Each year, Jackson EMC sends two area high-school students to learn about leadership.

The Washington Youth Tour brings together a group of 1,500 highly talented, ambitious young people from across the country to experience our nation's capital and further develop their leadership skills. The tour was inspired by then Senator Lyndon Johnson at a National Rural Electric Cooperative Association meeting.

This year’s Washington Youth Tour is June 12 - June 19,2008.

Former Washington Youth Tour Delegates
Lyndsey Peterson Youth Citizenship Award	Marek Fikejz 2005 Energy Bowl Winner

Georgia students begin the trip by convening in Atlanta and touring the city's capitol building, being guests on CNN's "Talkback Live" and learning more about electric cooperatives. In Washington, D.C., students follow itineraries developed by Georgia EMC including a day on Capitol hill, visits to see representatives in Congress and participating in leadership seminars.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has brought high school students to Washington, D.C. every June since the late 1950s. Students from throughout the United States are selected for this program by their local electric cooperative. Georgia has participated in the Youth Tour for 36 years, and it is the premier youth event for the state's 42 EMCs.

Jackson EMC selects its two tour delegates from the winners of the Energy Bowl and the Youth Citizenship Award. Each winner of these two events is awarded the all-expense paid trip for one week to Washington, D.C., along with an individual scholarship, college survival pack and grant for the winning school.