WRVEC Youth Tour Delegates Return from their tour of the Nation’s Capital
2023 Youth Tour Delegates from left to right: Alieah Youngblood (School of the Ozarks), Matthew Martin (Nixa), and Abigail Fulnecky (Nixa)
Branson, MO –
During the week of June 12-18, 103 high school students participated in Missouri’s 60th annual Missouri Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. White River Valley Electric Cooperative (WRVEC) sponsored three delegates for the experience: Abigail Fulnecky (Nixa), Matthew Martin (Nixa), and Alieah Youngblood (School of the Ozarks).
During their week-long adventure, the Missouri youth tour delegates visited with representatives from their congressional districts, toured famous monuments, visited the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, and watched the guard change at Arlington National Cemetery. The youth group also joined five other state’s Youth Tour programs for a sightseeing and dance cruise on the Potomac River.
Other events of the week included participation in the Electric Youth Day, during which a special program coordinated by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association brought together over 1,000 Youth Tour delegates from across the United States. The delegates enjoyed featured speeches by government leaders and motivational speakers, such as Mike Schlappi, an inspiring four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time world wheelchair basketball champion.
To be awarded this trip, WRVEC delegates must be a high school junior or equivalent and attend school within WRVEC’s five-county service area. Participants wrote an essay or created a short video answering the question, “How will the Cooperative power your future?” Ten finalists were chosen to speak at the Youth Tour banquet in March, where they gave their speech in front of a judges panel and took a quiz. These two scores were combined, and the three top scores were awarded the trip to Washington, D.C. along with a $1,500 scholarship from Operation Round Up. For more information about the Youth Tour program, visit https://www.whiteriver.org/community/youth-programs/youth-tour/.
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White River Valley Electric Cooperative is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative dedicated to ensuring our members receive safe and reliable service in their homes and businesses across five southwest Missouri counties including Ozark, Taney, Stone, Christian and Douglas.
