Cuivre River Electric Announces Youth Tour Winners
“Concern for Community” is the cooperative principle that won the hearts of most finalists in Cuivre River Electric Cooperative’s 42nd Annual Youth Tour Final Competition on April 14. Twelve local students presented their essays touting “Cooperative Values at Work in a New Decade” with judges and guests attending the event.
Students’ speeches and cooperative quiz scores determined the most important contest of the evening, the selection of Cuivre River’s delegates to attend the National Youth Tour Conference in Washington, D.C. this summer.
Students chosen as Cuivre River Youth Tour delegates to Washington, D.C., include Emily Wynn of Christian HS, Zachary Brown and Ellyn Bruckerhoff of Clopton HS, Amy Koonce of Troy Buchanan HS, Megan Costello of Warrenton HS and Bethany Reller of Winfield HS.
They will travel among 80 Missouri delegates June 11-17, meet with more than 1,500 delegates from across the United States, visit Congress, tour Capitol Hill, and see national historic memorials and landmarks. Rebecca Decker of Warrenton HS will serve as a Youth Tour alternate, should any of these students be unable to attend.
The six runners-up in the Youth Tour contest will receive $250 scholarships to the university of their choice. They include Decker, Carmen Rhodes of Elsberry HS, Katherine Zorn of Troy Buchanan HS, Taylor Crawford and Shannon Sanders of Warrenton HS and Olivia Nordmann of Winfield HS.
“Among 355 contest entries, it was interesting to learn the principles our youth valued the most. In addition to Concern for Community, Education and Democratic Member Control were also popular choices,” said Youth Tour Coordinator Lonnie Tucker, who emceed the event.
The essays were judged based on the student’s cooperative knowledge, composition, originality, grammar and neatness. The 12 finalists took a cooperative knowledge based quiz, and then presented their award winning essays to a board of distinguished judges and special guests. Their presentations were judged on the student’s speaking ability, poise and personality, appearance and length of presentation.
Judging duties for the final competition were performed by Dr. Gina Bueneman-Cooper, Professional Development Specialist, of Cooper Management Training & Consulting, Inc. in Troy; Kim Thomas, Executive Secretary/Communications, and Dennis Wease, Manager of Member Services, of Callaway Electric Cooperative in Fulton.
The local contest, now in its 42nd year, received 355 student essays from fifteen area high schools. Last year the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) named Cuivre River Electric Cooperative’s Youth Tour program as one of the best Youth Tour programs in the country based on the highest number of student entries received by a single electric cooperative in the United States.
“We are extremely proud of the national recognition our Youth Tour program received last year from the NRECA,” said Tucker. “Our program’s success can be attributed to the overwhelming support we receive each year from our high school teachers,” he adds. Teachers honored at this year’s banquet included Mary Dockery of Clopton HS, Anna Boley of Elsberry HS, Melissa Surber of Troy Buchanan HS, Kristine Heimburger and Elizabeth Kruse of Warrenton HS and Sharon Bader of Winfield HS.
Cuivre River Electric Cooperative is the largest consumer-owned distribution cooperative in Missouri. It provides service to more than 58,500 residential, business, commercial, industrial and agricultural members in Lincoln, Pike, St. Charles and Warren counties. To learn more about the seven Cooperative Principles or Youth Tour visit www.cuivre.com.
Cuivre River’s 2010 Youth Tour delegates are (L-R) Megan Costello of Warrenton HS, Zachary Brown and Ellyn Bruckerhoff of Clopton HS, Bethany Reller of Winfield HS, Amy Koonce of Troy Buchanan HS and Emily Wynn of Christian HS. The delegates will travel to Washington, D.C. June 11-17 to attend the National Youth Tour Conference. Photo by Rod Smerkar.
