By Staff Reports

Five high school juniors from across Crenshaw County recently attended the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperative’s (AREA) Montgomery Youth Tour with South Alabama Electric Cooperative March 13-15. 

Savannah Edgar and Sandra Hall from Highland Home School joined Manning Fox and Libby Knighten from Brantley High School and Makaylah Green from Luverne High School to represent their schools and county on the tour. The competitive selection process required each candidate to complete an application, gain a letter of recommendation, write a 500-word essay and complete an interview. 

Fourteen applicants from across AREA’s service area were selected to attend the Montgomery Youth Tour, and from the attendees, two were chosen to attend the National Tour in Washington D.C. June 17-23

The participants attended the three-day conference where they had the opportunity to talk to elected officials about topics of interest, participate in leadership training, cultivate team building skills, complete civic awareness and financial literacy activities, learn about electric cooperatives and tour Montgomery’s historic sites including the Dexter Avenue Memorial Church, the Alabama State Capitol, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and many more. 

At the end of the tour the two Washington D.C. trip winners were announced — Joy Schwarte from Pike Liberal Arts in Troy and Savannah Edgar from Highland Home School. The participants will get to take part in fun activities and visit some of America’s most historic places including the U.S. Capitol, the Korean and Vietnam war memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Museum. The tour is an interactive and in depth way for students to learn about the rural electric cooperatives and their value and to increase their civic engagement on a state and national level. 

To learn more about AREA Yout Tours, visit www.areapower.coop/how-we-serve/youth-tours/. 

Photos submitted