La Plata Electric Association, Inc. (LPEA) is seeking four local high-school juniors interested in spending a week in the nation’s capital as part of the National Rural Electric Youth Tour. Students will learn about the utility cooperative business model, visit historical monuments and memorials, and meet elected officials from June 12-18, 2023. The trip is fully sponsored by LPEA and the Colorado Rural Electric Association, so students can attend at no cost. More than 1,800 students from 45 states are expected to participate in 2023.
“As someone who worked for a U.S. Senator in Congress, this is an excellent opportunity for students to develop leadership skills and experience our nation’s capital,” said LPEA CEO Jessica Matlock. “I would encourage any high school junior in our service territory who is interested in leadership, policy, development, or utility work to apply to attend.”
To be eligible, applicants must:
- live in LPEA’s service territory;
- be a junior in high school;
- complete an application at http://lpea.coop/lpea-youth-tour by Friday, December 16, 2022.
Senator Lyndon Johnson inspired the Youth Tour when he addressed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Annual Meeting in Chicago in 1957. The senator declared, “If one thing goes out of this meeting, it will be sending youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
LPEA is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving La Plata and Archuleta, with segments of Hinsdale, Mineral and San Juan counties. LPEA is the fifth largest cooperative of 22 in Colorado and aims to provide safe, reliable electricity at the lowest reasonable cost to its approximately 34,500 members. More at lpea.coop.