Ten local students travel to Washington, D.C.

Leadership Focus of Indiana Youth Tour!

High school juniors joined other Indiana youth on the trip of a lifetime during the 2012 Indiana Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. The trip began on June 13 in Indianapolis and ended on June 21 after visits to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

Tipmont REMC sponsored ten local area students including Timothy Dowers from Covington High School, Noah Hadley from Faith Christian, Courtney Austin and Mackenzie Shumaker from Fountain Central, Amanda Mankovich from Harrison, Michael Spors from the Indiana Academy, Jenna Reno and Emily Weesner from McCutcheon, and Jordan Gillenwater and Dexter Odle from North Montgomery.

According to Tim McCarthy, CEO of Tipmont REMC, the Indiana delegation included 79 students from around the state, each selected by his/her local cooperative. Hoosier students joined a record-breaking 1,566 delegates representing electric cooperatives from 42 U.S. states for the annual Rural Electric Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

“Tipmont REMC is pleased to be able to provide this opportunity for local students,” CEO McCarthy said. “It’s a great trip and a wonderful chance to see the sights, make new friends and learn how everyone, even young people, can be a leader and make a difference in the world.”

The Indiana delegation met in Indianapolis on Wednesday, June 13 to get acquainted and hear from Indiana legislative leaders during a kick-off dinner featuring keynote speaker Brian Bosma, Indiana Speaker of the House. Before heading east, students visited the Hoosier Training Center in Franklin, Ind., where they participated in hands-on learning sessions simulating an electric lineman’s job, observed a pole-top rescue, worked as a team to construct a model of Indiana’s electric grid, and learned about electric safety during a live wire demonstration presented by Kankakee Valley REMC.

New for this year, students and chaperones stopped at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA, on their way to Gettysburg where they toured the battlefield and museum. The caravan arrived in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon to begin a full schedule of sight-seeing, visits to the National Memorials – including the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial – a collection of museums, such as the Newseum and the National Archives, plus a night cruise on the Potomac River and a trip back in history at Medieval Times®. Students also had an opportunity to compete for a $1,000 scholarship and to be named Indiana’s representative on the Youth Leadership Council.

Indiana delegates were “loud and proud” during the “Youth Tour Rally” on Monday morning where NRECA shared news about a variety of timely issues related to the energy industry. Attendees were also inspired by gunshot survivor and four-time Paralympic Medalist in USA Men's Wheelchair Basketball, Mike Schlappi.

On Tuesday, chaperones and students hosted exclusive meetings with Indiana’s Congressional leaders. Each Congressman gave an update about current issues their working on and then answered questions from students. Representatives who generously met with delegates this year included Congressmen Todd Rokita, Todd Young, Larry Bucshon, Mike Pence and Joe Donnelly. Attendees also heard from Neil Brown, a special adviser on nuclear policy to Senator Richard Lugar and Youth Tour alumni.

Indiana’s electric cooperatives have hosted the Youth Tour since 1960, providing hundreds of young Hoosiers the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital and learn about the federal government and the cooperative utility industry.

Tipmont REMC is a member-owned electric cooperative serving residents and businesses in west central Indiana since 1939. Tipmont provides electric service to more than 21,000 members primarily in Tippecanoe, Fountain, Montgomery, and Clinton counties. Tipmont is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service and dedicated to serving customers with integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community.