About Youth Tour

The Government-in-Action Youth Tour is a national cooperative initiative to send student’s to the nation’s capital. The program grew from the ideas of President Lyndon B. Johnson, an advocate of rural electrification and youth supporter. In 1957, when LBJ was still a Senator, he spoke at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Annual Meeting. In his speech he declared that young people should be sent to the national capital “where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”

Cooperatives across the nation soon got behind the idea and in 1964 created the first organized effort to send students to Washington D.C. for what is now known as the Government-in-Action Youth Tour. After more than 50 years, the Youth Tour has been able to send nearly 50,000 students from rural America to the nations’ capital. 

The Youth Tour Impact

Youth Tour is an incredible opportunity for local students. Those who are selected to participate in the program often gain life-long friendships and connections. The trip inspires careers and opens doors for these young students. Youth Tour alumni have gone on to become teachers, lawyers, politicians and even co-op employees.

There are also a number of opportunities available to Youth Tour Delegates and Alumni:

• Youth Leadership Council - Once accepted to Youth Tour, participants can apply to be Texas’ one representative on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Youth Leadership Council. YLC representatives return to Washington, D.C., in July for a leadership workshop with an emphasis on electric cooperatives and attend the NRECA Annual Meeting the following spring. Students apply for YLC in a packet of information they send to Texas Electric Cooperatives

• Wreath-Laying Ceremony - Once accepted to Youth Tour, participants can apply to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Four students are selected each year. Students apply for the ceremony in a packet of information they send to Texas Electric Cooperatives.

• Scholarships - Youth Tour Alumni are eligible to apply for the Glenn English National Leadership Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship program awards (1) $10,000 scholarship and (4) $1,000 scholarships each year exclusively to Youth Tour Alumni who have at least 1 year of college credits.

• Internships - The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association offers paid summer internships in Washington, D.C., in disciplines including communications, accounting/finance, government relations and regulatory affairs, compliance and marketing. If you're looking for something more local, SPEC also offers paid summer internships. Let us know if you're interested!