Youth Programs

Rural Electric Youth Tour

You’ll have a blast – and learn something in the process! Meet new people from across the state and across America! And best of all – IT’S FREE!

What is it? The Youth Tours and Conferences sponsored by Wiregrass Electric!

Watch the National Youth Tour video on U-Tube!

Wiregrass Electric realizes our future lies in our young people. For this reason, WEC sponsors three youth trips each year – the Alabama Rural Electric Youth Tour to Montgomery, the NRECA Rural Electric Youth Tour to Washington, DC, and the Alabama Cooperative Youth Conference. By participating in these programs, students will become better citizens, informed voters and good Cooperative members. These students will have the opportunity to:

• Increase their understanding of the value of rural electrification;
• Become more familiar with the historical and political environment of the nation’s capital through visits to monuments, government buildings and cooperative organizations; and
• Visit elected officials to increase their knowledge of how the federal government works.

Youth Tour to Montgomery

Wiregrass Electric sponsors up to 10 high school juniors to the Alabama Rural Electric Youth Tour to Montgomery each year for a three-day conference/tour in March. High school juniors who have one parent or guardian who is a member and receives electric service from Wiregrass Electric Cooperative are eligible to participate in the competition. Interested -- fill out an application and return by Jan. 15. Tours include the State Capitol, the Alabama Legislature, State Archives and Rosa Parks Museum. Pictured here are: Lance Baxley, Johnathan Hayes, Representative Benjamin Lewis, Courtney Hart, Bailey Hales and Brianna Lisenby.

Alabama Rural Electric Youth Tour Website

Wiregrass Electric Youth Tour Brochure

Wiregrass Electric Youth Tour Application

Youth Tour to Washington, DC

Two outstanding students are chosen to attend the NRECA Rural Electric Youth Tour to Washington, DC. Students are selected by interview to represent Wiregrass Electric with students from throughout Alabama for a week-long trip to our nation’s capitol. Special sites of interest include the Lincoln Monument, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, and the House of Representatives. Students will meet with Alabama Legislators as they join almost 1,500 students from across the United States. Pictured here are: Cary Hatcher, WEC Manager of Member Relations; Debra Eubanks Baxley, WEC District 1 Director; Courtney Hart and Brianna Lisenby, 2008 Youth Tour to Washington students; and Kip Justice, WEC District 7 Director.

Alabama Cooperative Youth Conference

Up to ten high school freshmen and sophomores are chosen to attend the Alabama Cooperative Youth Conference in July. This three-day conference gives students an opportunity to study and understand our economic system and the place of cooperatives in it and to provide for leadership development – with a lot of fun thrown in between! The conference is held at the 4-H conference center in Columbiana, AL. Swimming, boating, basketball, games and other types of recreation are available. Interested students should apply by May 15 for the July Conference.

Pictured here are the 2008 Youth Conference students: Adam McDougald, Hartford; Aaron Justice, Hartford; George Pappas, Florala; Andrew Maloy, Ashford; Megan Ford, Hartford; and Bradley Kinman, Hartford.

As with all conferences Wiregrass Electric sponsors, all expenses are paid for the students. Applications may be obtained at any Cooperative office or online.

Youth Conference Application

Education grants available through NRECA

For over 5 years, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has funded the National Rural Education Association (NREA) Mini-Grant Program which is designed to fund special projects in rural K-12 classrooms in schools or communities served by an electric cooperative or whose students’ homes are served by a co-op.

Each year there are ten “Mini-Grants” of $500 each to be expended during the following year for student-based projects. Guidelines to apply for a Mini-Grant are as follows: an eligible project should feature an investigation of the science of energy or electricity.  Project ideas could include a study of the local geology, the history of hydro-electric generation in the community, or alternative sources of energy for the next generation and the project should be limited only by the imagination of  the students and the resources have available.

Interested teachers may download the 2008-2009 Mini-Grant Program Application here.