Youth Tour – Educating and Developing Tomorrow’s Cooperative Leaders
In June McDonough Power sent two students to Washington, D.C. for the 51st Annual Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. Young people who experience Youth Tour have the opportunity to explore our nation’s capital, make lasting friendships, learn a bit about how our government operates and see the impact electric cooperatives have on the legislative process.
Youth Tour is one of the programs for which electric cooperatives across the country are best known. You may have participated when you were a kid, or perhaps your child applied to be a part of the program.
Hannah Morris and Emily Phillips represented McDonough Power Cooperative and Joshua Cook, Zoey Gray, Kathryn Hays and Nicole Malinowski represented McDonough Telephone Cooperative, Inc. in Washington, D.C., during the annual “Youth to Washington” Tour, June 12-19. This event, sponsored by the electric and telephone cooperatives of Illinois since the late 1950s, is an introduction for rural youth to our democratic form of government and the cooperative business model.
The students met with Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and were among 65 rural Illinois youth leaders selected for the trip. The Illinois students joined more than 1,660 young leaders from across the country from 44 states. In addition to the Capitol, they also visited Gettysburg, Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington National Cathedral, several Smithsonian Museums, The U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the World War II Memorial, memorials to Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, the Newseum and a number of other historical sites.
Sophomores and juniors in high schools that are within the service area of McDonough Power Cooperative and McDonough Telephone Cooperative, Inc. are eligible to participate in the annual program.
Pictured from l-r: Kathryn Hays, Hannah Morris, Zoey Gray, Congresswoman Bustos, Nicole Malinowski, Emily Phillips, and Joshua Cook.