Great Lakes Energy accepting Washington, D.C. youth tour applications.

Great Lakes Energy accepting Washington, D.C. youth tour applications.

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) is looking for six high school sophomores or juniors whose parents or guardians live on GLE lines for a once-in-a-lifetime leadership travel opportunity this summer.

From the battlefields of Gettysburg to the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour will explore leadership lessons from our nation’s history and immerse participants in the cooperative spirit.

Those selected to attend Youth Tour will meet in Lansing for orientation, then board a motor coach bound for Washington, D.C. The group will make stops to tour the Civil War battlegrounds in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and participate in a flag ceremony at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland—birthplace of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Once in Washington, D.C., students will meet other Youth Tour attendees from across the nation, engage in brief lectures with a tour guide at various Washington, D.C. monuments and memorials, and explore several museums of the Smithsonian Institution. They will witness the time-honored changing of the guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, have a unique opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues with several Michigan legislators on Capitol Hill, and enjoy an evening at a Washington Nationals baseball game.

“Electric co-ops have been sponsoring Youth Tour for over 50 years,” says program coordinator Linda Kotzian. “And every year, students returning from Washington, D.C. tell us that the friendships they made on Youth Tour and the things they experienced with fellow students were life-changing.”

Great Lakes Energy is a consumer-owned business providing electric service to over 120,000 members in parts of 26 counties along the west side of Michigan’s lower peninsula. GLE sponsors six attendees at Youth Tour as part of the co-op’s ongoing commitment to power communities and empower their members to improve their quality of life.

Find additional information and an online application at CooperativeYouthTour.com. Applications must be received by Feb. 28 for consideration.