The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has brought high school students to Washington, D.C. for a week in June every year since the late 1950s. Students apply and are selected for this program by their local electric cooperative. We believe that students should see their nation’s capital up close, learn about the political process, and interact with their elected officials.
Students gain a personal understanding of American history and their role as a citizen by meeting their Representatives and Senators. While student groups are organized at the state level, they all come together for one day, where they get to meet each other and hear featured speakers who provide insight to the important roles electric cooperatives play in their communities.
Nearly 50,000 students from rural areas and small towns across America have participated in this program. Some of our Youth Tour alumni have gone on to design airplanes, to lead companies and to serve in the highest ranks of our government, including the U.S. Senate. Don’t be surprised if you run into a former Youth Tour participant who is a congressional aide on Capitol Hill. While several of our alumni work in Washington, you will find even more alumni in your own community.
The tour is designed to provide an opportunity for outstanding rural young people (like you) to better understand the value of rural electrification. It familiarizes you with the historic and political environment of our nation’s Capital through first-hand looks at monuments, government buildings, and cooperative organizations.
Visits with elected officials will give you a better understanding of federal government, the political process, and democracy in general. But perhaps most significantly, the tour gives us an opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding young people from rural communities. Bottom line: your electric cooperative feels like educated citizens are better citizens and better citizens are better co-op members. This program helps you help your local electric cooperative.
We are Ohio's Electric Cooperatives – the statewide association that represents all 25 of Ohio's electric cooperatives. At OEC, we support co-ops with a variety of functions, including safety training, communications, government affairs, education and training, and much more.
While students apply to Youth Tour through and are sponsored by their local electric cooperative, OEC handles the planning of all events and sites of interest for the tour.
Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson inspired the Youth Tour when he addressed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Annual Meeting in Chicago in 1957. The Senator and future president declared, “If one thing goes 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.”
Consequently, some Texas electric cooperatives sent groups of young people to Washington to work Senator Johnson’s office during the summer in. In 1958, a rural electric cooperative in Iowa sponsored the first group of 34 young people on a week-long study tour of the nation’s capital. Later that same year, another busload came to Washington from Illinois. The idea grew and other states sent busloads of young people throughout the summer. By 1959, the “Youth Tour” had grown to 130 youths.
In 1964, NRECA began to coordinate joint activities among the state delegations and suggested that co-op representatives from each state arrange to be in Washington, D.C. during Youth Tour week. The first year of the coordinated tour included approximately 400 young people from 12 states. Word of the program has continued to spread and today, more than 1,800 young people and their chaperones’ participate in the Youth Tour every year.
Get involved in Youth Tour
Contact your local electric cooperative to find out specific details for participating. You may visit your electric cooperative's website by finding them on this map or you can contact Missy Kidwell at OEC at (614) 681-5157 or mkidwell@ohioec.org.
Key stops on the trip
- U.S. Capitol Building
- Gettysburg Battlefield and Cyclorama
- Arlington National Cemetery
- National Archives
- Library of Congress
- The Kennedy Center
- Museums of Natural History and American History, and the Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Monuments and memorials: Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial, MLK Jr. Memorial, 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument
Once you've been selected as a Youth Tour delegate
If you've been selected, that means you've been notified by your local electric cooperative that you've been selected to represent them during Youth Tour.
Congratulations! We're so excited for you to experience Youth Tour with your fellow delegates. Now that you've been officially selected by your sponsoring co-op, there are some things you need to know. As a Youth Tour delegate, please remember that you are representing your state and your co-op on this experience. That means there are certain expectations for your behavior and attire on the trip.Click the buttons below to complete required waivers and health forms, and learn about other trip highlights. Clothing expectations will be shared soon!
Fill out this registration form Complete this medical release form Register for orientation
Complete this plant tour waiver Cambridge pickup
Review the code of conduct Do you have a REAL ID?
How to be a tourist, but not look like a tourist Other suggestions for your trip
Youth Leadership Council
Each Youth Tour participant has the opportunity to be selected as the one person to represent their state on NRECA’s Youth Leadership Council (YLC). NRECA’s Youth Leadership Council is a networking opportunity carefully curated to build leadership and public speaking skills while enhancing the delegates’ knowledge of the energy industry and the cooperative business model.
As Ohio's YLC representative, you must be able to attend the below dates. Please be aware that your travel expenses will be covered. This includes flights, food, and lodging.
- July 20-24, 2026 – Youth Leadership Council Basecamp Conference, Washington D.C.
- August 10, 2026 – OEC's Summer Conference, Columbus, Ohio
- February 8-9, 2027 – OEC's Winter Conference, Columbus, Ohio
- February 12-17, 2027 – NRECA PowerXChange, San Diego, California
