Youth Tours
Montgomery Youth Tour
Selected students who participate in local competitions are invited to travel to Montgomery each spring, where they join more than 145 other high school juniors representing electric cooperatives for the Montgomery Youth Tour. There, students have the opportunity to talk with their elected officials about topics that interest them; tour the city’s most historic sites, including the State Capitol and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church; and participate in leadership and team-building activities with students from all across the state.
Washington Youth Tour
The Washington D.C. National Rural Electric Youth Tour, sponsored by local electric cooperatives, the Alabama Rural Electric Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, is part of a grassroots program to educate rising high school seniors on the electric cooperative program and the cooperative ideals for which it stands. Approximately 58 students from Alabama travel to Washington D.C. for the week-long tour, joining more than 1,800 students from across the nation. The tour is jam-packed with fun-filled activities and visits to America’s most popular and historic places. Stops along the way include the U.S. Capitol, the Korean and Vietnam memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian museums.
Although the youth tour experience is filled with fun activities, its overall purpose is to increase students’ understanding of the value of rural electrification and cooperative principles. Students visit with their elected officials to increase their knowledge of how government works at the state and federal levels.