Spivey Selected as Pineland’s FRS Washington Youth Tour Representative
Nine years ago, Pineland Telephone Cooperative, Inc. joined other rural telecommunications companies across the nation by sponsoring highly recommended students from the Pineland service area to visit Washington, DC during the early summer. Since 1995, The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) has hosted the Youth Tour to thousands of high school students from across rural America, allowing them to visit our nation’s capital, see our government in action, and learn about rural telecommunications.
The tour provides a forum for teens to meet and interact with their peers from other rural communities, as well as key legislative, regulatory, and government figures.
Janelle Spivey served as Pineland’s sponsored representative on this year’s tour, held the first week of June. Janelle, a resident of Jenkins County, is a lifelong home educated student in the senior year of her studies. She is the daughter of Rick and Lynn Spivey. A dedicated student, Janelle plans to attend Covenant College in the fall with over twenty dual enrollment credits. She has maintained fulltime dual enrollment status at Toccoa Falls College since her junior year and was recognized for her academic achievements on the fall Dean’s List.
Actively involved in the Bulloch County 4-H Club, Janelle has served on the organization’s leadership board promoting, organizing, and hosting community events, represented the club at 4-H Day at the Capital 2024, volunteered as a 4-H Teen Leader for the Southeast District Junior Conference in 2022 and 2024, and was selected and attended Natural Resources Exploration Camp 2023 where she will return this year to lead and mentor first-year attendees. Janelle has placed in various 4-H competitions including 1st in the Forestry and Wood Science category at the Georgia 4-H Southeast District Project Achievement, 1st with her team in the 4-H Forestry Judging at district and state levels, and 3rd in the nation at the Invitational in West Virginia. She was twice awarded Georgia Master 4-H’er status.
In addition to her academic and civic dedication, Janelle has served her community through volunteering at her church and advocating for environmental health concerns. She also manages a small craft business, Bluejay Crafts, and provides care for her siblings and grandmother. Her hobbies include managing her organic garden, tending to her chickens, reading, music, learning new languages, fiber arts, and the subject of sustainable and social agriculture in rural communities.
“Janelle’s dedication and self-discipline is evident in her many commitments and accomplishments,” says Dustin Durden, Pineland’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to support The Foundation for Rural Service and the opportunities they provide to our area students.”
The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) was established in 1994 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) by NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association and plays a unique role within the telecommunications industry by supporting rural telecom companies, consumers and policymakers with educational information, products, and programming.
