Twin Valley Electric Sponsors Ross as Electric Cooperative Youth Tour Delegate
Each year electric cooperatives all over our country select students to attend the annual Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, an educational trip to Washington, D.C.
Amber Ross, a junior from Chetopa High School, will be sponsored by Twin Valley Electric to attend the Youth Tour in June. She will join 35 other Kansas youth who will travel with the four-student delegation from Hawaii. In total, more than 1,800 students from 45 states will be in Washington, D.C., for the experience.
During Youth Tour, Ross will get the opportunity to tour the Kansas State Capitol and FreeState Electric Cooperative in Topeka before flying to D.C. While touring D.C., Ross will meet with elected officials from Kansas, witness government in action, and visit several national memorials and historical sites including: The White House, the U.S. Capitol, Ford’s Theater, the National Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Archives, the National Aquarium, the Law Enforcement Museum, Ft. McHenry, the Smithsonian museums and more.
Ross was chosen after submitting an application, testing, and completing an interview.
This program was inspired by Sen. Lyndon Johnson after the National Rural Electric Cooperative (NRECA) annual meeting in Chicago of 1957. Johnson stated, “If one thing goes out of this meeting, it will be sending youngsters to the national capital where they can actually see what the flag stands for and represents.”
As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
“Twin Valley Electric believes in investing in our youth because we are creating the leaders of tomorrow,” said Angie Erickson, CEO. “Twin Valley Electric looks to our youth to use the knowledge they gain during Your Tour to advocate for the rural communities when they return home and throughout their lives.”
This year marks Kansas’ 60th year in the Youth Tour program. For a brief overview of the tour, please visit our website at twinvalleyelectric.com.
Sorrell to Attend Co-op Youth Leadership Camp
Elsie Sorrell, a junior from Labette County High School, will be sponsored by Twin Valley Electric to attend Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, this July 10-16. She will join 33 other Kansas youth who will also travel with the nine-student delegation from Oklahoma.
While at camp, Sorrell will participate in activities designed to build leadership and communication skills. She will also learn about electricity generation by touring Craig Power Plant, and learn about the cooperative business model by forming a fictitious candy cooperative. In addition to the educational activities, students get to participate in a volleyball tournament, whitewater rafting, a talent show and a dance.
Sorrell was chosen after submitting an application, testing and completing an interview.
This is the 43rd year that Kansas electric cooperatives have participated in the camp, sending the first campers to what was then called the Energy Seminar in 1977.
“Twin Valley Electric believes in investing in our youth because we are creating the leaders of tomorrow,” said Angie Erickson, CEO. “We are excited to play a part in developing leadership and communication skills in our youth. Our hope is that, as a result of this opportunity, these kids become adults who are actively involved in their community.”
For a brief overview of the camp, please visit our website at twinvalleyelectric.com.