5

December 17, 2013

TO: FFA Advisors

FROM: Ronald Mayeux, Executive Secretary

RE: Rural Electric Youth Tour - June 13 – 20, 2014

The Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (ALEC) will once again host the Louisiana Electric Cooperative Youth Tour June 13 - 20, 2014 to Washington, D.C. We would like to give FFA members the opportunity to participate in this year’s trip.

Please encourage your members age 16 years old and older (including 12th graders) to complete an application form and submit it to the Louisiana FFA Office by February 21, 2014. There are two parts to the application form: Part I (150 pts.) is an overview of the member’s FFA/SAE activities. Part II (50 pts.) is an essay. This essay is actually a letter to any elected local, state, or federal official where the student will voice his/her opinion on any agricultural/environmental/educational/rural issue, problem, situation, or success. The topic should be clearly stated and thoroughly discussed. The letter should be addressed to his/her respective local, state or federal official and should be in the format of a formal letter at least one page long. Letters become the property of ALEC and may be published at the discretion of ALEC. Winners will be notified by March 5, 2014.

NOTE: If selected for the Washington, D. C. trip, the student must also attend the Louisiana Electric Cooperative Youth Leadership Conference on April 14 – 16, 2014, which will be held for the twenty-seven winners from around the state of the La. Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour Contest. This event will be held at the Baton Rouge Crowne Plaza Hotel and all expenses will be covered in the Electric Cooperative’s budget. Mrs. Sandy Stockwell or Mrs. Joni Kitchen of ALEC will communicate more about this as the event approaches. This additional conference is for orientation and educational purposes prior to the trip to Washington, D.C.

The La. Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour will provide an opportunity for Louisiana youth to join over 1,400 students from 44 states in a program coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. They will see their government in action, visit with Congressmen and Senators, and visit various government agencies and sites of historical significance.

This is an outstanding trip valued at over $2,000.00 per student. A promotional video can be found on ALEC’s website: www.alec.coop then click on Youth Tour and at the top of the page click on view the Youth Tour video on Youtube. It is well planned and chaperoned by four adults from the Louisiana Electric Cooperatives. All expenses are paid by the participating cooperatives in the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives, Inc. I recommend that you encourage participation in this excellent program.

Attached to this letter is an application form.

cc: Mr. Randy Pierce

Mrs. Sandy Stockwell - email:

Mrs. Joni Kitchen – email:

2014 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour Application - Washington, D. C.

Name______Age as of 1/1/2014______

Nickname______Male ______Female ______

Mailing Address______

(Route, Box or Street No.) City/State Zip

Name of Parent(s)/Guardian(s) ______

Phone number ______Cell number ______

(Area Code /Number)

Applicant’s email address ______

Parents email address ______

FFA Chapter: ______

Advisor(s) name ______

(Please type or print)

Parish: ______

Advisors contact telephone number

In what grade were you as of September 2013? ______

PART I – WRITTEN APPLICATION

Years in Agriscience (including this year):
Candidate’s leadership and cooperative activities:
A: / List all FFA Offices held on the local, parish, area, and state levels. (25 pts. Possible)
OFFICE / LEVEL / YEAR

Points ______

B: / List all FFA Leadership Activities attended (e.g., State and National Conventions, Leadership Camp, MFE/ALD Conferences, Washington Leadership Conference, etc.). (30 pts. Possible)
ACTIVITY / YEAR

Points ______

C: / List All FFA Career Development Events participated in. (30 pts. Possible)
CDE / YEARS / LEVEL ACHIEVED

Points ______

D: / List All FFA Awards and Recognition. (30 pts. Possible)
AWARD / YEAR

Points ______

E: / List activities other than the FFA. (10 pts. Possible)
ACTIVITY / YEAR

Points ______

F: / Describe your Supervised Agricultural Experience Program. (25 pts.)

Points ______

TOTAL POINTS FOR PART I (150 pts. Possible): ______

(It is very important to have the advisor total the pointes of Part I)

PART II – ESSAY (Judges will score Part II) (50 pts. possible)

[Please attach to this application.] ______

Judges will take total of Part I and add

Essay points (200 possible) ______

I agree to follow instructions of my chaperones and to uphold the high ideals of FFA.

______

Student Signature Date

______

Parent Signature Date

______

FFA Advisor Signature Date

HIGH SCHOOL______

PRINCIPAL______

SCHOOL ADDRESS______

______

DEADLINE: February 21, 2014

Please return this application with a copy of your letter to a public official to:

Ronald Mayeux, Ph.D.

La. FFA Executive Secretary

124 Old Forestry Building

110 LSU Union Square

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Premier Leadership, Personal Growth, and Career Success