What is the Government-in-Action Youth Tour?

Every June, as many as 1,500 high school students from across the country spend a week in the nation's capital as part of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. The students are sponsored by electric cooperatives – cooperatives that are committed to educating America's rural youth about America and the role electric cooperatives play in developing strong rural communities.

Participating in the Youth Tour is an awesome way to learn about this great nation, develop leadership skills, gain a better understanding of electric cooperatives, and make friendships that will last beyond the week! Participation is open to any high school student who will be 16 years of age by June 16-24, 2024, and attends school in the general service area of Swisher Electric Cooperative. This area includes the school districts of Canyon, Tulia, Happy, Kress, Silverton, Nazareth, Hart, and Olton.Any home-schooled student who meets the age requirement residing in these school districts is also eligible to compete.

To enter, please complete this online application as well as this photo release form. The rules of the contest can be found here, while the speech topics can be viewed here. Lastly, the potential judges' questions can be found here.