Two area students will travel to Washington, D.C. this summer, courtesy of San Patricio Electric Cooperative. Brennan Keese, a senior at Skidmore-Tynan High School, and Aryn Vanecek, a junior at Sinton High School, were selected as SPEC’s 2026 Youth Tour delegates.
Keese and Vanecek were chosen through SPEC’s Youth Tour application and interview process. Each year, the cooperative sponsors two high school juniors or seniors from its service area to attend the Government-in-Action Youth Tour, a chaperoned, all-expenses-paid leadership experience in the nation’s capital.
The students will travel to Washington, D.C. June 14–21, 2026, where they will join more than 140 other students from across Texas and approximately 1,800 students from electric cooperatives throughout the United States.
While in Washington, D.C., the students will take part in a week filled with educational activities, leadership development and sightseeing. Participants will tour historic landmarks such as Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Supreme Court, Mount Vernon and the Washington National Cathedral.
Youth Tour also offers unique opportunities to witness powerful traditions and learn firsthand about the nation’s government. Students will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, watch the Marine Corps Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial, meet with elected officials on Capitol Hill and attend a performance at the Kennedy Center.
In addition to exploring the nation’s capital, participants will learn more about the history of rural electrification and the cooperative business model while building friendships with fellow students from across Texas and the country.
SPEC traditionally sponsors two students to attend Youth Tour each year, covering the cost of airfare, accommodations, meals and admission to all planned activities.
SPEC’s Youth Tour contest was open to high school juniors and seniors in the co-op’s nine-county service area, whose parents are members of the co-op. Applicants were required to have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Youth Tour has been a Texas cooperative tradition since 1965, when the state’s electric cooperatives first partnered to send a group of deserving high school students to Washington, D.C. Since then, thousands of Texas students have participated in the program and returned home with a deeper understanding of leadership, civic engagement and the role electric cooperatives play in their communities.
San Patricio Electric Cooperative congratulates Brennan Keese and Aryn Vanecek for earning this incredible opportunity and representing our communities on the 2026 Youth Tour.