McDonough Power and McDonough Telephone students join national electric co-op Youth to Washington Tour

What do you get when 62 students from 26 Illinois electric and telephone cooperatives join 1,800 of their peers across the United States? You get the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth to Washington Tour!

Six students from McDonough Power Cooperative and McDonough Telephone Cooperative, Inc. service territories were selected from a diverse group of applicants to represent their cooperative and enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. from June 14-21 as part of the annual Youth Tour.

The 2019 Youth Tour delegates from McDonough Power included William Ornduff of Cameron and Annie Powell of Macomb. McDonough Telephone students were McLain Engnell of Good Hope, Reese Esther of Rushville and Kerem Tasdan and Erbenita Zejnul of Macomb. Tasdan was this year’s Rep. Rich Myers Memorial Youth Tour recipient.

The students toured Capitol Hill and met with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos and Darin LaHood. They also visited historical and cultural sites including Arlington National Cemetery, the Supreme Court, President Lincoln’s Cottage at First National Cemetery, a variety of memorials and the U.S. Capitol. Among fun activities the students enjoyed were an assembly of more than 1,800 Youth Tour participants from across the nation and a special farewell event at the Newseum, scheduled to close later this year.

During the Youth Day Assembly on June 17, Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange handed out three luck-of-the-draw scholarships to students attending Youth Tour. This was the first year these scholarships were handed out, and Ornduff was the lucky winner of a $1,000 scholarship to be used to help further his education.

“Youth Tour is a great opportunity that changes these students’ lives,” says Ashley Graham, Youth Tour coordinator. “This experience helps prepare them for their futures. After touring our nation’s capital, meeting congressional representatives and learning firsthand how our government works, they return home with valuable knowledge and memories that will last a lifetime.”

Since 1964, the nation’s cooperative electric utilities have sponsored more than 60,000 high school students to visit Washington, D.C., talk one-on-one with their U.S. congressional delegations and learn from energy and grassroots government education sessions. NRECA is the national service organization representing the nation’s more than 900 consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million consumer-members in 47 states.