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Houston Herald
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One hundred and eight high school students participated in Missouri’s 62nd annual Missouri Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., June 15-21.
The local delegates were Gracyn McNiell, Houston; Makena Faulkner, Salem; Lilly Gould, Mountain Grove; Ariella Tarvin, St. James; Valery Liang, Rolla; Addison Woolsey, Summersville; Karson Walker, Licking; Noah Fletcher, Plato; and Josiah Witzemann, Cabool. They were sponsored by Intercounty Electric.
These nine students represent winners of Intercounty’s annual essay contest. The process began with an essay they wrote back in January that was judged by their school faculty in February, and submitted to Intercounty in March as one of the top three essays from their school. The top three students from each school were then interviewed, which judged their knowledge of IECA and electric co-ops in general. The top student from each high school was invited to tour our nation’s Capitol as part of the Missouri Youth Tour group.
Kolten Sullins, Licking, also attended and was sponsored by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC).
Youth Tour takes the best and brightest high school students from Missouri’s rural schools on an all-expenses-paid trip to our nation’s capital. The seven-day tour provides an action-filled week for the students, offering them opportunities to learn firsthand what it is like to be involved in politics, leadership positions, community service and today’s pressing issues while having fun touring the many monuments.
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. Each of these delegates will meet someone or see something that inspires them, and in some cases will create a path to their future career.”
Highlights of the trip include visiting representatives from their congressional districts, touring monuments, the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, Arlington National Cemetery and the International Spy Museum. The group also took a sightseeing and dance cruise on the Potomac River one evening with the delegations from five other states.
Other events of the week included participation in the Electric Youth Day, during which a special program coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association brought together over 2,000 Youth Tour delegates from across the United States. The delegates enjoyed featured speeches by government leaders and motivational speakers, such as Mike Schlappi, an inspiring four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time world wheelchair basketball champion.
Since 1958, the nation’s electric cooperative utilities have sponsored more than 60,000 high school students on this trip of a lifetime. For more information about the Missouri Electric Cooperative Youth Tour program, go to www.moyouthtour.com.
$3.25
per month
$58.75
per year
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