Local high school juniors and sophomores may apply to take part in our Youth Day program, where they will visit the state capitol building in Springfield, IL in March.  There, students will take part in the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives Youth Day along with young representatives from other cooperatives across Illinois.  They will visit government offices, meet with their elected representatives, listen to speeches on topics of the day, and visit various historical sites in our capital city.  Youth Day 2026 will be Wednesday, March 25, 2026. 

At the conclusion of Youth Day, judges from the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) will select two winners and one alternate to represent Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative during the Youth to Washington Tour in Washington, D.C. June 15-22, 2026.  Students do not have to be interested in attending Washington trip in order to participate in Youth Day at the capitol.

The deadline to apply to Youth Day is February 20, 2026.  The online application may be found under Youth Programs in the Community tab on our webpage: https://www.recc.coop/rural-electric-youth-dayyouth-to-washington-contest/