Congressman Shimkus with 2009 Youth To Washington delegates Ian Kessler of Ingraham and Katherine Deaton of Xenia.
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Is there a crystal ball in Washington D.C.?
Youth to Washington trip may provide answers for your future
OK. So you aren’t really into politics. As a junior in high school, you’re thinking about college and where you’re going to come up with more than $100,000 to pay for higher education. You’re also trying to decide what you want to work at the rest of your life to make that college experience pay off.
Oddly enough, the very people who may have answers to those questions are wearing the title of state legislator or seated in chambers of the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C.
Before you know it, you will be voting in your first election and the weight of the country’s decisions will partially belong to you. Will you support a Congressman who wants to pass Cap & Trade? Will you be in favor of farm subsidies? As you approach what was once “draft-age,” do you think we should send more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan or should the military be strengthening our borders? Oh, and when you get the opportunity to meet your Congressman, in addition to these questions will you ask: What has Congress done to make higher education more affordable and will I be able to find a job when I graduate?
Electric and telephone cooperatives in more than 40 states believe that young people deserve a first-class opportunity to educate themselves in the government process. Each year, the cooperatives across the nation sponsor more than 1,500 high school students to make the trek to Washington to get that personal initiation, and they have a lot of fun in the process.
It all begins in Springfield on April 21, 2010 during the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperative Youth Day where nearly 300 students will visit the State Capitol and spend much of the morning meeting with legislators. You will tour the Supreme Court and spend the afternoon touring local sites.
To be considered for this trip, see your guidance counselor for details as participation rules vary from co-op to co-op.
This year marks the 51st trip to the nation’s capital and promises to be as exciting as ever. Students learn the principles required to keep cooperative members working together for the cooperative’s success by establishing their own “chip and pop” cooperative while on the bus trip.
While in Washington during the week of June 11-18, in addition to meeting with Congressman from Illinois, students are treated to tours of historic sites, given the opportunity to make life-long friends and receive information to help determine career paths.
Hopefully, at the conclusion of the tour, you will understand the only crystal ball in Washington is the one you help develop through your participation in government and public service. The future of the country depends on the youth of today getting involved.
You must be a Junior in High School, and the child of a Clay Electric Cooperative member to be eligible.
To learn about this opportunity, contact your Guidance Counselor or Doug Hockman at Clay Electric Cooperative 618-662-2171. You may also check out the Youth Tour through the Association Of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) at www.aiec.coop for additional details.
Youth to Washington
Each summer, electric cooperatives in more than 30 states, send over 1,000 high school students to our nation’s Capital to learn about government, cooperatives and rural electrification. The electric cooperatives of Illinois send over 60 of these students each summer and Clay Electric Cooperative sponsors two.
The 2009 tour marks the 50th year that Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives have sent students to the nation’s capital. We continue to believe in the young leaders of our country and feel that our investment in this program is a good one. We’re proud of this tour and know that it is one of the most comprehensive youth tours of the nation’s capital.
While in Washington, DC, these students will have the opportunity to visit many historic sites; such as, the Civil War Battlefield in Gettysburg, George Washington’s Home and Grounds, the Smithsonian Museums and others. They will also visit places like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, the Kennedy Center, the Bureau of Engraving and many other government buildings and offices. They will also spend time with many of our legislators that represent us in Washington. There is even time for a dance and a cruise on the Potomac River.
You must be a high school junior (parents must be members of Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc). Sorry, but members of the immediate families of any director or full time employee of Clay Electric or any other electric cooperative are not eligible to compete.
“Youth Day” in Springfield is April 21, 2010. There will be one student from each high school to represent their school and Clay Electric Cooperative. While in Springfield you will visit historic sites and talk with some of our legislative leaders.
The “Youth to Washington” Tour is June 11 - June 18, 2010. Of the students that attended “Youth Day” two will be chosen to attend the “Youth to Washington” tour. Each school will make the selection of one winner for Youth Day to Springfield. Clay Electric will make the selection of two Youth to Washington Tour winners.
