Wednesday, June 19th, 2019
Our last day in Washington DC started with breakfast being delivered to our rooms. We got dressed in our red polos and headed to Capitol Hill. We started out by getting photos in front of the capitol building. Dalton Schmit, 2012 Iowa Youth Tourer, stopped by and talked with the students. He now works for Facebook in Texas. The students had fun quizzing him about current Facebook policy topics. We then spilt into our congressional districts and met with each of our House Representatives. The students were able to engage and cover a variety of current political topics with their legislators.
Next, we took a guided tour of the US. Capitol building led by staff members from Senators Grassley and Ernst’s offices. Lunch was held at the NRECA townhouse, which is just a short walk from the Capitol Hill. We had pizza and cooled off in the A/C. Following lunch, we all visited the Library of Congress. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst met with the group on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in front of the Senate Chambers. The Senators fielded many questions and everyone seemed to have a really good time. This experience really immerses them in politics and personalizes the process.
The Embassy of Portugal agreed to host the Iowa Youth Tour group. They allowed us to tour their embassy. Additionally, they had a diplomat that talked to the students about Portugal and the EU.
The evening was spent at the Newseum where all the states came together for a farewell event. The Newseum was privately rented for Youth Tour. With close to 2,000 people in this museum, there were a lot of memories made and more pin trading. The Newseum highlights the importance of the first amendment.
We arrived back at the hotel around 9 pm. The snack co-op held its annual meeting and the chaperones gave out awards to each of the students. The night ended with lots of tears and emotions as the students talked about their experiences and newly formed friendships over the last week. Will won the Amazon gift card for the most collected pins.
Today, Thursday, June 20th, the wake-up call was at 5:00 am and we took one last bus ride with Rob to the airport. This trip has truly been an amazing experience for the students and they will have the memories and friendships for a lifetime. It has been fun to be a chaperone and to view the trip from a different perspective. Rural Electrical Cooperatives are a necessity for our communities and they are consistently giving back to their members. On behalf of the students and myself thank you to all the cooperatives that sponsored students. Additionally, thank you, Shelly, for your hard work and organizing such a great trip. Welcome back to Iowa everyone!
Clayton Merritt
Youth Tour Intern
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Another busy day in the US Capital!
Tuesday,
June 18th, 2019
We had our
last breakfast at Crystal City Pub Grill. From there we headed to the National
Cathedral. This building is magnificent and the second largest cathedral in the
United States. After the National Cathedral, we enjoyed sack lunches on the
bus.
We took a
tour of Ford’s Theater, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Right across
the street from Ford’s Theater is Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. Everyone really
seemed to enjoy this stop with lots of opportunity for fun photos.
The
Arlington National Cemetery was our next stop. Shelly says this is her favorite
stop on the entire trip. It is such an honor to be able to pay tribute to all
of our service members that have made sacrifices to ensure our nation’s safety.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24/7, 365 days a year. We were able
to watch the changing of the guards twice. Additionally, Ellie, Sabrina, Jacob,
and Jack had the honor of laying a wreath at the tomb. They conducted
themselves very professionally and represented Iowa Youth Tour very well.
Dinner was
had at the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl. Part of our meal was bottomless chili
cheese fries and a milkshake. Ben’s Chili Bowl is a historical restaurant that
has had many visits from prominent figures such as Barack Obama, Jimmy Fallon,
and Bruno Mars. We took a group photo in front of the diner with the late
owner's wife.
Unfortunately,
it started to rain and the planned sunset parade was canceled. However, the
rain didn’t stop us and we headed from dinner to the Pentagon to view the 9/11
memorial. Shelly, the great planner, had ponchos for everyone.
We called
it a day and went back to the hotel. Due to the planned rain overnight, Senator
Grassley had to cancel his 3 mile run with the students tomorrow morning. It is
very unfortunate, but everyone will have the chance to meet with their
congressional representatives tomorrow on Capitol Hill. We are coming to the
end of our trip with one full day left in Washington D.C. These young adults
have conducted themselves well and represented all their cooperatives
respectively.
Clayton
Merritt,
Youth Tour
Intern
What a GREAT day!
Monday, June 17th, 2019
There were a lot of long, tired
faces in the lobby this morning. However, after breakfast, coffee, and a little
bus choir practice, everyone perked up. Rob drove us to the Lincoln Memorial
after breakfast at Crystal City Sports Pub.
The Lincoln Memorial and the Korean
Memorial are near each other. We visited both and took many pictures. While at
the Lincoln Memorial, the United States Marine Corps were having drill
practice. Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where some of our
country's greatest leaders have stood, is such a historical view of our nation
that gives you chills (even when it’s 90 degrees and humid).
Since it was very windy our first
day, Shelly was able to reschedule our paddle boat rides on the Tidal Basin.
The students loaded the paddle boats and spent the better part of an hour on
the water. For anyone that thinks paddle boating is easy, think again. It’s a
workout! Everyone was getting their daily dose of sunshine today!
From the paddle boats, we spent the
better part of the day in small groups touring The National Mall. The National
Mall is the location of Washington D.C.’s most popular museums like the
Smithsonian’s, and many of the most iconic monuments. In conjunction with the
Lincoln Memorial, all the student toured the relatively new National Museum of
African American History and Culture. This museum highlighted the importance of
African American culture and their hard-pressed battle to fight oppression.
Following the African American Museum, the students visited a variety of
museums such as The National Air and Space Museum & The Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History.
We all came back together to go
through the National Archives Museum where our nation’s founding documents are
kept and displayed. Yet, the most “humbling and eye-opening” experience that
everyone had today was visiting the Holocaust Museum. Thoughts about the
Holocaust Museum are hard to put into words, but this particular memorial pulls
the heartstrings and 100% humanizes this awful part of our history.
Rob picked us up at the Holocaust
museum and drove us back to the hotel. We had dinner back at the hotel with
about a thousand other youth tour students from many other states. (there are
about 1,800 youth tour students out here in total plus 200 chaperones) Texas
brings the most students, about 150. Whereas, Alaska only sends one student.
The next journey for the everyone
was Youth Tour Day held right here in the basement of our hotel. This event
included many uplifting, empowering, and inspirational speakers that coincided
with this year’s theme; ELEVATE. We were able to hear from NRECA’s CEO (Jim
Matheson), a line worker that has been to Haiti twice to help build electrical
cooperatives in the poverty-stricken area, and our very one Sarah Herz had some
stage time as she introduced herself as this year’s Youth Leadership Council
delegate from Iowa. The final motivational speaker was Mike Schlappi. Mike was
paralyzed from the waist down from as a teenager after being accidentally shot
by his friend. Mike tells his story about how he went on to graduate college,
win 4 Olympic medals, and many other extraordinary achievements. I would really
suggest looking him up on YouTube and watching one of his motivational
speeches, he may change your life.
FUN FACT: Apple CEO, Tim Cook, went
on Youth Tour when he was in high school.
The students ended the day with
more pin trading. Whenever any student sees a student from another state, they
swarm each other and begin to trade pins. It truly is a neat experience and the
world’s best ice breaker. If you didn’t know any better, you would think that
the Iowa students grew up together, that is how close they have become on this
trip. In fact, they are already planning reunions. Lifelong memories are being
made but best of all these young adults are forming friendships that will last
a lifetime.
Clayton Merritt
Youth Tour Intern
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Sunday, June 16, 2019
Happy Father's Day!
Sunday,
June 16th, 2019
Day 3 in
DC started with breakfast at Crystal City Pub Grill. Rob, the bus driver, ate
breakfast with us and we headed to the Albert Einstein Memorial. At the
Einstein Memorial, we took a group photo. We then walked across the street to
the Vietnam Memorial. The students were able to find the names of fallen
soldiers that are from their home towns. Once the names were located, the
students did a rubbing of the name to transfer the name over to a piece of
paper. Additionally, on Father’s Day each year they pass out roses to be laid
at the memorial. The students described the experience as breathtaking and left
them speechless.
Following
the Vietnam Memorial, we headed to Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s plantation.
The students gained firsthand experience of colonial life and how the first
president lived. We took a guided tour through George Washington’s mansion. We
ended up spending 3 hours there.
Rob picked
us up with the air conditioning on full blast. It was hot and sunny today.
Shelly had a surprise for the students at the next stop, The National Harbor.
They got to ride the giant Ferris wheel that had a very scenic view over the
city.
After
spending some time at the harbor, we headed across the bridge to Alexandria for
a 3-hour boat cruise. Iowa joined the South Dakota, South Carolina, Kansas, and
Hawaii groups. This boat cruise was a giant party with food and great music. The
students laughed and danced until they were sweaty messes. Iowa and South
Carolina had a dance off, Jack rocked it. You can find a short clip of the
cruise on Facebook.
The night
ended with showers for everyone and playing cards with the other states in the
game room at the hotel. I did not do any dancing, but I am exhausted from
watching them, so I am signing off and going to bed. I am not sure who is
currently winning the pin collecting contest, but I imagine Will remains in the
lead. I guess he has formed an alliance with a couple of students, so he had
triple the amount of Iowa pins and corn necklace to trade. We have an early start
tomorrow with a wake-up call at 6:15 am.
Clayton
Merritt
Youth Tour
Intern
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Saturday, June 15, 2019
Our first FULL day in DC!
Saturday, June 15th, 2019
6:45 am came early. We headed over to the Crystal City Pub &
Grill where we ate a delicious breakfast buffet. Rob met us with the bus and we
drove over to The National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico. One of the
students brought a Bluetooth speaker which led to a lot of group singing on the
way to Quantico. We have a lot of talented singers! The students spent 2 hours
touring the exhibits at the Marine Corps. It was honestly breathtaking walking
through all the different war exhibits and seeing the sacrifice and bravery of
so many marines. We ate a sack lunch within the National Museum of the Marine
Corps at Devil Dog Diner.
Following the Marine Corps was the Navy Memorial, where we
took a lot of pictures
We then went and paid tribute to the nation’s fallen police
officers at the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
We spend the entire afternoon with Amy Gold. Amy Gold is a
must-have in the world of tour guides. She is witty, quirky and very
knowledgeable about Washington D.C. Amy took us on a very detailed and
enjoyable tour of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, WWII Memorial, the Martin
Luther King Jr Memorial, and the Iwo Jima Memorial. Additionally, we spent time
outside of Capital Hill and The National Mall. While at the MLK Memorial, we
were able to meet service members from Texas that were on an Honor Flight.
We dropped Amy off around 6 pm and headed to the Union
Station food court for dinner. Everyone was able to browse the different
options. After
supper, we headed back to the hotel for a night of games and more mingling with
other state groups. Shelly, DJ, and Zach conducted the Youth Leadership
Council (YLC) interviews. YLC is an opportunity for a student from each state
to return to further develop their leadership
skills.
Throughout the day, we met other Youth Tour groups from
Kansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Utah.
Each state has state-specific pins that the students trade. The goal is to
collect the most pins from other states. At the end of the trip, the person
with the most pins earns a $50 Amazon gift card. However, Iowa Youth Tourer's
have a bargaining advantage with yellow corn necklaces and state pins. So far,
Will Rasmussen from the Pella Cooperative Electric Association is winning the
pin challenge.
If you guys didn’t catch on from the Facebook videos, we had
a LOT of great singing on the bus rides. I think when we get back home these
students should come together to form a 2019 Youth Tour Choir. Although
Washington D.C. is really fun, we are all looking forward to sleeping in till
7:30 am tomorrow.
Clayton Merritt
Youth Tour Intern
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We've arrived in DC!!
Friday,
June 14th, 2019
Wow, what
a busy last 30 hours! Yesterday we spent the evening at the Holiday Inn going
over the trip details, playing games, forming the Snack Cooperative (which is a
big deal), saying goodbye to the parents, and getting to know each other. After
a short sleep, we departed the hotel at 4:30 am and headed to the airport. For
many of the students, this was their first time flying. However, we made it
through security and boarded our plane without a hitch. We had a two-hour
layover in St. Louis and arrived at the Reagan National Airport a little after
12 pm.
As a
group, we met up with Rob Taylor, our bus driver. Rob is a Maryland State
Trooper and takes a week off each year to drive a tour bus for the Iowa Youth
Tour group. Rob had already picked up subway sandwiches for everyone, so we
loaded the bus, ate our lunch, and headed to the White House.
Rob
dropped us off at the White House. The students walked down Pennsylvania Avenue
and had a chance to get photos of the north side of the White House. A big
group photo was taken and is posted on Facebook! After the White House, we
headed back to the bus. Rob then drove us to The American Veterans Disabled for
Life Memorial.
After we
visited The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, Shelly York handed
out flyers with a photo scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was a two-hour long
adventure of posing in front of certain monuments, solving riddles, and even
making human pyramids!! It was a good chance for the individual groups of 7 or
8 to bond and get to know each other better. The scavenger hunt took place at
The National Mall. It provided the students with the first previews of some of
the museums. Following the scavenger hunt, we were supposed to paddle boat on
the Tidal Basin. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans. The gusty winds
were causing rough waters, so the paddle boats were closed for the day. Have no
fear, Shelly is awesome and has rescheduled the activity for Monday!
We walked
around the Tidal Basin and visited the Jefferson Memorial. Following the
Jefferson Memorial, Rob drove us to Hill Country BBQ. At Hill County BBQ we had
a family style dinner that consisted of BBQ chicken sandwiches, macaroni and
cheese, coleslaw, and cookies. The meal was recommended by one of our
chaperones, Haley Moon. It was delicious and filling. Once again, Rob loaded us
back up and bussed the group over to the U.S. Air Force Memorial. While at the
Air Force Memorial, service members were putting on a free concert and they
sounded AMAZING.
We arrived
at our hotel around 7:30 pm. The snack cooperative board members went to the
local store to purchase snacks. We spent the rest of the evening in a privately
rented room playing games and just having fun. As it got closer to 10 pm,
everyone started to wear down and looked like they were ready for bed. I
suggest getting some sleep, wakeup call is at 6:45 am!
Clayton
Merritt
Youth Tour
Intern
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Monday, June 3, 2019
Guest Blogger > Clayton Merritt
Hey everyone! We are now counting down the days
until we depart Iowa for Washington DC! Oh, how thing have changed since the
first group of students embarked on this incredible journey in 1958! One thing
that hasn’t changed is the amount of fun and opportunity that this trip has
presented students each year since. Being a youth tour alum, I remember the
excitement and nervousness about this upcoming trip. You were selected for this
trip because you all display citizenship, community involvement, academic
achievement, and an interest in history and politics. These personality types
mix well. I can tell you from experience that you will have no problem
developing and maintaining friendship during this trip! 
During the summer of 2012; I was headed into my
senior year of high school, working a part-time job, studying for my ACT, and
oh yeah... gearing up for Youth Tour!! I had no idea the trip I was getting
ready to take would change my outlook on life, form new friendships, and deepen
my interests in history and politics. I remember meeting at the Magnuson Hotel
the night before we flew out for orientation. I had been to orientations before
(long and boring). This was unlike any orientation I had ever been to, it was a
night filled with games, conversation and truly getting to know the people that
we were going to be spending the next week with. Your Youth Tour Director,
Shelly York, has a way about herself that will put everyone at ease. We flew
out the next morning and well the rest is history. You learn about the
monuments, landmarks, cemeteries, and museums in textbooks and on TV. However,
you can never really appreciate the sacrifice and dedication that many
historical figures made to ensure the success of future generation until you’ve
seen these places in person. You will be able to connect your knowledge of
cooperatives and the need to continuously advocate on their behalf. The wax
museum, jogging with Senator Grassley, visiting the White House, spending a day
on Capitol Hill, and paddle boating on the Potomac River are a few of my
favorite memories from this trip. I could type a mile-long page about all the
fun I had on Youth Tour. Now, it’s your turn!
I am excited to go back again and can’t wait to
see how this trip will transform each and every one of you!! Additionally,
bring your walking shoes and deodorant as there is a lot of ground to cover and
lots to see!
Clayton Merritt
Youth Tour Intern
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