Suwannee Valley Teens Tour Washington, D.C.

L-R: Sarah Welch, Ella Hancock and Elijah Dockery snap a photo in front of the Capital Building in Washington D.C. -Courtesy Photo

By Jon Little, Director of Communications

For over 50 years, teens from the Suwannee Valley have been going to Washington, D.C. on the “trip of a lifetime,” courtesy of Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC). While in our nation’s capital, these delegates joined roughly 2,000 other youth from across rural America on tours of some of the finest museums in the world and visits to America’s most historic monuments. They have met with their elected officials and explored Capitol Hill. They have also learned about the impact electric cooperatives have on their communities.

Elijah Dockery (Columbia High School), Ella Hancock (Lafayette High School), and Sarah Welch (Hamilton County High School) represented SVEC at this year’s National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour in June. All three are dependents of SVEC members and were chosen to go to Washington based on the quality of their participation in an earlier tour of Tallahassee.
They were chaperoned by SVEC Member Engagement Team Leader, Denny Tompkins. ”I received several comments from other chaperones about how well-mannered and pleasant to be around our kid s were,” says Tompkins. “They represented SVEC well and we are very proud of them.”