April 20, 2022

Four students from the Wentzville School District have been selected as winners in the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative’s 54th Annual Youth Tour Competition. Ella Murphy, Arthi Kondapaneni, Reese Ramler, and Kaitlyn Benesek from Liberty High School were selected as four of twelve winners from schools in St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike, and Warren counties in the annual contest that begins with an essay submission. The essays, all entitled “My Favorite Cooperative Principle,” were judged based on the student’s cooperative knowledge, composition, originality, grammar, and neatness.  

As Youth Tour delegates, Murphy, Kondapaneni, Ramler, and Benesek will be invited to this year’s Youth Tour Conference scheduled for June 13-19, with students learning more about government, leadership, and cooperatives. Two days will be spent at the Cuivre River office and one day will be spent in Jefferson City with delegates from across the state of Missouri. 

Liberty students Alexa Graham and Sam Flynn were named finalists in the competition and will each receive a $500 scholarship. Since 1964, Cuivre River has sponsored over 200 Youth Tour delegates. In a typical year, delegates visit their U.S. congressional delegations, attend energy and grassroots government education sessions, and spend time sightseeing in Washington, D.C. More than 53,000 high school students sponsored by electric cooperatives nationwide have participated in the Youth Tour since the leadership program began.