Winners return from electric cooperative-sponsored youth tour

Brady Clark of Waurika, Trevor Lucas of Marlow and Ryan Yuyuenyongwatana and Rufus Lindsey II, both of Lawton, recently returned home from an eventful, fun-filled week in Washington, D.C. The young men won the 2009 Rural Electric Cooperative "Youth Tour" contest, sponsored by Cotton Electric Cooperative in Walters.

Parents are Jim and Sonya Clark, Bruce Lucas and Pam Lucas, Betty and Robert Yuyuenyongwatana, and Rufus and Claire Lindsey

The 46th annual Youth Tour began June 12 with a get acquainted banquet in Oklahoma City. The next morning, 73 outstanding teens representing 25 of the state's rural electric systems departed for the nation's capital.

In addition to visiting historical monuments, taking photos of the White House and enjoying a riverboat cruise on the Potomac River, the Oklahoma winners toured the Library of Congress, the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the Pentagon and Mount Vernon.

The group also hosted a Congressional Summit for the Oklahoma delegation, aides and guests, assisted by U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas and his staff. Lucas represents Oklahoma's 3^rd Congressional District.

While traveling through Baltimore, the group spent time at Inner Harbor.

For the final event of the week, the young Oklahomans met with more the 1,500 other Youth Tour winners from across the nation at a dinner and dance hosted by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The tour is coordinated each year by the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.