The cooperative way of touring Washington, D.C.

In June, 43 North Carolina students joined 1,700 others like them for the 51st annual Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. For seven days, high school juniors and seniors from throughout the U.S. forged friendships and gained a better understanding of our government and of electric cooperatives.

Every member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation took time to meet with the Youth Tour delegations from their districts. Elected officials also engaged with the cooperatives and students via Twitter, where the hashtag #NCYT15 chronicled the event.

“The Youth Tour is a vital opportunity for youth living in co-op service territory to visit our nation’s capital and learn about the importance of electric cooperatives,” said Jane Forehand, who coordinated the trip for the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives. “We hope our students return to their co-op communities wiser, with a bit more insight into what makes our nation, our co-ops, and our government tick.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr met with the entire North Carolina delegation on this year's Youth Tour.

The experience included visits to Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the Capitol Rotunda, monuments along the National Mall, the National Cathedral, and a night out at a Washington Nationals Major League Baseball game.

The trip was sponsored by 21 of the state’s electric cooperatives and included eight adult advisors. Besides forming their own beverage cooperative as part of the week, the North Carolina group elected Isaac Tuttle of Blue Ridge Electric as their representative to the Youth Leadership Council. Tuttle will represent the state at a number of electric cooperative-related events during the coming year (read his remarks on page 4-5).

This year for the first time, Youth Tour students got a peak behind the scenes in the state capital of Raleigh, including visits to the North Carolina Museum of History, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the state capitol building, and the state legislature.