Special to The Hays Daily News

Youth from across Kansas recently traveled to Washington to meet government officials, visit national memorials and tour museums as part of the 48th Annual Electric Cooperatives' Government in Action Youth Tour.

The 30 Kansas delegates enjoyed a weeklong tour of the nation's capitol June 12 to 19. The group learned about U.S. history and government through visits with Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Todd Tiahrt, meetings with youth from other states and tours of the memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, Smithsonian museums, Fort McHenry, Holocaust Memorial Museum and Mount Vernon.

Kansas was one of 45 states to send a youth delegation to the annual electric cooperative youth tour. Nearly 1,500 high school students attended the 2008 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Day.

The youth participants heard from keynote speaker Mike Schlappi, a four-time Paralympics medalist and two-time world champion in wheelchair basketball. Delegates listened to Schlappi's story and his message for every American, young or old: "Just because you can't stand up, doesn't mean you can't stand out."

The youth delegates attending the trip were selected through a competition by their local electric cooperatives. To be selected, the students either wrote an essay or were interviewed by a panel of judges.

The all-expense-paid-trips for the student winners were sponsored by the electric cooperatives. Since 1964, the nation's electric cooperatives have sponsored the trips of more than 40,000 high school juniors and seniors to visit U.S. congressional members, energy and grassroots government education sessions, and sightseeing in Washington.

"The Kansas electric cooperatives believe this program is an investment in our youth and the future of our country," said Shana Holsteen, Kansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. Director of communications. "Our hope is that these students will gain an awareness of how our nation's government works and how important it is for our delegates to be involved in their local communities."

The delegation and their sponsoring electric cooperatives from northwest Kansas were Phill Becker, Lenora, Prairie Land; Abby Bugbee, Phillipsburg, Prairie Land; Amanda Eckols, Hill City, Prairie Land; Keith Gustin, Hays, Western; Danny Simon, Hays, Midwest Energy.

The chaperones were Shana Holsteen of Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Topeka, Lisa Scott of Kaw Valley Electric Cooperative in Topeka, and Ron Graber of Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative in Girard.

The annual youth tour is coordinated by KEC, the statewide service organization for the rural electric cooperatives in Kansas. Formed in 1941 and headquartered in Topeka, KEC represents the interests of and provides needed services and programs to the electric co-ops that serve in Kansas. Today, KEC serves 29 distribution electric cooperatives and three generation and transmission electric cooperatives providing electricity to over 200,000 Kansas households and to approximately 80 percent of the land mass.

For more information or to see photos of this year's youth tour, go to www.youthtour.coop.