Youth Tour 2025 Highlights
URE delegates Kate Clarriage and Anne Twaddle were among 46 students from across Ohio who spent a week in Washington, D.C., as part of the 2025 Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour. This once-in-a-lifetime leadership experience is open to high school sophomores and juniors from electric cooperative families and offers students the opportunity to explore the nation’s capital, meet elected officials and learn about the cooperative business model.
“Youth Tour 2025 was an unforgettable experience, and I am still in awe of how much history we saw, learned about and got to immerse ourselves in,” said Twaddle. “This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience — which I know all Youth Tour alumni say — but it exceeded my expectations.”
Throughout the week, delegates visited historic monuments and museums, attended educational sessions on the cooperative model, and heard from dynamic speakers, including four-time Paralympic medalist Mike Schlappi. They also had the chance to meet government leaders and connect with peers from across the country.
“I really enjoyed going and meeting new people from all over Ohio and the United States that I had something in common with,” said Clarriage. “My favorite part was seeing the Capitol building, because of how many huge decisions for our country are made there.”
Clarriage also enjoyed the Youth Tour tradition of pin trading, where students exchanged state-specific pins as a fun way to connect with peers from all 50 states.
Trip highlights for Twaddle included seeing the original Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives, watching Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, visiting several memorials at night and viewing a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird aircraft.
“I even got the opportunity to meet Ohio leaders, including Sen. Bernie Moreno and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted,” she said. “It was an incredible experience to talk with people who work directly in our government and represent our state.”
Youth Tour has been an electric cooperative tradition for more than 50 years, sending more than 1,600 students annually to Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators, tour historic sites and gain a better understanding of the role electric cooperatives play in our communities.
