Last Call for Eighth Graders to Join the Fun at This Summer's Energy Camp

By Brianna Wall | Editor & Creative Director

Time is running out for eighth graders to submit their Energy Camp entries. Essays and entry forms are due on April 1.

Energy Camp is set for May 28-31 at Canyon Camp and Conference Center near Hinton. Each year, OEC sponsors up to four students to attend the camp, where they will join 80 of their peers from across the state. Energy Camp helps develop leadership skills and promotes teamwork while teaching about cooperative principles, rural electrification and electric safety.

While Energy Camp offers many traditional summer camp activities like swimming, hiking, basketball and a ropes course, teens also have the unique opportunity to work together to form their own cooperative. They learn about the fundamentals of the cooperative business model and what makes co-ops sustainable pillars of their communities by running for board trustee election and interviewing for general manager. They'll take home a newfound confidence and a host of new friends — like-minded peers from all over Oklahoma.

Students currently enrolled in eighth grade qualify. Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher, principal or community leader, a resume, a completed application and a 250-500 word essay detailing the kind of leader they want to be no later than April 1 at midnight. The application and more information can be found at www.okcoop.org/EnergyCamp.

If you have questions regarding the contest, Energy Camp or other OEC youth programs, contact Tory Tedder-Loffland, OEC education and outreach programs director, at 217-6726 or tory@okcoop.org, or visit www.okcoop.org/ EnergyCamp.

Energy Camp is part of OEC's youth development initiative, L.E.A.R.N.: Leading, Educating, Advancing and Rewarding the Next generation. L.E.A.R.N. encompasses the catalog of youth programs OEC offers to students, teachers and schools in our service area.