Olivia Gronseth of Hayfield and Derek Drescher of Alden were among the nearly 1,500 high school students from across the country who participated in the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour held June 14-19, in Washington, D.C. The trip was sponsored by Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services.

Each year in June, an action-filled week provides high school students opportunities to learn first-hand what it is like to be involved in politics, community service and today’s pressing issues. The theme of the 2008 Youth Tour was “Commitment to Community.” Highlights included meeting with their elected representatives in the U.S. House and Senate to discuss the process of government and issues of the day, and increasing their knowledge of cooperative electric utilities and American history.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has been a joint effort of local electric co-ops, such as Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, their statewide co-op associations, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Arlington, Va. for more than 40 years.

Gronseth said she had the experience of a lifetime working with peers from other states and the NRECA staff during the Washington stay.

“While in Washington, D.C., I met people from all corners of the country and visited historical monuments, museums and Capitol Hill,” Drescher said. “I learned so much about the role of electric cooperatives in the energy industry.”

Both students agreed that what they learned on the Youth Tour made them proud to be an American and to show that America’s young people are involved and care about this country and our communities. In addition to taking in the sights and sounds of the nation’s capital, all the state groups convened for National Youth Day on June 16 to learn from public figures and other inspirational speakers.