Big Country Electric Cooperative is asking for your help spreading the word among students about the Government-in-Action Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital. BCEC will send three local students on Youth Tour, scheduled for June 15–22, 2025.
Students’ parents/guardians do not have to be members of BCEC to compete in and win the Youth Tour contest.
What Is Youth Tour?
It’s an action-packed trip to Washington, D.C., with about 150 students and chaperones from across Texas and more than 1,700 from across the U.S. We’ll see D.C. sights such as the Washington National Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Smithsonian Institution museums, memorials and more.
Students will learn about rural electrification, see a performance at the Kennedy Center, go on a boat cruise on the Potomac River with dinner and dancing, and meet congressional leaders.
The Youth Tour has been a Texas electric co-op tradition since 1965, when co-ops—inspired by then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson who encouraged youths to go to Washington to see their American heritage and government at work as well as “what the flag stands for and represents”—began sponsoring teens on this trip. Since then, more than 4,000 Texans and 50,000 young Americans have become Youth Tour alumni.
Please encourage your sophomore, junior and senior students to participate in this amazing opportunity! Applications are due by 5 p.m. January 23, 2025, and videos must be uploaded by 8 p.m. January 30.
The video topic is: under-standing the electric grid. Appli-cants should explain how the electric grid works and the role cooperatives play in maintaining it. Winners will be announced by February 13.
Big Country EC will donate $500 to the school that has the most students submit videos.
Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors whose parent(s)/guardian(s) are members of Big Country EC. Deadline to apply: March 1, 2025.
In addition to Youth Tour, scholarship opportunities are available through Big Country EC and affiliates:
Big Country EC Academic Scholarship
Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors whose parent(s)/guardian(s) are members of Big Country EC. Deadline to apply: March 1, 2025.
Directors Memorial Scholarship, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative
Scholarships of $2,000 will be awarded to selected graduating seniors whose parent(s) or guardian(s) are BCEC members. Deadline to apply: March 1, 2025. Texas Rural Electric Women’s Association Scholarship
Twenty scholarships of $1,500 each will be awarded to current TREWA members and their children.
Applicant or applicant’s parent or guardian must also be a current member or an employee of a Texas electric cooperative such as Big Country EC. Scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school seniors, full-time college students and adults who have been accepted as a full-time student to attend any accredited institution. Deadline to apply: March 15, 2025. For full details and applications, visit bigcountry.coop and click on Service Beyond Electricity, then Scholarships or Youth Tour. Please contact Krysha Burleson at (325) 776-3803 or [email protected] with questions.
