The Douglas Electric Cooperative board is excited to sponsor Scott Llewellyn on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in June in Washington, D.C.
The DEC board members and management team, the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association support this educational trip of a lifetime for students from rural areas to tour their nation’s capital, engage with elected officials, and learn more about participating in our democracy.
The idea for the tour started in 1957 when then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson spoke at NRECA’s annual meeting and said rural teens should have the opportunity to experience Washington, D.C. The Youth Tour has grown since then, and today more than 2,000 young people and chaperones participate every year.
During the tour, students visit historical sites in the Washington, D.C., area, and learn more about electric cooperatives and American history. Student delegates are encouraged to bring questions or topics to discuss in meetings with elected representatives.
Each state sending a student to the Youth Tour selects one student delegate to represent them on a national level on NRECA’s Youth Leadership Council. These delegates return to Washington, D.C., in July for additional leadership and cooperative training. They also attend the NRECA annual meeting the following February or March.
Youth Tour alumni may apply for the Glenn English National Cooperative Leadership Foundation Scholarship, which encourages educational advancement by awarding higher education scholarships to eligible students. The Glenn English Foundation has awarded almost $100,000 in scholarships to NRECA Youth Tour alumni since 2014.
Additional scholarships are available to college students pursuing careers in electrical engineering, specifically students who plan to return to rural areas once they complete their college careers.
For more information about the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, visit the Youth Programs page.
General Manager Keith Brooks