Youth Tour

Twin Valley's representative will join 35 other Kansas teens for a trip meant to develop their leadership skills.  First the group stops in Topeka for a look at state government.  There they meet current elected officials who themselves participated in youth tour when they were younger.  They learn more about rural electric cooperatives —with a ride up in a bucket truck as one of the highlights.

Next they head to Washington, DC where they visit with Kansas’s congressional delegation, both Senators and Members of Congress.  Youth tour also includes important stops like the Holocaust Memorial Museum, George Washington’s Mt. Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery.  There’s also room for fun with trips to the Smithsonian museums and a show at the Kennedy Center. 

Washington DC Youth Tour video

Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp

Every July, Twin Valley Electric Cooperative and the electric cooperatives of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming send nearly 100 students to the Glen Eden Resort, located just north of Steamboat Springs, Colorado to participate in an educational and fun seminar.  The Youth Leadership Camp offers a great opportunity for high school students to learn about a cooperative, tour a generation facility, learn about government and build on communication and leadership skills.  

What will you do at camp?  You’ll visit Lookout Mountain and meet students from Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming.  You’ll form a cooperative.  Participate in the legislative forum.  Participate in the “Build a Transmission Line Competition”.  Visit Steamboat Springs and Fish Creek Falls.  Attend a high-voltage demonstration.  You’ll go rafting on the Colorado River.  Attend a camp dance.  You’ll participate in a leadership workshop and live presentation by Hawk Quest.  Play in the volleyball tournament.  Participate in the camp talent show!  Tour Trapper Coal Mine and Craig Generation Plant.  Visit Mt. Werner for the banquet and vote for Ambassadors. 

The Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp is not just another camp!  You are going to make life-long friends.  Learn about yourself and build new leadership skills that you will use forever!

Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp video

Application Process

Twin Valley’s Youth Tour Program is open to high school juniors (16 years of age or older) whose primary residence is in Twin Valley Electric’s service territory. 

There are 5 high schools in Twin Valley’s service territory and Twin Valley sends information to all high schools. Students who apply then enter into a competitive process, taking tests and then interviewing with a 3-judge panel.  Not only is it a great opportunity, it's great practice for life!  The Top 3 candidates are then chosen.  Twin Valley Electric has the opportunity to send one students to the Youth Tour in Washington D.C. and one student to the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  The top candidate has the option to choose which they would like to attend. The third student is then the alternate in the case one of the winners are unable to attend.

For more information regarding the Youth Tour in Washington D.C. or the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp, parents and students are encouraged to contact their high school principal or guidance counselor or contact Twin Valley Electric, Jennifer Manahan 620-784-5500.