Readjustment Times

It is hard to come home after such a magnificent trip. From the moment we stepped into Truman Hotel in Jefferson complete strangers to getting locked out of our rooms in the Hyatt to seeing magnificent monuments and places to dancing our hearts out to saying good bye to our new close friends, we were all full of excitement and anticipation. The trip itself was an adreneline rush of activities and trips. We spent so much time being on the go and busy that now that its over, everything is a little different. The trip changed every single one of our lives. We met amazing people who were strangers but now like family. We saw amazing places where history was made and still lives on today. We embarked on the trip of a lifetime. To all those considering going next year, try your hardest to go it is well worth all the work. The trip is indescribable in its entirity and so much happened that i will never forget. I hope that we all keep in touch with our new friends and i pray that everyones life continues to be blessed after the trip. I know i was incredibly lucky to go on this tour because i was up against my good and talented friends and somehow by the grace of God i won. Anyway, Thank you again and this will be my last blog for awhile but i am trying to keep this youth tour alive and bloggified.

The Pentagon Has Five Sides

I just wanted to leave a blog to say thank you to Mike and all of the chaperones on our tour of Washington. All of them had a hand in making the trip interesting and more fun. The dance-off was awesome, however, Mike chickened out because of "bad knees" with a smile on his face. Thank you also to all of our co-ops across the state for you financial support and planning put into this epic and life-changing tour. The tour was one of the greatest times of my life. Thank You!!!!!!! Oh and a special message to Mike the Pentagon will forever be planted in our memory because you showed it to us so much. Anyway thank you all again to all chaperones, planners, and co-ops for making this trip possible.

"Hey Missouri!"

"Hey Mike!" (or Christian, Jason, Heather, Ted, Deb, Diana, Linda, Kathy or Ken) Hope everyone's getting settled back into their rountines, or at least got to sleep in a little this morning. We had a great trip, and we want to thank you again for representing Missouri and our electric cooperatives so proudly. We had a great time sharing the experience with you!

There's been a new poll question added over in the righthand column, so be sure to voice your opinion or blog about your own favorite moment! This blog will keep going as long as you guys keep it going!!

I Love Dc!

The last week 83 amazing people and I had the honor and the priviledge to travel to our nation's capitol. In Washington we made many new friends and had many memories. So much happened in that span of a week that if felt like a month or even more. Every day was 18 hours from 6ish to midnightish depending on how long we stayed up talking! The trip itself was full of monuments and places and free food!! I do have to say though the Missouri Crew was the closest out of all the states we met. We actually knew of and were friends with everyone from our state. I was the mascot bearer and i took pictures with and took the Buddy Bear everywhere we went. Unfortunately, on our amazing trip one of our members got really sick and had to miss a couple days of activities. She was able to go to the second half and have fun but she still missed the major first days where we exchanged pins and met other states in our hotel. As Tom Dixon said in his blog we had many catch phrases. I was sitting next to Melissa Gilstrap when she said her "OMG I am Seeing the Pentagon!" and i will never forget our amazing bus driver and his phrase "It's all good!"

Awesome D.C. Quotes

So being together with the same people for seven days, you hear things that make an impression and are hilarious! These are some memorable quotes from our trip to D.C.

The night we flew in to D.C. it was dark and as we approached the hotel Mike Marsch pointed out that the Pentagon was on our right.

"OMG! I'M SEEING THE PENTAGON!!!"

That's what Melissa Gilstrap said when she first said when she saw it. That was the motto for the odd bus whenever we saw the pentagon.
We also had an awesome bus driver for the odd bus. His name was Mr. D. Some of the days he stayed at the bus right through lunch. We felt really bad about this, but when we asked him about it his saying was always the same.

"It's all good."

The Orioles game proved to be no exception to the cool quotes. There was a crazy fan behind our section that cam up to us, after we had been cheering a while, and told us that...

"You own this section! Don't let anyone tell you different!"

This made out group, Tanner, Amber, Alex, and I, laugh. But we where also crazy and excited at the game. I even stood up between innings and attempted to get the crowd to spell ORIOLES with me. It didn't go as well as planned.


GIVE ME AN 'O'
"O!"
GIVE ME AN 'R'
"R!"
GIVE ME AN 'I'
"I!"
GIVE ME AN 'O'
"O!"
GIVE ME AN 'R'
"R!"
"No it's and L!"
GIVE ME AN 'L'
"L!"
GIVE ME AN 'E'
"E!"
WHAT DOES THAT SPELL!?!?!?
"ORIORLES!!!!"

So what if I can't spell a bird no one has ever heard of. It was still an awesome experience. Thanks again to my home Cooperative, Cuivre River Electric Co-op, the Chaperones, and everyone else that made this trip possible.

Mixed Emotions Upon Return

Wow! Seriously, that is the only word that comes to mind when trying to think of how to describe this. I can remember the first day walking into my room first, not knowing what to expect when my roommates got there. When they finally did, they seemed alright enough, but nobody would speak to each other at all. I can't stand awkward silences. Not really knowing what to do, we just turned on the TV and got through the first night. Man did things change in the days leading up to coming back home. In the last few days it felt like we'd known each other forever. Not to mention, all the other friends I've made throughout the week and really hope I get to see again soon. Yes, I never thought I would come out of this missing anyone, but I truly already do. Hopefully I can find ways to keep in touch with everyone, so if you are reading this feel free to grab my email off my profile or something, oh and there is a Facebook group entitled "Missouri Youth Tour '08" that you should join. Anyway, I would like to thank all the other delegates, the cooperatives, and our chaperones: Mike, Jason, Christian, Heather, and the others for being so fantastic in providing us with the greatest experience we could have. This truly was "The Trip of a Lifetime," and I wish I could go back. Even though I can't, I'm never going to forget the things I've seen, nor the confidence I've gained meeting tons of new people.

Thank You Everyone For One of the Greatest Memories

Heading for home

Hard to believe, but this morning we pack up, leave our nation's capital behind and head back to the Show-Me State. Seems like we just got here. Yesterday was a great day on Capitol Hill; the delegates were able to meet their representatives and talk about issues that are important to them, such as energy prices and education. The group represented Missouri and our rural electric cooperatives well.

See everyone back home!

Lincoln & Jefferson

Last night we went to several memorials; it was absolutely amazing! They were all so much bigger than I could have imagined! It all makes me feel so small! I am just soaking up every second of it! I'll write more later!

FDR Quotes

I am a person who has always loved famous quotes. When we visited the FDR monument I spent the entire time just reading all the quotes. All of the quotes were amazing, beautifully written and very inspiring. This is a picture of me, beside an amazing quote. 

Witt named YLC representative

Alexandria Witt of Sullivan, has been named the 2008 Youth Leadership Council representative for Missouri. The announcement was made at the Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., on June 16. 

Witt represents Crawford Electric Cooperative in Bourbon.

Alexandria will represent Missouri for the next year at National Rural Electric Cooperative Association functions, including the national conference in New Orleans next February.

Emily Brundick of Argyle, representing Three Rivers Electric, was runner-up for the honor.

WHITE HOUSE & Purple Shirts!!

After herding 84 kids, sweat dripping down our backs, the sun shining in our eyes we FINALLY managed to pull off a good shot in front of the White House. We are very proud of our "MANLY" guys for sporting our lilac Youth Tour t-shirts. Way to go guys!!! 

We also visited Iwo Jima Memorial, FDR Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. It was a very touching day. 

Sliders at the Zone

Sittin here with Sara James from Co-Mo and Ashley Perryman from Webster who just had their first-ever "sliders" at ESPN Zone in downtown D.C. After a few games, it's on to the White House and the National Cathedral.

Here's Sara's slider...deelisshhh!!

Arlington

We went to Arlington National Cemetery today. We visited JFK's grave site, along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. JFK was one of the greatest presidents of all time, we know this from our history books. But being there really brought his story to life for me. it's one thing hearing about these people and places from textbooks, and quite another to see and experience it yourself. 

Here's a picture my roommate Tanner Stocum took at Arlington.