their communities,” GCEC Manager of Marketing and Member Services Kristin Douglas said.

The Washington, D. C. Youth Tour Program has been in existence since 1957 when co-ops sent students to Washington, D. C. to work during the summer.  By 1964, the program was catching on, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association began to coordinate the efforts of the co-ops.  Since then, thousands of young people have experienced this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit our nation’s capitol and learn about our government.

Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative is part of the Touchstone Energy® national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small.  GCEC serves approximately 20,500 meters in Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Jackson, Walton and Washington counties and in the municipalities of Wewahitchka, Ebro, White City, Lynn Haven, Fountain and Southport.