Local students take trip to D.C.

Three students from the Flathead Valley were among a record-setting crowd of 1,800 students from 46 states who attended the annual Washington, D.C. Youth Tour hosted by the National Rural Electric Co-op Association.

The week-long tour brings high-school students to the nation’s capitol each year to visit monuments and memorials, meet with members of Congress to learn how government works, and hear inspirational messages.

Flathead Electric Cooperative sponsors local students each year whose parents are members of the co-op and who have been selected through an application and interview process. Students selected often describe the trip as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”

This year, three local students, Seth Carmichael, McKenna Johnson and Keegan Siebenaler, attended the tour. They each expressed a new understanding and appreciation for their country and its history as well as the important role cooperatives play in the utility industry, Flathead Electric said in a press release.

Carmichael described the trip as extraordinary, saying “I was able to meet many other curious young adults from around the country and made connections that will last a long time.” He also expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to meet with and “pick the brains of” members of Congress who represent him.

For more information about the application process for next year’s tour, contact Mike Radel at m.radel@flathead.coop or call 406-751-4429.