Know a high school student looking for a unique leadership development opportunity? Encourage them to apply for the Washington Youth Tour – a weeklong experience in the nation’s capital. Applications are now open.

Each summer, we send local high school students on an all-expense-paid leadership development experience in Washington, D.C., where students representing electric cooperatives across the U.S. gather to make new friends, meet elected officials and visit popular sites.

Sponsored by the nation’s electric cooperatives, the Washington Youth Tour typically includes visits to the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the Smithsonian museums and more. Students also get the opportunity to meet our senators and congressional delegation. The tour will be held June 15-22, 2023.

Current high school sophomores and juniors in Jackson EMC’s service area who have demonstrated leadership potential, academic success and community service can apply. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2023.

Since 1964, the nation’s electric cooperatives have sent student delegates to Washington, D.C. for the annual Youth Tour, organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), to gain a personal understanding of electric cooperatives, American history, and their role as a citizen. Jackson EMC began sending delegates to participate in 1971.

For more information, or to apply, visit jacksonemc.com/wyt.