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 14-20, 2025, 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 11-17, 2025, 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 2024 youth program representatives Marissa Ghramm, Elk Valley High School, and Eli Ervin, Burlington High School, attended Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp; while Dergan True, Southern Coffey County, and Brody Anderson, Burlington High School, attended the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. Our student representatives agree that these cooperative youth experiences help build leadership skills and inspire them to use what they learn to benefit their communities, while embracing new experiences and building lifelong friendships.

If you know of a student with strong leadership potential who is ready for new experiences, to network with other student leaders, and 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.

Contest application and additional details are available on our application page. Applications are due no later than Monday, February 10, so sign-up today! Four winners and one alternate will be selected. For additional inquiries, contact April Engstrom at 620-364-2116 ext 306 or Christi Spillman at ext 208.