Brylee Barnes of West Plains and Mya Voyles of Eminence represented Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative during Missouri’s 63rd annual Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C.
The trip was held June 14 through 20 and included 110 high school students from across Missouri. This year, all 40 of Missouri’s electric distribution cooperatives participated in the program.
The Youth Tour gives high school students from rural communities an all-expenses-paid opportunity to visit the nation’s capital. During the weeklong trip, delegates learned about government, leadership, community service and issues affecting the country while touring historic landmarks and memorials.
“The Youth Tour is the highlight of the summer for many students, and we’re proud to send our best and brightest to our nation’s capital to participate,” said Chris Massman, vice president of member services for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “Each of these delegates will meet someone or see something that inspires them and, in some cases, helps shape their future career path.”
Trip highlights included visits with members of Congress representing students’ districts, tours of national monuments and memorials, Smithsonian museums, Arlington National Cemetery and the International Spy Museum. Delegates also took part in a sightseeing and dance cruise on the Potomac River with Youth Tour participants from five other states.
Students participated in Electric Youth Day, an event coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association that brought together more than 2,000 Youth Tour delegates from across the country. The program included remarks from government leaders and motivational speakers, including Mike Schlappi, a four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time world wheelchair basketball champion.
Since 1958, electric cooperatives across the nation have sponsored more than 60,000 high school students for the educational trip.
“We are thrilled to participate and look forward to hearing presentations from the students about the things they learned and sights they saw while in Washington, D.C.,” said Aaron Wheeler, CEO and general manager of Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative. “This is a great opportunity for students to step out of their local leadership roles and meet other students from across Missouri and the nation.”
To be eligible for the tour, students must be high school juniors, or the equivalent homeschool grade level, who attend school or are homeschooled within Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative’s service area. Students and their guardians do not need to be cooperative members to apply.
For more information about youth programs through Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative, contact member communications specialist Stephanie Beltz-Price at sbeltzprice@hoecoop.org or visit www.moyouthtour.com/cycle.
