Youth Tour to the Country’s Capital Is Informative & Inspirational
By Craig Reed
Writing essays on the importance of electric cooperatives for rural Americans proved rewarding for Scott Llewellyn and Darwin Hudson.
The essays were part of the application process for students vying for selection and sponsorship by Douglas Electric Cooperative for recent Youth Tour trips to visit monuments, memorials, and museums in Washington, D.C.
Scott made the trip in 2024. The 18-year-old Umpqua area resident graduated from an online school three months ago. Darwin was selected for the 2025 trip in June. The 17-year-old is a senior at Elkton High School.
Neither student had previously been to the nation’s capital.
“It was really informative,” Scott says. “It showed me the workings of the government and how America was formed and created with the intentions of democracy.”
Darwin says they experienced the inner workings of the government.
“I was also able to see and meet so many new people, talking to different people from all over,” he says.
The Youth Tour program began at the annual meeting of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in 1957, when then-U.S. Texas Sen. Lyndon Johnson said in his address to the association, “If one thing comes out of this meeting, it will be sending youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
The following year, a co-op in Iowa sponsored the first group of 34 young people on a weeklong tour of Washington, D.C. Later that year, another busload of students from an Illinois co-op visited the capital.
Some Texas cooperatives sent young people to Washington to work in Johnson’s office during the summer.
In 1964, NRECA began coordinating joint activities among the state delegations and suggested that co-op representatives from each state arrange to be in Washington, D.C., during a designated Youth Tour Week in June. That year, the coordinated Youth Tour effort hosted about 400 students from 12 states meet and visit the capital.
This program now draws about 1,500 students and 250 chaperones participate each year.
Scott was in a group of 8 Oregonians and four Californians. Darwin’s group included 14 Oregonians and five Californians. They enjoyed five days of touring.
Scott says highlights for him included the Korean War Memorial because of the soldier display, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Capitol. Scott’s grandfather and an uncle served in Vietnam. After returning home, he was able to share with his uncle what he saw at that memorial.
“I was surprised by how big the Capitol building is,” Scott says. Darwin says he was also impressed by the Capitol and the government work that goes on inside it.
“To see the interns running about and the media on site was interesting,” he says. Darwin also enjoyed the timeline of military development that was displayed in the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
“It was really well done with a lot of information,” he says. The students were treated to presentations by inspirational speakers. Scott and Darwin were inspired by the words of Mike Schlappi, a U.S. Paralympic basketball player. He has used a wheelchair since being involved in a shooting accident at age 14.
“If you can’t stand up, stand out,” Scott says, repeating the speaker’s message. “Whatever you think is stopping you, just move past that and move on,” Darwin recalls of the message. “He really left an impression on a lot of us.”
After returning from the trip, Scott wrote an independent study essay for a school project on what he saw and experienced. His essay included his thoughts on the importance of electric cooperatives for rural areas.
“You can learn a lot from the internet, but you can’t learn everything from staring at a screen,” Scott says. “You have to go see it to understand and appreciate it.”
Darwin says he talked to a lot of people about his experience and the impact it had on him. “It was great to see something outside our rural area,” he says. “To be able to see how diverse our country is, the different cultures and their impacts on our country.”
Scott plans to take prerequisite classes for engineering at Umpqua Community College before transferring to Oregon State University to earn a degree. Darwin is taking dual credit classes at UCC. He’s unsure of his major but hopes to eventually get into politics.
The students are grateful to Douglas Electric for broadening their life experiences by sponsoring them on the Youth Tour.
“I really appreciated the opportunity,” Scott says. “Without Douglas Electric, I probably would not be able to make a trip like that.”
“Thank you for investing in the youth of our county,” Darwin says. “It enriches me and allows me to make an impact on other people by reflecting on what I learned.”