MPE is a proud sponsor of two exciting youth experiences each year — the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour and the Youth Leadership Camp.
D.C. YOUTH TOUR
The Washington D.C. Youth Tour is an all-expense-paid, week-long tour of our nation’s capital, where one high school junior or senior from within Mountain Parks Electric’s service territory will join students from Colorado and all across the United States to make memories that will last a lifetime.
COOPERATIVE YOUTH LEADERSHIP CAMP
Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp is a weeklong adventure in Steamboat Springs. At the camp, youth develop leadership skills, learn about cooperatives, and have lots of fun.
In 2025, Callie Freitag entered as a senior from West Grand High School. After her Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, she wrote MPE with a summary of her experience:
My trip to Washington D.C. was an absolutely incredible experience. It was life-changing and opened my eyes to a lot of leadership opportunities. It was an incredible experience, getting to meet people from other states in ways that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Here is a rundown of some of the highlights from each day and what I got to experience:
Monday, June 16:
I, along with 49 other students from Colorado, five Wyoming students, and seven chaperones, got a tour of the Denver Capitol. We spoke with President of the Senate James Coleman, and he allowed us to walk onto the Senate floor.
Tuesday, June 17:
Our first bus ride took us to Baltimore Harbor, and we got to see incredible architecture and beautiful scenery. We watched the Colorado Rockies BEAT the Washington Nationals!
Wednesday, June 18:
We headed to the United States Capitol, which is more beautiful in person than it ever will be in pictures. The day also included the Library of Congress and a dinner boat cruise.
Thursday, June 19:
It was beautiful to walk through the grounds of remembrance of the events on September 11, 2001.
Friday, June 20:
Inside the National Archives, we saw the U.S. Constitution and many other historical documents. We saw the Washington Monument, got lunch from food trucks, and visited the Air and Space Museum.
Saturday, June 21:
We visited the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. The Vietnam Memorial was amazing because our supervisors connected us to someone on the wall, whether that was someone with the same last name or someone from the same town. I was blessed to have had a veteran named Kenneth Lee Freitag, who was a veteran in the Navy. He passed away on May 2, 1966, but it was a beautiful way to recognize these veterans on a personal level.
This story was featured in the November 2025 edition of Plugged In, MPE's monthly member newsletter.