Georgia Magazine - January 2017 - 22A

The Washington Youth Tour:
One-week trip requires all-year planning

From left, Ashlee Dixon and Erica Kay, both
of Sandersville, represented Georgia EMC
on the 2016 Washington Youth Tour.

and book June admission tickets for
the Holocaust Memorial Museum the
minute they became available. Planning the Washington Youth Tour takes
"if you snooze, you lose" to the highest level.
"It takes a lot of timing and a little
bit of luck to get tours and tickets at
times that we can assemble to create
a great trip, but it is worth it," Cutler
says. "Our goal is to craft an experience that takes teens 'up close and
backstage' with our country's legislators and landmarks to provide a
personal connection to our nation's
history and inspire them to become
better leaders."

Magazine cover photos: A peek behind the scenes
After delegates from across Georgia arrive in Atlanta
for the Washington Youth Tour kickoff, they pose for the
ﬁrst of the week's many photo ops. This, however, is the
only one in front of a green screen.
Photographer Louis Tonsmeire, of Cartersville,
banters with the dressed-up delegates, grouped by EMC,
helping to ease any nervousness they (or their parents)
may have at meeting so many new people. Once one
group's photo is completed, another is ushered in. The
GEORGIA Magazine cover shoot ﬁnishes up just in time
for the kickoff banquet.
Magazine Production Coordinator Gayle Hartman
then goes through all the images, picking out the best
one of each co-op's delegates (eyes open, clothes and
hair in place). The green screen is removed, the photos
are retouched and a Washington, D.C., landmark-most
often the U.S. Capitol-is placed behind the delegates.
The process takes several weeks because of the volume
of photos involved.
The cover shots were taken on site in Washington,
January 2017

BYRON MCCOMBS

BETH MCMILLAN

popular attraction, a process
that can take patience, persistence and precision timing.
Now, imagine doing
all of this for a "family" that
7
1
0
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numbers as many as 130-
Georgia's annual Washington
Youth Tour (WYT) contingent of
delegates, chaperones and staff. The
trip lasts a week, but the planning
process goes on all year.
Georgia Electric Membership
Corp.'s (EMC) Gale Cutler, who has
served as WYT director since 2000,
has already booked the delegation's
Washington-area hotel through 2019.
Also, each year during the June trip,
Cutler goes online after midnight to
request the following year's wreathlaying ceremony at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, which can be done
During a stop at Arlington National Cemexactly a year in advance.
etery, delegates pause to reﬂect at a memoLast year, Cutler and Tour Coorrial for the seven Space Shuttle Challenger
dinator Lindsay Bridges stepped out
astronauts.
of a banquet in March to go online

LOUIS TONSMEIRE

ven with the plethora of
travel-related apps and
websites available today,
planning a family vacation takes a lot of work.
Try ﬁnding an inexpensive
ﬂight that's not at the crack of
dawn or late at night or booking a
good hotel that's near most of the
places you want to visit. Then-just
for fun-add in buying tickets to a

As photographer Louis Tonsmeire lines up the shot, Washington Youth
Tour delegates pose for the cover of GEORGIA Magazine. The green
screen is later replaced with an iconic Washington, D.C., scene.

D.C., until 2009. The change came about because of
the Youth Tour's busy schedule and the time the photo
shoot took. Plus, shooting the photos outdoors meant
the weather could always be a factor.

More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

22A

http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - January 2017