If one word could sum up the 2024 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour for Ohio’s delegation, it would probably
be “more.”
It wasn’t only that the Buckeye State’s contingent included 50 high school students from 20 Ohio electric distribution cooperatives (and one from West Virginia) — more students, representing more co-ops, than in any previous year, according to Missy Kidwell, who coordinates the program for Ohio co-ops. The tour’s programming was also expanded, so it meant more hands-on experiences, more peer connections, and more memories that will last a lifetime.
Building life skills
Since the late 1950s, Youth Tour has brought high school students from co-ops around the country to Washington, D.C., for a week every June. This year, more than 1,800 delegates from 44 states participated.
Darcie Reinhart, who was elected by her fellow Youth Tour delegates to the national Youth Leadership Council, spoke to cooperative leaders at Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives’ winter conference.
The program is much more than a sightseeing trip. While delegates visit areas of civic, historical, and cultural importance, they also meet with their elected representatives and learn about electric cooperatives. Along the way, they network with other youth, make lasting friendships, build knowledge, and develop skills that will help them later in life.
“It was a great experience,” says Darcie Reinhart, a 2023 delegate from Lexington who was sponsored by Consolidated Cooperative. “I got to meet people from rural areas in Ohio and across the U.S. Though we’re from different sides of the country, we have so much in common and we’re more closely connected than I thought we would be.”
Reinhart, then a student at Lexington High School, was elected by her fellow delegates to represent Ohio on the national Youth Leadership Council, which provides additional cooperative, electric industry, and leadership training to one student from each state while giving these young members a voice in addressing cooperative leaders. Through YLC, Reinhart spoke to her co-op’s board of directors, made a speech at Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives’ winter conference, and attended the Power Xchange conference, a national meeting of cooperative leaders.
“Being a part of YLC helped me to step out of my comfort zone and learn a lot of leadership, communication, and social skills,” Reinhart says. “Before Youth Tour and YLC, I hadn’t sent emails to or called people I didn’t know. I hadn’t attended a business conference or spoken in front of a professional group.”
Fostering relationships
“I learned so much,” says Reinhart, now a freshman studying civil engineering at Ohio State University. “I applied those skills in my college applications and scholarship interviews. It’s something unique on
my resume.”
Sophie Dougherty, a junior at Talawanda High School and 2024 delegate sponsored by Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, says Youth Tour also took her out of her comfort zone.
“I gained new skills in meeting people and making meaningful connections,” she says. “I now have more confidence, which will help me in the future, whether it’s a social situation or a job interview.”
Learning about the Cooperative Difference
This year’s Youth Tour included two new stops for the Ohio delegates: the Flight 93 National Memorial (which is on co-op lines in rural Pennsylvania) on the way to D.C. and the Cardinal Power Plant (which provides electricity to Ohio co-ops) on the way back.
Dougherty says it surprised her, but her favorite segment of the trip was the tour of the Cardinal Plant. “It was so eye-opening,” she says. “I had not thought much before about where my energy comes from. I’m grateful we could stop to see this and meet the people who were running the huge machinery. I have so much more appreciation for what they do.”
Reinhart says for her, the most valuable aspect of Youth Tour was the relationship she gained with her co-op. “Before I went on Youth Tour, I didn’t really understand what a co-op was. But we attended a presentation, and I learned what my electric co-op is and how I can get involved. Now, I know what they are and all that they do for us, and I’ll have a lifelong relationship with my co-op.”
YLC has enhanced that knowledge and fostered her involvement locally and beyond, she says. “I’ve learned about co-ops, heard various speakers, and found out about jobs with co-ops.
“I went to board meetings and wrote a speech to give to my local co-op board of directors,” she says. “I attended a meeting in Columbus with all of the directors around the state and I got to go to Power Xchange in San Antonio, where the YLC members were helpers and also attended lectures and learned a lot.”
Encouraging future delegates
To high school students who are eligible for Youth Tour, Reinhart has a message: Just apply.
“Even if you’re unsure, send in the application,” she says. “My dad encouraged me to apply and because of that application, a whole world was opened up to me. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t done it.”
The 2025 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour will take place June 15 – 21 and is open to high school sophomores and juniors whose families are served by an electric cooperative. For more information or to apply, call your local cooperative or visit your co-op’s website.
