“Concern for Community” is the cooperative principle that won the hearts of most finalists in Cuivre River Electric Cooperative’s 46th Annual Youth Tour Final Competition on April 16.Twelve local students presented their essays touting “The Power of Cooperative Principles” with judges and guests attending the event.Students’ speeches and cooperative quiz scores determined the most important contest of the evening, the selection of Cuivre River’s delegates to attend the National Youth Tour Conference in Washington, D.C. this summer.Students chosen as Cuivre River Youth Tour delegates include Elizabeth Citrowske of Our Lady Homeschool, Brandelyn Martin of Silex High School, Alison Boehmer of St. Dominic High School, Marissa Burch of Winfield High School, and Grant Cordell and Gabriel Holtmeyer of Warrenton High School.They will travel among 90 Missouri delegates June 13-19, meet with more than 1,500 delegates from across the United States, visit Congress, tour Capitol Hill, and see national historic memorials and landmarks. Tara O’Brien of Elsberry High School will serve as a Youth Tour alternate, should any of these students be unable to attend.“Cuivre River Electric Cooperative will provide six students with the opportunity to represent the Show Me State in Washington, D.C. as participants in NRECA’s Youth Tour 2014. The opportunity to visit D.C., tour the Capitol building and meet with elected officials can be transformative,” said Jo Ann Emerson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). “There is no better place to gain an appreciation for all of our democratic institutions than here in our nation’s capital. I truly believe that those students who attend the Youth Tour return home better equipped to serve their community and co-op nation.”The six runners-up in the contest received a $250 Cuivre River Youth Tour scholarship to the university or college of their choice. They include Tara O’Brien and Arianna Shaffer of Elsberry High School, Caroline Newby of Timberland High School, Madeline Colyer of Troy Buchanan High School, Kaitlynn Benfield of Warrenton High School and Samantha Eggemeyer of Winfield High School.

YOUTH TOUR DELEGATES- Cuivre River's 2014 Youth Tour delegates are, from left, Brandelyn Martin of Silex High School, Gabriel Holtmeyer of Warrenton High School, Alison Boehmer of St. Dominic High School, Marissa Burch of Winfield High School, Grant Cordell of Warrenton High School and Elizabeth Citrowske of Our Lady Homeschool. The delegates will travel to Washington, D.C. June 13-19 to attend the National Youth Tour Conference.