This topic was featured in the August 2024 Kansas Country Living Centerspread.
Gavin Hughes and Isaac Stamper, rising seniors from Smith Center High School and Plainville High School, represented Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. at the 2024 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., June 14-20. During their time in Washington, D.C., students deepened their understanding of America’s electric cooperatives and honed their leadership abilities alongside peers from the electric cooperative community.
Youth Tour kicked off in Topeka with a lively dinner, followed by an exclusive night tour of the Kansas State Capitol led by State Treasurer Steven Johnson and Kansas Rep. Kyle Hoffman, both youth tour alumni. The group then headed to Washington, D.C., to explore iconic landmarks such as the U.S. Capitol, White House, Arlington National Cemetery and Mount Vernon. They also visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian museums to further enrich their appreciation for history and culture.
During the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) National Youth Day on June 19, students listened to a lineup of motivational speakers. Among them were Paralympic Gold Medalist Mike Schlappi, NRECA’s CEO Jim Matheson, representatives from the NRECA International Program and the 2024 National Youth Spokesperson, Hayley Dorsey.
Students also met with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran to discuss issues important to them.
“I enjoyed walking through all of the Smithsonian museums,” Stamper said. “I was inspired by Senator Jerry Moran being from the same small town and community as myself.”
For Hughes and Stamper, attending the youth tour as a representative of the cooperative was a meaningful experience.
“The Holocaust Memorial Museum had the biggest impact on me,” Hughes said. “It showed me a lot that I didn’t know. Getting to see the memorials for some of the wars that some of my family fought in was very inspiring.”
At the conclusion of the conference, Isabelle Jones, sponsored by Midwest Energy, was elected by her peers as the 2025 Kansas representative to the NRECA Youth Leadership Council. Jones will attend the general session at PowerXchange. NRECA's Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, from March 7-12, 2025.
Students who attend the 2024 Youth Tour may also apply for the Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (KEC) Auxiliary Scholarship and the NRECA Glenn English Scholarship.
Sponsoring local students for Youth Tour is one of the most important ways that Prairie Land upholds the cooperative principle of education, training and information. We are proud to have this unique opportunity to help amplify the leadership skills of the next generation.