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The Soda Pop Co-op helped Youth Tour students beat the high "tourist" prices of drinks and snacks in Washington, D.C. From left to right are Sarah-Ellen Floyd, Kate Brady, Emily Scircle and Brent Towery.
Photos by Mark Quinn
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The students posed for pictures with Sen. Lindsey Graham (left) and Sen. Tim Scott (right) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
Photos by Mark Quinn
Each June, the Washington Youth Tour brings together more than 1,600 talented, ambitious young people from across the country for a week that develops their leadership skills. This year, South Carolina’s electric cooperatives sent their largest contingent to date—64 rising high-school seniors.
“It’s pretty cool being around so many other kids who have big goals for the future,” says Brent Towery, a student at Socastee High School and a member of Horry Electric Cooperative. “After the first day of the trip, it’s like we had all known each other forever.”
Begun in 1964, Washington Youth Tour celebrated a 50-year anniversary this June. More than 50,000 students nationwide have made the trip since the program’s founding.
“Youth Tour is one of the greatest outreach tools our co-ops have,” says Van O’Cain, South Carolina’s Youth Tour coordinator. “We’re not just sending students on a trip to Washington, D.C., we’re building lifelong relationships with them.”
Throughout the tour, students gain a deeper understanding of American history by visiting monuments, memorials and museums. They also learn about the importance of public service in meetings with the members of South Carolina’s congressional delegation.
“Be relentless in pursuit of your goals,” Sen. Tim Scott told the students on the front steps of the U.S. Capitol building. “It may be one of you standing here as a senator one day.”
To help students better understand the cooperative business model, the Soda Pop Co-op formed on the first day of the trip. Chaperones and students each paid a $1 membership fee to join the cooperative, which provided drinks and snacks at affordable prices. Students elected a board of directors to oversee the co-op and appointed a manager and assistant manager to run it.
“We saw street vendors selling water for $5 a bottle,” said Sarah-Ellen Floyd, a member of the Soda Pop Co-op’s board of directors. “Forming the co-op allowed us to sell water for 50 cents, and we still made a small profit.”
Each co-op member earned a $7 capital credit payment by the end of Youth Tour. Instead of pocketing the money, the students donated $350 of the proceeds to Team Crosley—a scholarship fund created on behalf of a Kansas Youth Tour student who lost her father to cancer.
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Related stories:
A pride of place - Kate Brady, one the 2014 delegates from Blue Ridge, describes her travels around South Carolina.
Youth Tour in pictures - See photos from this year's South Carolina delegation.
Follow Youth Tour - See what really happens on Youth Tour by following the group on Twitter.