2012 Youth Tour Competition Begins February 1st
"Cooperative Principles at Work in My World" is the essay topic for high school juniors who enter Cuivre River's 2012 Youth Tour competition. The contest begins this month.
This is Cuivre River's 44th annual contest to select high school juniors to serve as delegates to the National Youth Tour June 15 - 21 in Washington, D. C.
The first step for students is an application and a 500-1,000 word composition on the topic above. The goal this year is to add a local perspective to the celebration of the year 2012 as the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives.
Students may enter independently or through their schools. Applications and contest rules are available at www.cuivre.com and at participating schools. The contest deadline is March 16. Entries may be delivered to Cuivre River offices in Troy or Lake Saint Louis by mail or in person.
"We're very grateful for the support of teachers who invite us to speak about cooperatives in classrooms and offer students this leadership opportunity," says Communications Specialist Lonnie Tucker.
Finalists are students who submit the 12 top-scoring compositions. Their final competition challenge includes taking a cooperative knowledge quiz and presenting their compositions orally before judges and peers at Cuivre River's Youth Tour Banquet on April 11. Six students will be chosen as Youth Tour delegates to Washington, D.C.; six will receive $250 scholarships to colleges of their choice.
Preliminary judging is anonymous and is conducted by Cuivre River staff. Final judging of oral presentations is conducted by local community leaders and professionals from other cooperatives.
The contest is open to students who live and attend school in Cuivre River's general service area, or who have Cuivre River electric service in their homes. Immediate family members of Cuivre River employees and directors are not eligible. Cuivre River Electric Cooperative fully funds the participation of its delegates. There is no cost to students or families.
Since 1964 Cuivre River has sponsored 184 Youth Tour delegates for visits to their U.S. congressional delegations, energy and grassroots government education sessions, and sightseeing in Washington, D.C. More than 40,000 high school students sponsored by electric cooperatives have participated in the Youth Tour since the leadership program began.
For more information or to schedule a classroom program call 800.392.3709 or 636.528.8261 ext. 230, or e-mail: ltucker@cuivre.com.
Cuivre River Youth Tour delegates visited Washington, D.C. last summer. They are (L-R): Oliver Lamping, Troy Buchanan HS; Dana Heggemann, Warrenton HS; Jill Jarvis, Jarvis HS; Emily Mauch, Warrenton HS; Jazmin Gac, Clopton HS, and Christian Jacquez, Francis Howell HS.
Contest Scoring
Cuivre River Electric Cooperative has two stages for scoring the Youth Tour compositions submitted by the high school students. Total scores are cumulative. The Preliminary Stage and Final Stage scores are combined to determine contest winners.
Youth Tour compositions are mixed prior to registration to provide an adequate random sample, and then each composition is assigned a special numerical code. Judges view and grade each composition without knowledge of the authors’ name, high school or county. Preliminary Stage judges are employees of Cuivre River Electric Cooperative.
Each Youth Tour composition receives a score of up to 100 points from each of three Preliminary State judges. The lowest of these three scores will be dropped, with the two highest scores added together for a possible 200 point Preliminary Stage score.
Based on Preliminary Stage scores, a maximum of 12 students advance to the Final Stage. Finalists, their parents and their teachers are invited to the Final Competition and Awards Banquet held at the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Headquarters in Troy.
Preliminary Stage 200 points possible: 100 points x 2 judges
Final Stage 200 points possible: 50 points possible for quiz + 150 points possible for oral presentation (3 judges x 50 points each)
Possible Total = 400 points
Finalists with the highest combined preliminary and final scores will become the six Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Youth Tour Delegates and travel to Washington, D.C.
The six runners-up will receive a $250.00 scholarship to the college or university of their choice.
Youth Tour Resources
Resources for high school juniors writing compositions on this year's topic, "Cooperative Principles at Work in My World," are readily available online. Books listed below have also been provided to several local libraries.
Entry forms which include contest rules are available at Cuivre River offices, at many local high schools, and at www.cuivre.com. For more information contact Lonnie Tucker, ltucker@cuivre.com, 800.392.3709, ext. 230.
Book Titles
The Next Greatest Thing
Richard A. Pence, editor
The Power of People
by Dorris Keeven
The Day the Lights Came On
Jim McCarty, editor
Web Sites