4 Rivers Electric Cooperative is committed to the communities we serve, which means investing in our youth and providing educational, leadership and team-building opportunities. Our cooperative will continue this strong tradition of promoting youth leadership by sending four high school juniors on an all-expenses-paid leadership experience of a lifetime! Two students will attend the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour and two students will attend the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp.

During the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, June 15-22, 2023, students will travel to Washington, D.C., explore monuments and museums, meet with members of Congress, and make lifelong friends with students from across the country. This trip of a lifetime provides leadership lessons from our nation's history and the cooperative spirit that built our nation.

The Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp is July 14-20, 2023, at Glen Eden resort (www.glenedenresort.com) near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. High school students from electric cooperative communities in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming participate in this leadership camp. Together, they will create a candy cooperative, hear from dynamic speakers, and raft down the Colorado River.

Our 2022 youth program representatives, Elizabeth Kelley, Hartford High School; Emily Kelley, Hartford High School; Hayden Sides, Burlington High School; and Shelby Starbuck, Fredonia High School, agree that their cooperative youth experiences built their leadership skills and inspired them to use what they learned to benefit their communities.

If you know of a student with strong leadership potential who is ready for new experiences, would like to network with other student leaders, and is willing to learn more about themselves and their communities, encourage them to apply for these incredible leadership opportunities! Any high school junior living in 4 Rivers Electric's territory and whose parent/legal guardian is a 4 Rivers member is eligible to apply.

The contest application deadline was Feb. 15. Four winners and two alternates will be selected. For more information, contact Brian Sumner (ext 396) or April Engstrom (ext 306) at 620-364-2116.