The rows and rows of names seemed to go on endlessly for the Warrensburg teenager. The scorching summer heat pulsated off the black slabs of granite as he took in the 58,276 names listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“It made me emotional to see all the names listed up there of people who died helping our country,” says Saul Logan. “It makes you understand what makes the United States of America what it is. It resonated with me knowing all of these veterans had families, feelings and lives back home they left behind.”
Higginsville-based West Central Electric Cooperative sponsored Saul as one of their delegates on the Missouri Youth Tour to Washington, D.C. For six decades, Missouri electric cooperatives have sent the Show-Me State’s outstanding soon-to-be-seniors to our nation’s capital for a “trip of a lifetime.” This past June, Missouri’s 102 delegates traveled to Washington, D.C., for a week that was full of monuments, museums and memories.
Youth Tour is an opportunity for Missouri’s electric cooperatives to invest in young leaders from their service areas. “All of the Youth Tour delegates possess leadership skills that caught the attention of their co-op,” says Chris Massman, Missouri Youth Tour coordinator. “They might be leaders in their church youth group, FFA, student council or sports team. After a week of sharing and learning new skills with other like-minded, well-rounded leaders from across the state, they’re well positioned to be the future leaders back in their rural Missouri hometowns.”
The group gathered as strangers on Friday, June 14, in Columbia for a banquet and orientation before heading to the St. Louis airport the following morning. They started touring nearly as soon as they landed and kept a jam-packed schedule throughout the week with stops including the Marine Corps, Air Force, World War I and II, Vietnam Veterans, Korean War Veterans, Jefferson, Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials.
Delegates took photos in front of the White House and toured the U.S. Capitol. Other historic sites included the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, Mount Vernon, Ford’s Theatre as well as the International Spy Museum. They got the best view of the district from the Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery where they also observed the solemn tradition of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Youth Tour is an opportunity for our delegates to not just see the monuments, but understand why they’re important,” says Chris. “It means so much more seeing it in person instead of in a textbook.”
The delegates were not alone on the trip as once they arrived in D.C., they joined co-op youth from across the country. This summer was the first year since COVID that all states visited on the same week. It was also the first time since 2017 that all 1,800 delegates from 44 states gathered in one room for Youth Day.
“We’re so happy that this year’s delegates got to experience the full strength of Youth Tour being back to one week with everyone here at once,” says Beth Knudson, youth programs and training manager for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “It’s been a priority for NRECA and the Youth Tour directors to get our whole big group back together.”
The delegates took countless photos while enjoying all our nation’s capital had to offer. Some of the delegate’s top shots are included on page 13.
Each year, one delegate from each state is selected as the representative for the national Youth Leadership Council (YLC). Saul was chosen as the 2024-25 Missouri representative and will participate in monthly leadership training, travel to the NRECA Annual Meeting in Atlanta next March and address the 2025 Missouri Youth Tour delegates before their trip next June.
Saul first heard of the trip from a friend who attended two years ago. He knew he wanted to be part of Youth Tour and applied for the YLC. “The prompt said they wanted to see our personality and I focused on that,” he says. “I tried to stand out and I’m glad I did. I was expecting a lot out of this trip based on my friend’s experience, but this was way more than I could’ve thought.”
The Youth Tour was inspired by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson in 1957 when he asked rural electric leaders to “send youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.” The following year, electric cooperatives in Iowa accepted that challenge and sent the first group of young people on a weeklong tour of our nation’s capital. Missouri followed suit in 1964 with 22 Show-Me State electric cooperatives sending 58 students to Washington, D.C. The 2024 trip was the 59th time Missouri’s electric cooperatives have stepped up to send the state’s youth to the capital.
Though the week was full of unforgettable visits, Saul says it’s the memories he forged with his fellow delegates that he’ll keep with him far past the experience. “I’ve definitely learned that people are more genuine than we might give them credit for,” he says. “I’m not sure I’ve felt this open around a group of people I just met a week ago in my entire life. I can’t wait to see what everyone from this trip does in the future.”
For more information on the Missouri Youth Tour and the youth programs offered by Missouri Electric Cooperatives, visit www.moyouthtour.com.
YOUTH TOUR 2024 by Ricanna Spargo