[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 72 (Thursday, May 2, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SUSTAINABLE 
 LOGISTICS ACADEMY AT WHITES CREEK HIGH SCHOOL IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM COOPER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 2, 2019

  Mr. COOPER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Future Farmers 
of America Alternative Energy Sustainable Logistics Academy at Whites 
Creek High School in Nashville, Tennessee.
  In 2016 and 2017, Whites Creek High School Future Farmers of America 
Alternative Energy Sustainable Logistics Academy, led by the Academy 
instructor Dr. Garry Gibson, grew four acres of soybeans for their 
biodiesel program at the Whites Creek Community Garden.
  In 2016, the Academy applied for and won the first place prize 
nationally and $10,000 in the Ford Motor Challenge STEM Contest. The 
2016 winnings were used to drive a biodiesel powered vehicle for a 
student lecture tour up-and-down the east coast ending at the 
University of Guelph, Canada's top agricultural university.
  In 2017, the Academy again placed first place nationally in the Ford 
Motor Challenge, winning $20,000. The 2017 winnings are being used by 
the Academy to create a student-led solar power station at Whites Creek 
High School, overseen by the Academy Principal, Mr. Jeremiah Davis; a 
local solar power adviser from Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Mr. 
Jason Carney; and Whites Creek High School seniors Rachel Rhea and 
Daniel Vanclief. The Academy has since created a solar power curriculum 
so Whites Creek students can continue these efforts.
  The solar power station will reduce the school's electrical costs by 
an estimated $5,000 each year. It will also keep an estimated 72,072 
pounds of carbon dioxide out of the environment that would otherwise 
have been created from burning coal.
  I congratulate the Whites Creek High School Future Farmers of America 
Alternative Energy Sustainable Logistics Academy on their invaluable 
contributions to Middle Tennessee's future.

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