West Frankfort Student Represents Rural Electric Co-Ops in Washington D.C

http://www.wfgazette.com/news/west-frankfort-student-represents-rural-electric-co-ops-in-washington/article_e10cdbfe-7a1f-11e7-8f8a-3bab1f55d562.html

Olivia Weeks of West Frankfort and Miranda Miller of Galatia, pose for a picture with State Representative Dave Severin and State Senator Dale Fowler during a special Youth Day event in Spring Field prior to their week-long trip to Washington D.C. sponsored by the SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative. (Gazette photo)

WEST FRANKFORT, IL (William McPherson, West Frankfort Gazette.  Please click on the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

FCHS student Olivia Weeks was selected for a big honor earlier this year as she and a select group of students were chosen to represent our state’s rural communities in our nation’s capital.

Weeks, along with Galatia’s Miranda Miller represented SouthEastern Illinois Electric Cooperative, Inc. in Washington, D.C., during the annual “Youth to Washington” Tour this past June. This annual event has been sponsored by the electric and telephone cooperatives of Illinois since the late 1950s, and serves as an introduction for rural youth to the democratic government and the cooperative business model.

During the trip, Weeks and 65 other students from rural Illinois met with Congressman Mike Bost. The Illinois students joined more than 1,660 of their peers from across the country from 44 additional states. Besides the Capitol, they also visited Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington National Cathedral, several Smithsonian Museums, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the World War II Memorial, memorials to Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, the Newseum and a number of other historical sites. Prior to the D.C. trip they also met with State Representative Dave Severin and Senator Dale Folwer in Springfield as part of a special Youth Day event.