Chance For a High School Student to Win a Trip to Washington, D.C.

A high school junior from the Southwest Arkansas Electric REA service area will have a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. this June.The co-op President Wayne Whitaker says the winner of an essay contest would participate in the June 15-20 trip, which is part of the National Rural Electric Youth Tour. To be eligible to win the trip, the student must be a high school junior, enrolled in a local high school and the student's family must be a member of the Electric Cooperative.

Contest entrants will be required to submit a 500 word essay on "For 75 years, the Electric Cooperative Have Stressed the Importance of the Origina "Green Solutions to High Electric Bills, Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency in the Home, Farm, Business and Industry. Essays will be judged on the basis of knowledge of the subject, originality, composition, neatness and grammar.

The deadline for submitting essays will be March 29, 2013. This is the 23rd year the local Cooperative has sponsored the Washing, D.C. trip. The local group will be a part of a national group of 1,500 youth from 37 states across the country.

The tour began as a suggestion in 1947 from then Senator Lyndon Johnson of Texas. He urged the electric cooperatives to take their young leaders to Washington for a close-up look at the nation's Capitol and its leaders.

Youth who are eligible for the Youth Tour should Contact Kelly or Catherine at Southwest Arkansas Electric REA at (870) 772-2743, for more information.