Each year, four high school juniors enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. during the nation's Youth Week in June.
The selection of the winners begins when 26 high schools within the co-op's service area each select a school representative (must be in 11th grade). The representatives travel to Tallahassee, our state capital, on a three-day expense-paid, chaperoned trip. During this trip the students have opportunities to observe the state legislature in session, to learn about our state's Supreme Court and to compete to earn one of the four spots to Washington, D.C.
While in Tallahassee, the students take a written quiz about electric cooperatives and give a speech which is scored by a nonpartisan panel of judges. Study sheets for the quiz as well as the topic for the speech are provided in advance. Four students are then chosen for the trip to Washington, D.C.
The four winners of the 2025 Youth Tour to Washington contest are Lilian Alcibar (Crescent City Junior-Senior High School), Lilla Chapman (Columbia High School), Audrey Ellenburg (Newberry High School) and Mary Fishley (Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School).
During Youth Week in June, the winners will join other students from around the country in Washington, D.C. The trip includes tours of monuments, museums, legislative buildings and historic landmarks, and often offers the opportunity to meet with their elected representatives to learn first-hand about the legislative process.
The Youth Tour program at Clay Electric was implemented in the summer of 1966. At that time, two students were chosen to travel to Washington, D.C. through an essay contest.
If you are interested in the 2026 Youth Tour to Washington contest, see your school counselor or contact your local district office and ask for the Member Relations Representative.
