Three local delegates represent co-op on 2026 Washington Youth Tour

Kenergy students Heath Ford, Maeson Martin and Rex Whitsell returned from Washington, D.C., with new friendships, stronger confidence and a deeper appreciation for American history and civic engagement.

Ford, a Henderson County High School student; Martin, a Crittenden County High School student; and Whitsell, a Webster County High School student, were sponsored by Kenergy on the 2026 Washington Youth Tour, a weeklong experience coordinated by Kentucky Electric Cooperatives and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Ford says meeting students from across the state and nation exceeded his expectations.

“I have made countless friends from across the state and country that I hope to maintain,” Ford says. “Regardless of where I go there will be someone who I share this experience with.”

Whitsell says the week offered both friendship and a firsthand look at government.

“My favorite part about the Washington Youth Tour was for one making lifelong friends,” Whitsell says, “but two, being able to go to Capitol Hill and speak with Senator Rand Paul.”

In a room set aside for the Kentucky delegation in the Capitol Visitor Center, Senator Paul and congressional staff members answered questions about artificial intelligence, term limits and a major issue for electric cooperatives, reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including adequate response for electric co-ops.

The Kenergy students joined Kentucky delegates for visits to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and George Washington’s Mount Vernon before continuing to Washington, D.C., where they toured the U.S. Capitol, museums and memorials.

For Martin, the Holocaust Museum was the most meaningful stop.

“You can talk about it over and over again in history classes all throughout years of school,” Martin says, “but looking at it through pictures and video, being able to actually walk through one of the cattle cars, it hits you different.”

The week also included a walking tour of the memorials on the National Mall, stops at the Smithsonian museums, the White House Visitor Center, the World War I Memorial, and the National Air and Space Museum. At Arlington National Cemetery, the students watched the Changing of the Guard and members of the Kentucky delegation laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“It is a privilege to spend a week in Washington, D.C., with some of Kentucky’s brightest young leaders,” says Mallory Wafzig, the statewide association’s manager of cooperative outreach. “As they walk in the footsteps of our nation’s founders and experience our democracy firsthand, they are inspired to lead, serve, and make a difference in their own communities.”

Wafzig thanked the chaperones who helped lead and support the students throughout the week, notably Kenergy’s Kristine and JonathanCarrier.